EMBROIDERY ARTIST | CHLOE AMY AVERY

“It’s just got such a buzz and a diversity that I don’t think many other places have. It’s a very inspiring creative city so leaving the city you sort of lose a part of yourself. For us anyway or for me. ” -Chloe Amy Avery

Chloe Amy Avery is an embroidery artist with a Masters Degree in Surface Textiles for Fashion. She hand embroiders large scale, intricately detailed art-work as well as wearable pieces. Her style is hyper-realistic impressionism, using food and nostalgia as the inspiration for her work. [chloeamyavery.com]

What is your definition of studio space?

Clean,tidy. Probably quite a lot of light actually.

I think I need a lot of like natural light to work in. And then just somewhere that’s really organised so that I know where everything is really quickly.

Collaborative /communal studio spaces are on the rise. Do you believe that formula can work?

I do work from home at the moment, but I think working with other creatives is really important. I think when you are creative, you are quite inward focused and it’s all about your own work, but to have that outlet and to have communication and community with other creators is really important.

Obviously, you can have that online, but it’s really important to see what other people are doing and be inspired by them. Even if it’s like writing or someone’s doing music or something not in your own field, it can still be really inspiring. So to have that community of creatives is really important.

Do you believe that London has an impact on your art?

Oh, yeah, definitely. It’s mostly like, inspired by just the surroundings, not necessarily other creatives, but just the culture and what you see going on around you. I think everywhere is inspiring in its own way.

Do you consider moving outside of London?

No haha. We have a couple of times and we’ve come back from Birmingham and we’ve lived in Amsterdam for a while, but we both, me and my husband, are from London. So every time we leave it, we really miss it just because I think it’s just like in us. It’s just got such a buzz and a diversity that I don’t think many other places have. It’s a very inspiring creative city so leaving the city you sort of lose a part of yourself. For us anyway or for me. 

Do you think it would impact your work if you were to do that in the city?

Yes, I mean, that’s probably where most of my creativity came from, was the fact that I missed home, I missed London. A lot of my initial work was inspired by food that we missed. Not necessarily London based, but definitely in the UK. Now a lot of the stuff that I see around, you know, the different diversity in nationalities that you find in London still really inspires my work.

What do you think the future of studio space will look like?

Good question. I think it’s got to be affordable. I think as a creative especially now, where obviously a lot of people are struggling for work and stuff, the overheads of the studio space is like a bit of added pressure. So somewhere where you can still be in community with people and be inspired by other creatives but not at a high cost. Like, for me, I don’t need a lot of space, like just a table and a storage unit, but I think there’s looking forward to  the value of being with other people. I think in terms of community, if there was a creative space where there was a big table that you could sit at and know that was your space, but it was in a more collaborative environment  but at a reasonable cost. Because I think some of the work spaces that are available like that are not the same when you turn up. 

How do you believe we can ensure artists remain in London in the future?

I think just what I said about being affordable and possibly like a variety of sizes of spaces that people can rent. It’s not always plain sailing in terms of continually having work lined up like how we’ve seen during this season. You just don’t know necessarily how much work is going to come here. So if it’s affordable and if you’re not looking to pay out big time for renting a space, I think more people would choose to rent.

My last question, is there any specific way you think artists can collaborate and communicate with developers in the city to try to maintain that cultural community?

I guess like yourself, you’re asking artists and I think doesn’t happen enough. Just communication between people who are developing space for creatives and creatives having the opportunity to voice what they want. I’ve looked a little bit at different studio spaces and I’m not at that position yet. But I think further down the line, like how I look at them, I’m like, ‘oh, that’s too big, that’s too expensive and all I need is this’. So to be able to communicate that to people that are developing it would like a space for that.