Credit: Emily Chalk
A childhood desire to create a dolls’ house of her own has become an ongoing passion for crafter Bronwyn Lloyd.
When Bronwyn Lloyd isn’t writing, curating, or managing an art gallery, she’s knee-deep in crafting. The passionate creative has built a life – and a studio – where every aspect can thrive.
Tell us about your journey so far
My story is one that will be familiar to many women. My journey as a young woman was spent supporting my first husband’s art career at the expense of developing my own. When the marriage ended, I needed to regroup and learn how to back myself, so I picked up needle and thread after a long hiatus, and started crafting again, alongside completing a PhD in English. I met and married a lovely poet (Jack Ross), and for the past 20 years, we have created a life together where we both thrive creatively and where we share a mutual respect and value for each other’s art.
Could you walk us through your magnificent studio?
My studio was once a doctor’s surgery run by my late father-in-law, Dr John Ross, who was the local GP in Mairangi Bay for 40 years. It is located down the side path of the Ross family home, where Jack and I now live with our cat Mila. I love thinking about the history of the building and its importance to the community when I’m working in the studio.
The front space is the former waiting room, with a trestle table set up for working on larger textile pieces. The small middle room is where my sewing machine and dolls’ house are set up, and the larger room at the back is my inspiration space, with my library of art and craft books and myriad boxes and baskets filled with craft supplies to experiment with.
Does your archival/research/curation work inform your own crafts, or do they exist as separate creative entities?
As I approach 60, I feel as if I have finally evolved a life where all the creative parts of my life are in play. Each of my roles as crafter, writer, curator, researcher, gallery manager at Masterworks and Blumhardt Foundation trustee contributes something to my larger purpose as a passionate crafts advocate. It’s a terrific mash-up of roles.
No day is like any other – and I never know what new inspiration will come along, what new project will hatch, what incredible maker I’ll meet, or what new skill I’ll learn.
What inspires your art?
My own craft work is inspired by the work of other artists, mainly women, whose work navigates the territory of handcrafts in interesting ways. Vita Cochran’s extraordinary textile practice has been a guiding light to me, as has Victoria Edin’s politically charged feminist mixed-media art. I was recently introduced to an astonishing body of little-known textile work made in the 1980s by artist Pip Culbert (1938-2016).
Made using reverse applique, this method of layering fabric in complex arrangements is a technique I am keen to explore in my own work.
Another inspiration comes from visiting artist studios. I was lucky to make a new friend in retired ceramicist Janet Green earlier this year. Seeing her Masterton studio lined with her beautiful objects, and her visual diaries and drawings charting her life’s work, has been a particular highlight this year.
While Bronwyn is a master of many crafts, she does have her favourites.
“I feel most at home with textiles and soft materials. Felting, quilting, sewing and needlepoint are my favourites, but I love learning new craft techniques too.”
Your dolls’ house is breathtaking. What’s the story behind its construction and development?
The dolls’ house project was prompted by the gift of an antique Grodnertal wooden doll in 2017, followed by a 20th-century version a couple of years later. The desire to make Valentine and Sylvie a house came after re-reading my favourite childhood books by Rumer Godden – Miss Happiness and Miss Flower and The Dolls’ House.
I remembered my obsession as a child with wanting to make a dolls’ house of my own, so I set about doing it as an adult.
The house itself is a group of simple stacking plywood rooms made by Greek designer Nikolas Malengos, which I’ve decorated in the Bloomsbury style. I made all the soft furnishings myself, and the rest comes from op-shop finds as well as remarkable hand-crafted items made for the dolls’ house by my artist friends all over Aotearoa. It is thrilling to receive tiny, wrapped parcels for the house; the latest being a pair of miniature silver candlesticks, complete with candles, and a tiny copper wok the size of a fingertip, from jewellers Zoe Lovell-Smith and Rosie Carson, respectively.
What advice would you give to people interested in crafting?
Just get underway. If there is a skill that you’ve always wanted to learn, take a workshop or short course at your local art or community centre. You’ll meet inspiring people and you’ll also learn whether the particular craft is something you want to pursue. There are plenty of online tutorials too, which are a great option for shy people or those living remotely. Crafting takes time and skill – and you can’t expect to be good at it right away. Be kind to yourself and keep going.
One of Bronwyn’s favourite parts of crafting is the people who accompany it. “A supportive community is essential to a thriving craft sector and everyone can play a part in that, large or small.”
What do you have on the horizon for your art?
In the short term, I’m designing the napery for a Surrealist dinner table, which will be the setting for an exhibition featuring five women ceramicists at Masterworks later this year.
In the longer term, I’m developing a slow-crafting textile project using reverse applique to comment on the impact of infill housing in my community.
Some of Bronwyn’s favourite pieces are the ones she’s made for others. “I’m always proud of the garments and accessories I make for my writer sister Therese, who has incredible flair with styling outfits. She always lets me know when something I’ve made for her has attracted compliments, which often determines whether I will develop a design into a small edition.”
Where can our readers find more of you and your work?
You can follow my posts on Instagram or visit me at Masterworks Gallery in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
