February 2026

We were definitely rose tinted in the hall yesterday but I did not detract form the wonderful talk “From zero to here” given by Catherine Gowthorpe. A very well respected textile artist known for her intricate, small scale heavily embroidered hand stitched work. She gave us a run down of her love of art and textiles which has been a passion from her earliest years. Influenced by her parents who both embroidered, through her teens, university and into retirement. Cath did not go down the standard art school route but promised herself at University that she would learn to draw whilst persuing a career as a chartered accountant. She used books at first and then took evening classes and later did both City & Guilds certificate and diploma courses in Stitched Textiles with Tracy Franklin and Julia Triston in Durham. Her talk was a very informative about her art, design and mark making process, her current work and the exhibitions she has done with Prism and EDGE textile artists. Personally I think the talk should be renamed “From zero to hero”.
Catherine will be doing workshops this spring and summer with Berwick Educational Association and has plans do more textile teaching in the future.