Stewart Francis Easton’s stories, as told in textiles, are on display at SCP this month.
Words by Pendle Harte
Anyone passing SCP’s Curtain Road showroom in recent months will have noticed a striking programme of changing window displays. The store is expressing a new energy for the unique and the decorative in a programme of window exhibitions featuring a beautiful breadth of work from a different designer-maker each month. The window space plays host to a series of specially commissioned design collections. Including a blend of hand-crafted and machine-made ceramics, hand-formed glassworks, sculptural outdoor furniture, woodworking, and abstract textilesFrom small to large-scale pieces, the focus is on collectable designs that uplift the spirit. During August, the focus is on Stewart Francis Easton, a graphic storyteller based in London who works in yarn, ink, dye and digital media. Using folk songs and stories as a starting point, Easton weaves story-based narratives, utilising the space of a single panel to explore time, movement and transition within his tapestry-like works, often on linen. Easton’s creations break the traditional boundary of textiles and handicrafts, through embroidery, sonic art, and design-based illustration. Each piece is usually reworked from drawings done by pen, which ultimately influences the final, illustrative look of a tapestry.Easton’s profile is understated. His bio states simply: “I draw. I sew. I ride a push bike and I like Clarks’ shoes.” He established his creative career after achieving a master’s diploma in Art and Illustration at Coventry University, England. His work has been showcased both individually and collectively in the UK and the US. His creations are now part of private collections in the UK and Internationally. For the window Exhibition at SCP, a series of limited one-off collages made of felt and paper are to be shown, in addition to four small embroidery pieces (up to 16” x16”).
