Embroidery on tea-stained linen

Made using hand-dyed linen and quilted with hand embroidery, these three works (5:58. 6:02 and 22:26) feature drawings of me in bed with my two young children, in a liminal state between sleep and consciousness, that I am sure is familiar to anyone who has shared a bed with restless babies. My eldest child is autistic and, as is common for children with ASD, can suffer from severe sleep disturbances. These rare moments of us all dozing seem especially poignant but also fraught. I listen for the moment that their breathing changes, it slows down signaling that they are finally asleep. The abstract quality of my stitched line on crumpled linen evokes that half-awake, half-asleep dreamlike state. 

The linen is stained with tea. Tea is synonymous with British identity and also the experience of motherhood. From that first cup of extra sugary tea that mothers are given in hospital post-birth, to the endless half drunk cups left around the house. Tea is one of the first things we turn to at difficult times, how we look after ourselves and each other, how we express our love.