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Liz Hewitt

Experimental Embroiderer

Strip: JOINT - “African strip cloth in a new light…”

The traditions of mud cloth/strip cloth have been part of West African culture for centuries and are the inspiration for Strip:JOINT, an exhibition of exciting and vibrant pieces, given a contemporary twist by Liz Hewitt.


The centre piece is an installation of 6m lengths of strip cloth, A Forest of Cloth; surrounded by a series of pieces inspired by the beliefs associated with trees. Trees evoke powerful feelings, it is hoped the ‘Forest of Cloth’ will evoke strong memories of your experiences with trees in all who view it.


The cloth used by Liz is hand woven from hand spun cotton and then painted with mud or left undecorated, in West Africa. Starting with the undecorated natural coloured strip cloth, Liz uses raw edge appliqué techniques to attach a variety of silk / satin pieces, and hand stitching to create the texture and patterns found within trees. Finally she hand dyes and / or paints the pieces to produce vibrant coloured cloths.


Liz draws her inspiration from the traditional mud cloths; and also the relationship between humanity and nature, in particular the beliefs held by the Ancient Celts, that  trees can inspire, soothe and sustain us physically and spiritually

At the Festival of Quilts 2009