My secondary school textiles teacher, Miss Jones, is my biggest inspiration for pursuing my passion in textiles. She has continued to push me to reach greater achievements, help me believe in my abilities and above all else, has inspired me through my work in textiles, and in everyday life with her positive attitude. My grandma was also somebody who helped me see the love I have for this subject, as she was always mending, creating and improving articles of clothing since I was young. I remember watching her do this on a day to day basis and seeing her as someone I wanted to be just like when I grew up, and I can now say I am aiming to achieve this goal.

Louise Baldwin, a textiles artist, is someone who influences my interest in the sustainability side of textiles with her use of everyday materials in her art, creating intricate, fascinating pieces that reflect mundane everyday life. Over the past few years I have developed a more sustainable way of living with the clothes I buy and wear, making sure I buy second hand whenever possible, or cut up and sew my family's old clothes to fit my body and style. I have gained further knowledge on this topic from completing two online courses; ‘Fashion and Sustainability: Understanding Luxury Fashion in a Changing World’ and ‘Innovation: the Fashion Industry’, from reading ‘How to thrive in the new Kindness Economy’ by Mary Portas and by joining a webinar; ‘Careers in the Fashion Industry’, run by professionals, which taught me about the ins and outs of this complex industry. Visiting the textiles department at the V&A museum multiple times has given me further insight and has considerably influenced me. This wider research has emphasised that the textiles industry is one of the leading industries filling up landfills because of fast fashion, and knowing this has inspired me further to make a difference in the textiles world. To see this first hand, I recently started volunteering at a local charity shop, Rennie Grove, which opened my eyes to just how much textiles we throw away as a society and the effect micro-trends are having on the planet. I previously raised money for this charity when I ran a stall with a couple of my peers at a school event.

My most loved hobbies are reading and drawing, which I undertake in my spare time. I often indulge in publications about textiles, or around my other A-level subjects, as well as in general. Recently, I read the book ‘Textile Design’ by Simon Clarke, which expanded my knowledge around printmaking predominantly, but designing and weaving too. I have participated in a collection of art clubs, and I especially adore drawing as I experiment with different mediums such as charcoal, digital drawing and a range of pens and paints, therefore allowing me to come to terms with what I’m best at. I have won competitions and awards for my artistic and textiles abilities, taking one of the top places in a ‘design your own Christmas card’ competition, and receiving a certificate for ‘Excellent effort and dedication’ in textiles.

As well as my textiles sketchbook, I also keep a separate smaller sketchbook at home which I use almost everyday to create multiple new pieces of art and express myself in this format. This skill has proven to be extremely useful in my current ‘art-textiles’ course as it has helped develop my abilities. I enjoy scanning my drawings into the computer and creating various patterns. Or doing digital art and editing, which I usually do on apps such as ‘Paper’ and ‘Adobe Photoshop’, then printing them onto fabric is something that I find to be intriguing as it's very different from the practises I usually work with, but it forces me to push my artistic abilities in new ways and reconsider the meaning of artwork. Moving forward with my love and devotion for textiles, I hope to find my own flair within this area and deepen my knowledge and skills, whilst finding inspiration from those around me, and in everyday life.