Margeret Dunning
I have always been absorbed with surface design and the handle of textiles. 
Earlier in my life whilst raising a family, I gained City & Guilds Fashion parts i and ii to enable me to construct garments and other items in some of the beautifully manufactured fabrics I could not resist buying.

I commenced silk painting several years ago, having been introduce to it by my daughter-in-law in Germany.  I completed a City & Guilds course in Decorative Textile Techniques to broaden my knowledge of the many new textile decoration mediums which are on the market.  However, silk painting is my passion and having taught myself after many hours of trial and error, never cease to be surprised at some of the unexpected and exciting results I get.                              

I use silk dyes and other dyes, applying them to a pre-sketched design using a resist method or by using the intense, vital colours to create a design on heavier weight silk.  Working with velvet I etch fine lines or use brushes with a chemical to create a devoré design before or after I apply colour.

A Silk Painting course was introduced in recent years to the City & Guilds syllabus I completed this and gained friends.  As a member of the Guild of Silk Painters I meet a group of like minded people monthly to explore techniques and push the boundaries further.

I have exhibited in Staffordshire and Shropshire in solo and joint exhibitions and take part in Craft and Designers Fairs.  Workshops also feature in my activities either for Rainbow Silks surface textile medium suppliers or locally for interested groups.

My work is generally based on natural form, floral studies, invertebrates, shells etc.  The final pieces become pictures, scarves, waistcoats, jackets, etui boxes and  heavier silk  upholstery.
 
Ron, my supportive spouse, and I travel for long periods in our motor home not practical for painting large areas of silk.  My interest in needle felting (dry felting) has flourished.  Using pure wool and silk fibres already dyed or for specific colours I dye them myself, I create 2D and 3D designs with the aid of barbed needles into a base textile.  The resulting textured felted surface makes bags, cushion and wall hangings