Punch Above Your Weight – Punch Needle Workshop

In this full day workshop, Divya will talk you through her work (that is exhibited in the New Contemporaries Show in the Ferens Gallery) and show you the basics of punch needling. As a theme, Divya will give tribute to Hull’s very own Suffragist Dr Mary Murdoch. With her life work and activism as inspiration.

Ahead of the workshop Divya would like you to choose a phrase or an image that you think is important in your life or has given you courage and encouragement that you could tuft on to the fabric (A4 sized). You could have three colours in your design. The Gallery will provide the kit with the needle, threader, and yarn for the session.

*Punch needling has a long history dating back hundreds, if not thousands of years. Fine punch needle embroidery was used to decorate medieval garments and religious panels. Later, the technique was used with thicker yarns to make rugs. There is a long association of embroidery and female domesticity and Rozsika Parker’s book The Subversive Stitch traces the separation of the craft of embroidery from the Fine Arts as a major force in the marginalisation of women’s work. With craft taking on a renewed importance within the art landscape, working with threads and textiles is a happy medium that sits between painting and sculpture and craft.

Closer to the day Divya will share a Spotify link to all the confirmed participants so that you could add your choice of music to the list that can be played during the workshop.

Cost £45 +£1.50 booking fee (Lunch at Venue Hull Cafe included in the price)