Book Description

‘To look at Amanda Cobbett’s work is to be transported deep into the heart of the forest,’ writes Richard, Duke of Buccleuch, in his foreword. ‘Tiny mushrooms spring from the stalks of decomposing leaves. Twigs and bark, both wind-fallen and living, are tufted, crusted and cushioned with mosaics of lichens and mosses of astonishing variety.’ Although at first glance the pieces look entirely real, they are in fact embroideries, composed of thousands of threads, painstakingly worked and reworked into their final forms.

Embroidered Nature catalogues the collection of embroidered sculptures inspired by fungi and lichen discovered in four strikingly different landscapes linked to the Buccleuch family: at Bowhill, in the Scottish Borders, at Dalkeith Palace, just south of Edinburgh, at Drumlanrig Castle in Scotland’s warmer, wetter southwest, and at Boughton in Northamptonshire.

Natasha Goodfellow, who has long followed Amanda’s work, describes her approach and methods, and Andrew Montgomery’s astonishingly precise photographs bring her works to vivid life on the page. This exquisite a book is also richly illustrated with dozens of Amanda’s own photographs and watercolours. Where possible Amanda has given the specimens’ genera and species names. By also including the date, time and weather conditions of when they were found, she builds an ephemeral snapshot of what she encountered - a scene that most probably will never occur in exactly this way again. Montgomery’s plates are accompanied by her field notes, OS grid references and Goodfellow’s commentary on both lichen and fungi portrayed and the techniques employed.

The pieces Amanda makes are largely experimental. She works with a basic domestic sewing machine but doesn’t always stick to the same techniques, preferring in part to let nature dictate the outcome. Free-motion embroidery allows her to extemporise with the needle, and, by altering the machine’s tension, stitch length and direction, she can control the colours in the bobbin and the spool. Thanks to their three-dimensional nature, the embroideries are intensely intricate.

Amanda Cobbett is an award-winning textile artist with over 30 years’ experience. She trained as a printed textile designer at Chelsea College of Art (UAL), and went on to work as a fashion print designer. A move to the country and a gift of an old Bernina sewing machine enabled Amanda to finally realise her dream. Her papier-mache and embroidered sculptures are created in her studio in the Surrey Hills. Amanda’s ‘slow textile’ process and her ability ‘to visualise in three dimensions’ have garnered interest from scientists, conservationists, art collectors and textile enthusiasts alike.

Natasha Goodfellow is a writer and editor, writing regularly for publications including Gardens Illustrated, Country Life and House & Garden among others. A former deputy editor of Homes & Antiques magazine, she left to pursue her interest in gardens and plants and has since worked with award-winning garden designers Luciano Giubbilei and Arabella Lennox-Boyd, and with the Boglione family at Petersham Nurseries, Surrey. She also curates art and design events at the Garden Museum in London, She is the author of Gardens for Good: Stories of Connection & Joy from the Chelsea Flower Show.

Andrew Montgomery has been a photographer all his life. After leaving art college, he began a three-year apprenticeship with the renowned black-and-white printer Roy Snell, shooting portraits before moving into lifestyle and narrative photography. His first book commission was Jasper Conran’s Country, and more than 20 titles have followed, covering food, travel and gardens. They involved working with acclaimed chefs and food writers as well as several of the UK’s leading garden designers. Following the publication of Petersham Nurseries in 2021, Andrew launched his own publishing company, Montgomery Press. Winter Gardens, the imprint’s first book, has been followed by The Irish Kitchen, The Irish Bakery and Pastoral Gardens. and Alavya.