Victoria Thorpe

I have always been interested in art from an early age and for the past 3 years I have been studying at South Nottingham College. In September I will start my second year studying my Higher National Diploma in Fine Art. Previous to this I studied my BTEC National Diploma in General Art and Design.

I have been involved in three college end of year exhibitions and the fourth will be taking place in June next year. Fresh 2 is the first exhibition I have applied for outside of the college.

The idea for my artwork came from my most recent exhibition project titled “Superstitions”. For “Superstitions” I experimented with juxtaposing different techniques and crafts together, for example the use of appliqué and acrylic paint. For “The Frog Prince” I wanted to take this to the next level, experimenting more with decoration for example knitting, embroidery and the use of quilting. The idea for “The Frog Prince” came from my interest in fairy tales and the Victorian era, and also from the superstition where if you kiss a frog, he will turn into a handsome prince. I have also submitted a triptych of paintings mainly inspired by fairytales. The main theme behind my work as a whole is the idea of fairytales seeming innocent on the surface, but they also have a darker side to them when you look deeper into the stories.

Materials used: acrylic paint, printed voile, cotton fabrics, embroidery threads, sequins, metallic yarn, beads.
Processes/Crafts used: knitting, crochet, appliqué, embroidery, stumpwork, beading, quilting.

Artists that have inspired me most recently are Erté for his illustrative designs and Charlotte Atkinson for her painting techniques. Textile Artists that have influenced these pieces the most are Angharad South for her inspirational appliqué techniques and Zara Merrick whose work inspired me to experiment with acrylic paint and textiles.