INGRID CUYPERS

Ingrid Cuypers (°1958) is a self-taught textile artist who lives and works in Herenthout, Belgium.  She found her ‘textile niche’ making wall cloths, fabric vessels and books and prefers to work in series with an occasional one-off XL piece.

Ingrid’s work is a translation of images, words and ideas picked up through social media, travelling on public transport, current affairs and new programs and her own musings about the world at large.  She has made it her mission to transfer the latter into stitch using techniques usually referred to as ‘domestic,’ ‘womanswork,’ or ‘needle craft.’  As a result, embroidery, quilting, crochet, knitting, (reverse) appliqué and intuitive stitching are her go to techniques. She is currently working on a series called “womanswork” using discarded tea towels, pillow cases and other domestic textiles, using acrylic prints and embroidery.

Her starting point is a quick black and white sketch that is later translated into a more detailed design with references to colour, texture, different techniques, as well as a tentative stitch plan.  Ingrid’s work is influenced by the ‘refuse, re-use, reduce, recycle’ mantra so she mainly works with second-life fabrics like old sheets, table cloths and napkins and other domestic textiles. These are then dyed with natural dyes, printed with the bounty of her garden or nearby wood, and/or rust printed with ‘rusty bits’ she finds on her walks or collects from the left overs of her husband’s DIY jobs.  Only when pre-used fabrics are in short supply will she buy in cotton, linen and flanel.  These undergo a similar treatment but can also be distressed with natural processes like composting.  The results are an array of imperfections: holes, frayed edges and tears that are incorporated in her cloths to put a message across or simply to convey the imperfections of daily life.