Catherine Hill MSDC

Stitched & Constructed Textiles

About Catherine
Catherine Hill is a multi-award-winning contemporary textile artist and wordsmith. Her work explores landscape, social history and her own memories of growing up in Lancashire in the 1970’s. Catherine combines cloth and vintage Sylko threads to create her hand embroidered artworks. Catherine is probably best known for her hand embroidered text. She composes the narratives then stitches them. Catherine is an exhibiting member of Prism Textiles and has work in a permanent collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
Biography Back to top

Catherine’s creative practice harnesses the use of text and narrative to bring to life memories of her childhood, her adult life, and Lancashire's social history.

She first composes the narrative in the form of short sentences, snippets of speech or an essence of a meaning, and then shapes these into a final design.

Catherine incorporates everyday objects in some works and even recreated a complete life size matchbox in hand embroidered Kimono silk thread.

Many of her works are in her ‘Red Square’ format which uses what is now her signature red thread (inspired by the Lancashire Rose), combined with a vintage or re-purposed fabric to narrate a story in a perfect square of embroidered words.

Catherine is a multi-award-winning artist whose work appears in numerous publications and has been exhibited across the UK and the World, including New York, Germany, Ukraine, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Brazil, Spain, and Australia.

She has a YouTube Channel called ‘Arnold’s Attic’ where she shares the work of fellow textile artists.

Resumé Back to top

Education

1990 BSc Combined Honours Degree in Mathematics and Computing, Leicester University

Awards

2024

  • Award: Winner of the Beryl Dean Award for Hand Embroidery. Embroiderers’ Guild Members’ Challenge 2023/2024

2023

  • Award: 2nd Place. Calderdale Art Open 2023
  • Award: Artistic Director's Award for Innovation. Embroiderers’ Guild Members’ Challenge 2022/2023

2021

  • Award: Overall Winner of the ‘Constance Howard Award for Most Outstanding Piece’ & Winner of the ‘Margaret Nicholson Award for Composition’. Embroiderers’ Guild Members' Challenge 2020/2021

2020

  • Award: Commended for ‘Beryl Dean Award for Hand Embroidery’. Embroiderers’ Guild Members' Challenge 2019/2020

2019

  • Award: Winner of the ‘Artistic Director Award for Design & Technical Excellence’. Embroiderers’ Guild Members' Challenge 2018/2019

Permanent Collections

2024

  • Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Memberships

  • Society of Designer Craftsmen
  • Prism Textiles
  • ArtCan art collective
  • Society for Embroidered Work
  • Embroiderers’ Guild UK

Projects

Co-Founder, Quilts4London 2019-2012. A voluntary organisation and community project inspiring and collating pennant textile artwork; each created as a personal gift for 2012 athletes. Anyone of any ability and any textile art form could take part. Results: 17,000 pennants for Olympians, 5,000 for Paralympians, and 1000 for Special Olympians.

Selected Recent and Forthcoming Exhibitions

2025

  • Plas Brondanw Open Exhibition 2025, Plas Brondanw, Penrhyndeudraeth, Wales. Juried entry
  • ‘National Embroidery Awards’, Creative Craft Show, NEC Birmingham, UK
  • ‘Childhood interrupted’, House of Smalls, Edinburgh, Scotland
  • ‘Water’, Village Art Skelmanthorpe, Huddersfield, Yorkshire. Juried entry

2024

  • The Tŷ Pawb Open 2024, Wales. Juried entry
  • Nearly Home, Mostrador de Mirasierra Gallery, Madrid, Spain
  • Library Open Call 2024, Lancaster University. Juried Entry
  • The Harley Open 2024, Welbeck, Nottinghamshire. Juried entry
  • ‘Repair, Repurpose, Reuse’ & ‘Opposites Attract’, Embroiderers’ Guild, Knitting & Stitching Shows London & Harrogate
  • ‘I See RED’, One Red Thread 2024, Canberra, Sydney & Brisbane, Australia. Invited artist
  • 2024 COMME CA ART x AWOL Open Call, Manchester
  • ‘Edgelands’, Prism textiles, Mile End Pavilion, London
  • ‘Unravelled’ ArtCan, Landmark Arts Centre, London
  • ‘The God of Small Things’ - Week 45 Collective, 54 The Gallery, Mayfair, London

2023

  • Bulgarian Triennial of Mini Textile, Sofia, Bulgaria. Juried entry
  • Calderdale Open 2023, Smith Art Gallery, Brighouse, Yorkshire. Juried entry
  • ‘Fit For a King’ & ‘Layers’, Embroiderers’ Guild exhibitions. Knitting & Stitching Show, London & Harrogate
  • Ilkley Arts Open 2023, Ilkley Manor House. Ilkley, Yorkshire. Juried entry
  • Leeds Open 2023, Leeds Playhouse, Leeds, Yorkshire. Juried entry
  • ‘Threads of Survival’, Huddersfield Art Gallery, Yorkshire. Invited artist
  • ‘Kindred Spirits’, One Red Thread 2023, Canberra, Sydney & Brisbane, Australia. Invited artist
  • ‘Stitch by Stitch’, Willow Gallery, Oswestry. Invited artist
  • ‘The 3rd International Micro Textile and Fibre Art, ‘Scythia’, Ukraine. Juried entry
  • ‘A Tall Order’, Touchstones Rochdale, Lancashire. Invited artist

