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Diana Springall Honorary Fellow

Stitched & Constructed Textiles

About Diana
Designer/maker of wall panels, hangings, pictures, carpets, screens, altar frontals and greeting cards. Work is mainly to commission and produced in all types of cloth and yarn. Individuality of design stemming from a fine art training in drawing and painting. Versatility of subject spanning the figurative, descriptive and representational to the abstract and conceptual. Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Broderers
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Born 16th september 1938

Diana's personal creative work has always been in response to a client brief - always responding to something that someone actaully needs. Diana makes work for exhibitions when invited but again driven by a theme.


Qualifications

1960 National Diploma in Design - Painting, Goldsmiths’ College School of Art

1961 Art Teachers’ Certificate, Goldsmiths’ College

1963 City & Guilds of London Institute, Embroidery

1968 Diploma in History of Art, University of London


Professional Societies

Chairman 1978-85 and Emeritus and Life Member of The Embroiderers’ Guild

Chairman 1987-90 and Fellow of The Society of Designer Craftsmen

1984 Elected Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts

2006 Elected Honorary Member of ’62 Group

2017 Elected Ambassador for The Textile Society

2018 received the Freedom of the City of London

2019 Elected Liveryman of The Worshipful Company of Broderers


Teaching Experience

1961-63 Head of Art Department West Heath School, Sevenoaks, Kent

1963-68 Lecturer, Fashion Department Maidstone College of Art

1968-1980 Principal Lecturer & Head of Department of Fashion & Textiles, Stockwell College of Education, Bromley (until its closure)

1980 to the present – Numerous Freelance Teaching & Lecturing commitments including

1999 Artist in Residence, Kingshill Festival

2017 Numerous invitations to speak on the subject of Contemporary Embroidery including TV appearance June 2016 BBC4 Craft: Made Britain


Publications

1969 Canvas Embroidery Batsford London

1980 Embroidery Author and Design Consultant, BBC 2 TV series of ten 25 minute programmes

1984 Twelve British Embroiderers, Gakken, Tokyo, Japan

1985 Twelve British Embroiderers – catalogue for 1985 exhibition to Japan

1988 Design for Embroidery, Pelham Books, London. Reprint 2010

2005 Inspired to Stitch, A & C Black, London – Winner of Textile Book of the Year prize 2006

2008/9 An Embroiderers’ Eye, catalogue and exhibition for Macclesfield Museum

2011 A Brave Eye Biography by June Hill to accompany touring Retrospective Exhibition


Commissions - major

1975-80 Five stitched panels for Town Hall Chester- Designer & Tutor for community project

1988 Panel for London office of Mobil North Sea

1988 Panel for Library, University of Sheffield

1989 Panel for entrance Dai Ichi Kango Bank, London

1989 Carpet for entrance Dai Ichi Kango Bank, London

1989 Double-sided semi-circular panel for Church of St Anne & All Saints, London

1988-90 Sanctuary embroidery community project – – Designer & Tutor for carpet, kneelers, cushions - Swaffham Church, Norfolk

1990 Battle of Britain Memorial Frontal, RAF Cranwell, Lincs

1991 Memorial Panel, entrance Logica London ( UK)

1995 Set of Torah Covers, Liberal Jewish Synagogue, London

1993-7 Carpet, St Mary’s Church, Kemsing, Kent- Designer & Tutor for community project

1997 Pair of Hangings, West Central Synagogue, London

1997-99 Winner of Lottery funded competition to Design & Tutor an embroidery community project to celebrate the millennium in Dunsfold, Surrey

2000 Designer of seven embroidered panels, Hospice in the Weald, Kent

2002-3 Design for set of nine panels, St John the Baptist Church, Meopham, Kent

2001-4 Reredos Hanging for St Nicolas Chapel, Shere, Surrey

2010-11 Major private commission, Bickley, Kent

2012 Design for Altar Frontal Trottiscliffe, Kent to include group tuition to undertake embroidery

2012 Invited by William Morris Gallery to produce decorative panel for re-opening exhibition October

2013 Full Passiontide set for St Mary Kippington Sevenoaks Kent -Frontal, Falls,Burse,Veil,Ribbons,Stole

2014 Set of Torah Covers, Liberal Jewish Synagogue, London

2015 Memorial Panel Rabi Rayner Room, Liberal Jewish Synagogue, London

2017 Trinity Altar Frontal Holy Trinity Church Duncton Sussex


Advisory

1991-2006 Fabric Advisory Committee Guildford Cathedral

2014 - to date Judge for Beryl Dean Teaching Prize

2014 -to date Judge & Mentor for Hand & Lock Embroidery Prizes


Curatorial

1982 – First exhibition of British Contemporary Embroidery in Japan sponsored by Daimaru Int

1985 – Twelve British Embroiderers again Osaka & Tokyo sponsored by Daimaru Int

2005 – designed and mounted Twenty One British Embroiderers – London, Dublin & Harrogate

2008-9 Preparation of An Embroiderers’ Eye – exhibition & catalogue Macclesfield Museum, Cheshire

2009 Designed and mounted Art of The Stitch – a touring exhibition for The Embroiderers’ Guild

2014 Mastered series on line teaching

2015 Diana Springall Embroidery Collection now on line www.dianaspringallcollection.c...

1980 BBC2 TV set of ten programmes o Embroidery - Design Consultant and contributor

2016 BBC4 9 June 9pm Craft: Made Britain contributor& interview by Martha Kearney

pilot for series

2009 Victoria & Albert Museum artist interview by Sue Prichard- copy and paste http:///www.vam.ac.uk/collecti... springall


Life Member of The Embroiderers' Guild

Life Member Royal Society of Arts

Life Member of the V&A

Life-time Friend of the RA

Resumé Back to top

Prizes/Awards

1985 Nominated for first annual Worshipful Company of Broderers Prize “ for professionalism, generosity, dedicated service and tireless leadership in raising the Embroiderers’ Guild to its present status”

1999 Nominated for first creative Britons Award

2011 Winner of The Worshipful Company of Broderers Prize for unstinting support of The Embroiderers’ Guild

2017 Winner Interior Design Award Best Textile Artist

2011 Retrospective exhibition Knitting & Stitching shows – London/Dublin/Harrogate with Biography by June Hill published by A&C Black, Sept 2011

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