Pippita Bennett in her home studio, Australian fibre and textile artist. Photograph by Madeline Young.

Studio Visit with Pippita Bennett

Pippita Bennett is a wonderfully clever textile and fibre artist based in the Blue Mountains in NSW. Pippita has exhibited work with us over the past couple of years as part of group exhibitions and art prizes we’ve held at The Corner Store Gallery. I was immediately drawn to Pippita’s work due to it’s uniqueness, attention to detail and quality of work.

Pippita uses vintage and plant-dyed textiles with thrifted threads to create immaculate, stitched landscapes and other scenery. The colours and patterns are stunning along with the textures created by the different fabrics and fibres used. The incredible amount of work that goes into these pieces is evident, Pippita finds the process very therapeutic and finds herself with needle in hand most of the day.

Following the Needle is Pippita Bennett’s first solo exhibition with us at The Corner Store Gallery and celebrates an incredible amount of work and love culminating over the past few years. Pre-sales for the exhibition launch online at 8pm Tuesday May 7th with doors open from May 8th to 18th. We’d also love you to join us and meet the artist on Saturday May 11th from 2pm for a celebratory drink.

Tell us about your background. How long have you been making art?

I’ve been drawing, painting and stitching since I could hold a pencil, brush or needle. Mum was an artist and creator and gave me every opportunity and encouragement to pursue art; she couldn’t stop making things herself, and we just made alongside her every day. My brother is a writer and psychotherapist, my sister is a writer – but both of them can draw, paint, sew and knit also. Now Dad makes pottery alongside his artist partner Judy Lane. My first piece of sewing was a patchwork rainbow serpent made from Mum’s fabric scraps. She wouldn’t let me use the sewing machine until I was ten and so everything was by hand until then.

Art and Maths were my favourite subjects at school; for me they make a perfect mix of creativity and logic. I went on to study architecture at Sydney Uni, and selected art subjects for all my electives. I loved working with other artists in the Tin Sheds studios, and won the Noel Chettle Art Prize. When my kids were born, I changed careers to teaching, and taught at a Steiner school which had a strong emphasis on creativity as a way of learning. I’m currently studying a Master of Art Therapy. Throughout my careers and child rearing, art has been a constant presence. I’ve had more time in the last few years to work on my art practice.

Pippita Bennet studio visit, Australian fibre and textile artist. Photograph by Madeline Young.

What inspired this new body of work? What was your motivation?

All the pieces in this exhibition were made alongside caring for my husband as he was treated for a serious illness: at home, in waiting rooms and beside hospital beds. Each stitch has been a step towards the acceptance of now. As my time camping and working in the bush was limited, I dreamed back into my oil pastel landscapes, drawn on my trips in the past few years: Norfolk, Island, Flinders Ranges, Goobang National Park, the Warrumbungles and my local landscape of Katoomba. The series of suns and moons was a direct response to Ian’s diagnosis. Dyeing silk golden from summer flowers that I had frozen over winter was a statement of hope. Even in the darkest and coldest times light shines!

Detail of *Behind Grindle’s Hut* by Pippita Bennet, Australian fibre and textile artist.

Can you talk us through your process?

I don’t usually work from drawings. I use them to get my eye in before I start dyeing and stitching in place, which has given me a fresh appreciation of my observational and drawing skills, but the stitching itself takes off from that point rather than following it.

I create dye baths from plant material I collect from my garden, surrounding bush and the places I visit. Often the same piece of fabric or thread is overdyed several times, and holds memories of the places I’ve visited. When you look at my work you can literally touch the place it comes from.

I start stitching without a plan. I let the needle find a path across the cloth, following the line of a rock, branch or a thought. My best work comes when it takes days or weeks for the images to materialise. Sometimes I start with stitching a border, giving the piece a contained space in which to emerge.

What's your favourite technique to use at the moment?

I’m loving finding colour for my dyes and making prints from autumn leaves. My favourite stitch is the cross with a smaller cross stitched over the intersection in a contrasting colour.

Can you describe your fabulous studio to our readers?

My studio is in my house. It has a high sloping ceiling with clerestory windows catching the morning sun. One side of the studio is lined with bookshelves and on the other I have a wood heater which I regularly use to heat my dye baths. And keep warm in the Katoomba winters!

I have a long desk covered in threads, fabric and works in progress and couch where I sit with my dogs and stitch. The windows and doors are recycled timber. I have two views from my studio: to the brick path that leads through the front garden, and to the back garden which has a velvety green lawn, an enclosed veggie patch and chook house.

What's next for you?

I’ll go on stitching every day, on my way into the new body of work. The practice keeps me grounded but also frees me from the worries of each day. I’m hoping to travel and camp and spend time alone and with my husband in nature, but if that isn’t possible the garden is rich in inspiration, as is the Blue Mountains National Park. I can walk fifty metres and be deep in the bush. I’m lucky and I’m grateful to be where I am, and making art.