Dawn Bache

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tell me a story 2025

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Dawn often seeks to capture the ephemeral spirit of a place or a moment in time, which has captured her imagination.  Organic materials found on walks are turned into dyes, earth is ground into pigments and fabrics are interwoven and stitched. This alchemy of materials is manipulated through print, collage and construction to reveal something of the beauty and vulnerability of hidden places, which exist in our landscape and of the rural traditions, which are fading from memory. 

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In our fast-moving world, which is struggling to find solutions to global crisis, it feels like our quiet landscapes are fragile, as is the wildlife, which depends on its existence. Dawn’s work is a homage to these precious places and a poignant reminder of the people who have gone before.

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Fragments: Forgotten Stories 

Following Dawn’s passion for hand spinning and weaving with raw sheep’s fleece, she started to collect vintage photographs of people who have nurtured and interacted with sheep. Some of these images relate to the practical aspects of sheep farming or sheep showing, whilst others are unexpected encounters, which can be playful and humorous. A common theme is the feeding of pet lambs, particularly by women or children. These images have a charm and a nostalgia of a time, which is moving out of memory. Subsequently,  Dawn started to make small hand-stitched pieces, which combine hand woven fragments and recycled cloth with prints from these photographs. 

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She wanted to preserve the memory of these forgotten people who loved their sheep and also celebrate an increasingly vulnerable rural landscape, which has changed so rapidly in recent times. 

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Dawn believes that by bringing to light the hidden stories of our human connection with sheep, we are reconnecting to rural traditions, the land and our British heritage. The fragments of cloth, which are held together with simple stitching also reference the domestic traditions of quilting, sewing and mending.

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A Homage to Trees 

These are stories of trees, which have caught Dawn’s imagination as she walks in the landscape close to her home. Her pockets become filled with twigs, leaves and earth and with these she create dyes, makes paper, stitch and whittle.  In doing this she tries to capture the ephemeral quietness of that place and the stillness of the trees.

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Click images for details and if you are interested in any of Dawn Bache's work please enquire below.​​​​​