Birling Gap 3

Birling Gap 3

W25 cm × H33 cm

Although smaller than the embroidery that followed, Birling Gap III is the piece where the atmosphere of Birling Gap finally came together for me. It became the starting point for the larger work that I later created for a textile competition.

Rather than recording every detail of the coastline, I wanted to capture the sensation of standing on the beach after the weather had shaped it. The layered fabrics and dense machine stitching build the restless movement of the sea, while the dark pebbled shore anchors the composition beneath a sky washed with soft blues, greys and hints of violet.

Unlike earlier versions, this embroidery is less concerned with describing the landscape and more interested in conveying its energy. The sea is constantly shifting, the shoreline feels worn and weathered, and the changing light softens the horizon into bands of colour.

The familiar white chalk boulders are absent here, but for me their presence is still implied by the dark beach and the memory of the cliffs beyond the frame. This work captures what I had been searching for from the beginning—not simply a view of Birling Gap, but the feeling of being there, surrounded by the power and rhythm of the coast.

Medium: Freestyle appliqué, free-motion machine embroidery and mixed textile techniques.