Lorelie Smit

My art practice is about using what I already have and working with found and gifted textiles, as a way of express my concerns about the impact of the fashion industry on our environment.

Where possible I work with natural fibres and take what is existing and transform it into something new and wearable. I am inspired by the resurgence of interest in 'mending and making do' and in the hand embroidery skills of the past especially the Japanese technique of sashiko. When I find discarded embroideries and handiwork that is destined for landfill I seek to honour the makers by reinventing and re-purposing it.

I have been working with textiles for over four decades, having trained and worked as a home economics teacher. I have always made things, being taught to sew by my mother and in home economics classes. Both my mother and grandmother knitted beautifully and I still have pieces of their work. My father would mend shoes and make furniture and worked with leather.

I am a member of the West Australian Fibre and Textile Association (WAFTA) and the coordinator for the local branch of WAFTA which commenced in Busselton in 2021. I enjoy sharing my skills with others and encouraging their creativity.