Lily Purslow (She/her)
Artist Biography
Lily Purslow is an embroidery and textile artist based in Stourbridge, West Midlands. She holds an MA in Textile and Surface Design, along with a BA in Fine Art from Birmingham School of Art. Her studies in both Birmingham and Barcelona, Spain, have influenced her art practice, reflecting themes and ideas from the Arts & Crafts Movement and Modernisme.
Working primarily with hand embroidery and mixed-media textiles, Lily explores the relationship between traditional craft, historic decorative arts and contemporary textile practice. Her work draws inspiration from natural forms, and themes of colour, texture and pattern.
Through meticulous stitch, Lily creates intricate, tactile works that celebrate the expressive and material qualities of textiles. Her practice celebrates embroidery as both a traditional craft and a contemporary art form, exploring how historical influences can be reimagined through contemporary making.
About the artwork
Archangel Michael
For sale please contact Kristina for more information (info@kristinahall.co.uk)
Archangel Michael is a hand-embroidered textile work inspired by the iconography of a late Victorian stained-glass window. My reinterpretation of the Archangel Michael features him holding a gold mirror and a sword. The figure traditionally is associated with protection, strength and the triumph of good over evil.
Working with tactile, natural fibres, I have translated the qualities of stained glass- its decorative pattern, colour and outlined form- into the softer, more intimate medium of embroidery. I have considered the contrast between the permanence and light associated with glass and the warmth and tactility of wool and thread.
The piece is mounted within a hand-carved wooden frame, chosen to complement the natural materials and reinforce its connection to traditional craftsmanship. The slow, repetitive process of hand embroidery is equally important to me as the finished work. Each stitch records time, attention and engagement with the material, reflecting the Arts & Crafts ethos of valuing skilled, purposeful making.
Through this work, I explore how historic imagery can be reinterpreted through textile, allowing familiar symbolism to be experienced through a contemporary perspective.