Sophie Levi-Kallen — a TfL employee and artist — tells us about her beautiful textile artworks of London.
I always had an interest in art and sewing — getting a machine as a teenager and even sewing my art GCSE final piece in the exam.
After having kids I went part-time in my Transport Planning job for TfL and — once they were at school — was determined to develop a part-time art career alongside this interesting analytical work. I wanted to find a way to use my sewing to create art and in March 2021 made a first attempt at copying a photo, using whatever scraps of fabric I could find round the house. I found I loved the way of working and spent every spare hour creating artworks.
All the fabric scraps I use are reclaimed, either our own (or friends') used clothing or offcuts from a curtain shop. This is to make my art environmentally sustainable and to draw attention to the issue of clothing waste. I also love the memories that items of clothing can have if I know where they have come from, and the patterns of wear and fade in them.
My artworks start from a photo of a scene, usually taken by me when I am out and about, but sometimes photos sent to me for commissions. As I started my art around lockdown I was initially sewing scenes from my local area, but these gradually branched further afield as I did. I crop the photo to create an attractive composition and draw it onto my backing fabric, taking real care of accuracy.
Next I create a collage from my array of scrap fabrics, thinking carefully about colour, texture, grain and pattern, to get the overall sense of the scene. After this I sew the pieces down with my sewing machine, starting towards the back of the composition (usually the sky), working towards the foreground, layering to aid the perspective.
Finally I finish by sewing details, concentrating on accurately capturing architectural details (like windows), and on emphasising shadows and highlights to enliven the scene. I use a normal sewing machine and do not use free-motion embroidery as there are so many straight lines in London. When sewing the shapes of the clouds or trees I will partially lift up the machine foot, allowing me to manipulate fabric more freely. Embroidery is more often associated with pastoral scenes or country cottages and flowers; I like subverting this stereotype to use it for urban scenes.
There are a series of rules that I set for myself when creating my art, which help to create my unique, self-taught, style and allow me to be productive in creating many pieces. I use no paint/dye or glue. I am restricted to using the colours in the fabrics I have to hand. And I must make use of machine stitch to attach and embellish them. This can be tricky, especially if I can't find exactly the right colour I need, in the right texture or weight. But it forces me to experiment and develop my skills/appreciation of the medium. Another aspect that can be tricky is sewing the small details, such as lettering, but this is something I have become better at.
I am drawn towards scenes where there is a juxtaposition of different architectures, old and new. I enjoy softening the architectural lines with trees, or interesting clouds. In the last year I have been particularly interested in scenes of canals, those including graffiti and nighttime settings. I often include public transport in my artworks (inspired by my TfL job) but very rarely cars — it's easier to implement a green transport policy in my art than in real life!
I love it when my scenes are recognisable to the viewer, capturing something of the place that the photo could not.
Visit Sophie's website, follow @sewthescene on Instagram, and call in at The Bakery gallery in Islington, Thursday to Sunday.
