Julie Harper MSDC

Stitched & Constructed Textiles

About Julie
With a lifelong passion for cloth and stitch, Julie was awarded a BA Honours Degree in Embroidered Textiles in 2010. As a result of her previous studies in dentistry, her textile practice has gained a deepened understanding of the qualities inherent to a wide range of materials. This now gives her the confidence to push boundaries and go beyond traditional textile materials and processes.
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Topical issues greatly influence Julie's current textile practice, especially the ‘green-issues’ of landfill and concerns over the use of plastics. Craft has always been at the heart of her work and she now finds herself revisiting traditional techniques such as hand stitch, felting, weaving and printing.

She is excited at the prospect of advancing her work further down the recycle/up-cycle route; an area she first visited in 2015, with a project on amulets. Her recent travels to Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and India have re-ignited her passion for textiles/crafts and inform most of her recent works and she finds herself now with a wealth of ideas to develop in the future.

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Education

1984 - 1989 Diploma Dental Technology: Distinction, The University of Sheffield
1991 – 1993 BSc(Hons) Dental Technology (First Class) Manchester Metropolitan University
1998 - 1999 Greater Manchester Open College Federation, Access to HE – Creative Studies Pathway Art - Level 3
2000 - 2003 City & Guilds Embroidery: Part 1, Bolton Community College
2004 - 2010 BA(Hons) Embroidered Textiles (First Class) Opus School of Textile Arts (Middlesex University)

Exhibitions

June 2006 - Wensley Gallery, Ramsbottom, Lancs
September 2006 - Making Sense’ Exhibition - Bankfield Museum, Halifax

August 2008 - Festival of Quilts, N.E.C. Birmingham – Prism Showcase
September 2008 - Lancashire and Yorkshire First Open Exhibition – Platform Gallery, Clitheroe
1st Prize – Selector’s Prize for Innovation

February 2009 - Headline – A Sense of the Moment - Prism Exhibition 2009 – The Mall Galleries, London
July 2009 Festival of Quilts - N.E.C. Birmingham
November 2009 - Open Exhibition - Haworth Art Gallery, Burnley

December 2010 - Bolton Annual Open Exhibition – Bolton Art Gallery - 2nd Prize
June 2010 - Evolve: Evoke: Expand’ Prism Exhibition 2010 – The Mall Galleries, London
June 2010 - BA(Hons) Embroidered Textiles degree show – Redchurch Street Gallery, Shoreditch, London

May 2011 - Up Close: In Detail - Prism Exhibition 2011 – The Mall Galleries, London
July 2011 - Lancashire and Yorkshire Open Exhibition – Platform Gallery, Clitheroe

May 2012 - Hidden Places, Hidden Spaces - Prism Exhibition 2012 - The Mall Galleries, London
Sept 2012 Prism - Textile Inspired Art - Whitstable Museum & Art Gallery

May 2013 - Liminal: Crossing the Threshold - Prism Exhibition 2013 - The Mall Galleries, London

April 2014 - Lancashire and Yorkshire Open Exhibition – Platform Gallery, Clitheroe
May 2014 - Coded: Decoded - Prism Exhibition 2014 - The Mall Galleries, London

May 2015 - Lines of Communication - Prism Exhibition 2015 - Hoxton Arches, London

March 2016 - Agenda - Hiscox Art Cafe, City of London
May 2016 - Fracture - Prism Exhibition 2016 - Hoxton Arches, London

May 2017 - Another View - Part 1 - Prism Exhibition 2017 - RBSA, Birmingham
October 2017 - Another View - Part 2 - Prism Exhibition 2017 - Hoxton Arches, London

April 2018 - Lancashire and Yorkshire Open Exhibition – Platform Gallery, Clitheroe
September 2018 - Red Tape Project - Wirksworth Festival, Derbyshire
October 2018 - I am a Woman & This is My Legacy - Laura I Gallery, Ice House Court, Abbey Road, London

February 2021 - Exquisite Containers - Embroiderers Guild Challenge - Highly Commended

November 2021 - Designer Craft Showcase - Society of Designer Craftsmen - BRSA, Birmingham

January 2022 - Manchester Open Exhibition - HOME, Manchester

March 2022 - International Women's Day Exhibition for Textile Artists and Makers 2022 - Manchester Sew Social

May 2022 - Textile Open Exhibition - Frontier Gallery, Sheffield

June 2022 - Transformations - Society of Designer Craftsmen - Bankside Gallery , London

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