Interested in the interplay between decoration and functionality, Tessa’s distinctive practical paintings are robust and comforting riotous expressions of shape and colour. Tessa makes everything by hand, stitch by stitch, in her home studio in York.
Tessa designs and makes abstract appliqué quilts using self-taught traditional hand stitching techniques.
Sourcing deadstock, upcycled and remnant natural fibres where possible, often dyeing and painting in small batches, she keeps her off-cuts in colour coded boxes and uses these as her palette.
After studying fine art painting in Brighton in 2012, Tessa came to quilting as a means to continue working with a new baby. For her, quilts allowed her to ask the same questions around colour, composition and objectness she wanted to explore in large scale painting, yet the work could be folded away and worked on anywhere with a young family- hence practical paintings!
Works are available in occasional collections in her shop online and from select stockists across the world. She often works directly with clients and interior designers making pieces bespoke to a space or special project. Recent completed special projects and ongoing collaborators include Studio Peake, Buchanan Studio, Christopher Farr Cloth, House of Grey, The Modern House, Beata Heuman, Fine Cell Work, Liberty, Selfridges and Free People.
Her works have been featured in recent issues of House & Garden magazine, World of Interiors, Elle Decoration UK and Architectural Digest India as well as online interiors and design journals.
