Hazel Bruce: ‘Make do and mend’ pieced fabrics connected by repeated stitched pattern blocks

Hazel Bruce has been a textile artist and educator since 1990, exhibiting nationally and internationally. She is a member of the 62 Group, a lecturer in Textile Art and Embroidery at Ulster University and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Her work has recently been shown at the World of Threads Festival in Canada, the Miniartextile Borderline exhibition (organised by Arte & Arte in Italy) and the 8th International Biennial of Contemporary Mini Textile Art ‘Scythia‘ in Ukraine.

Hazel’s work explores pattern found in the urban landscape. She prefers to re-use textiles and is inspired by the age-old practices of mending, piecing and patching. She patches together found fabric, then builds up blocks of satin stitch texture using Irish machine stitching, adding hand-stitches to finish each piece. There is a tactile quality to her work, combined with a mesmerising use of pattern repetition with muted, calm colours.

As a university lecturer, she teaches her students techniques to help them start new projects. She uses these methods herself to guide her creative development process. In this interview, Hazel shares how she looks for repeated patterns in the urban world around her, then uses sampling and drawing to research composition ideas. Learn how to use these methods yourself and kick-start your next project.