Artist’s Bio

Eleanor Hannan has embroidered all of her life and comes from a long line of seamstresses and quiltmakers.

She feels that instinctively she is a dollmaker and returns to this even after venturing into painting, making paper, digital work and other media. The work begins as drawing on cloth. The thread colours are chosen and the laborious process of building up the layers of thread into tonal, blended and expressive effects begins.

She enjoys the long laborious process. The "dolls" are pieced together, and are re-cut and changed until Eleanor is happy with the expression. Sometimes it is a very simple process, sometimes it takes ages before the figure truly "speaks".

Embroidery is now an extension of herself as a painter and drawer. She strives for a similar effect - a melding of formal visual art and colour training, and traditional stitchery.