2022

  • Walk Bye Postcard, Walk Bye, Jersey City, USA
  • ‘Food for All’, Kingshill House, Gloucestershire
  • ‘Collections’ & ‘In & Out of Lockdown’, Embroiderers’ Guild exhibitions. London & Harrogate
  • ‘Free-for-All’, Touchstones Rochdale. Invited artist
  • ‘Threads of Survival’, Cambridge. Invited artist
  • ‘SPIEL DER FARBEN’, Ortsmuseum Meilen, Switzerland & Gallerie Kalina, Germany. Juried Entry
  • Leeds Summer Group Show, Leeds Playhouse, Leeds. Juried entry
  • Saltaire Arts Trail Open Village, Saltaire Village, Saltaire, West Yorkshire, UK. Juried Entry
  • ‘Fifty Bees 5’, ACEspace Gallery, Somerton, Somerset. Juried Entry

2021

  • ‘The Fronteer Open 2021’, Yorkshire Artspace’s Exchange Place Studio, Sheffield
  • ‘Stitch Your Story’, Blackburn Cathedral, Lancashire. British Textile Biennial
  • ‘Bankley Open 2021’, Bankley Studios & Gallery, Manchester
  • ‘In the Open‘, Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton-le-Hole, Yorkshire
  • ‘Postcard Project’, 'Artists Responding To', Stoke Newington, London
  • ‘EmpoweRED’ One Red Thread 2021, Canberra, Sydney & Brisbane, Australia
  • ‘Home’, Walk Bye, Morgan Library, 1841 John F, Kennedy Blvd., Jersey City, New Jersey, USA
  • ‘Exquisite Containers’, Embroiderers’ Guild Members' Challenge 2020/2021
  • ‘International Women's Day’, Mcr Sew Social, Manchester, virtual exhibition

2020

  • ‘The Postcard Project’ Art Book & exhibition, Artists’ Responding To, virtual exhibition
  • Letchworth Broadway Open 2020, Letchworth, Hertfordshire
  • ‘Self Portrait’, Beyond the Knitting & Stitching Show, virtual exhibition
  • A Letter in Mind ‘Everyday Things’, ‘gallery@oxo’, Oxo Tower Wharf, London
  • ‘My Favourite Things’, Embroiderers’ Guild Members’ Challenge 2019/2020

2019

  • ‘Life’s Rich Pattern’ & ‘Home’, Embroiderers’ Guild exhibitions. London & Harrogate
  • Quilt Creations, Festival of Quilts, NEC Birmingham, UK
  • ‘Home’, Open Door, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshir
  • Embroidery exhibition, Stitch & Quilt Village, Uttoxeter
  • ‘Life’s Rich Pattern’, Embroiderers’ Guild Members’ Challenge 2018/2019

2012

  • ‘Secret Messages’, Bletchley Park, UK

Selected Publications / Articles

2025

  • Embroiderers’ Guild ‘What’s On’ newsletter issue January 2025

2024

  • Embroiderers’ Guild Bulletin July 2024 – Front page
  • Embroiderers' Guild Members' Challenge 23/24: 'Opposites Attract' E-Book

2023

  • The Stitchers’ Journal Issue 20 – featured artist
  • An Unstitched Coif Book by Toni Buckby 2023
  • Texteil Plus Magazine issue 266
  • Stitch Magazine Issue 146
  • Uppercase Magazine issue 59
  • Embroidery Magazine Issue 74
  • The Stitchers’ Journal Issue 18
  • Textile Portraits Book by Anne Kelly – invited artist
  • Embroidery Magazine Issue 73 – featured artist
  • Embroidery Magazine Issue 72
  • Embroiderers’ Guild ‘Members Challenge 22/23: Layers’ E-Book

2022

  • Embroiderers’ Guild ‘Members Challenge 21/22: In and Out of Lockdown’ E-Book
  • The Pigeon Post, Margate, Kent.
  • ‘Artists Responding To’ Magazine Issue 3 – featured artist
  • The Digital Cloth, Australia. Issue 11

2021

  • ‘Stitch’ Magazine Issue 134
  • Embroiderers’ Guild ‘Contact’ Magazine October 2021 edition
  • Embroidering the Everyday: Found, Stitch and Paint’ by Cas Holmes - invited artist
  • Embroiderers’ Guild ‘Contact’ Magazine August 2021 edition
  • September 2021: Embroiderers’ Guild Membership letterhead
  • Embroiderers’ Guild ‘Contact’ Magazine June 2021 edition
  • Embroiderers’ Guild ‘Contact’ Magazine May 2021 edition
  • AR Art Attraction publication, Leeds Kirkgate Market Augmented Reality Exhibition, Leeds
  • Embroiderers’ Guild ‘Reasons to be Thankful: Thank You NHS’ E-Book
  • Embroiderers’ Guild Members’ Challenge 2020/21 E-Book
  • Embroiderers’ Guild ‘Contact’ Magazine April 2021 edition

2020

  • December 2020: Artists’ Responding To: “The Postcard Project”
  • The Postcard Project Book, ‘Artists Responding To’ ISBN 978-1-5272-7904-9
  • December 2020: The Stitchers’ Journal Dec 2020 edition
  • August 2020: Embroiderers’ Guild Members’ Challenge edition E-Book
  • Embroiderers’ Guild ‘Contact’ Magazine May 2020 edition
  • February 2020: Stitch Magazine Issue 123
  • Embroiderers’ Guild ‘Contact’ Magazine January 2020 edition
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