Ushma Sargeant

Ushma is a fibre artist based in Wiltshire. Her studio is in Bishopstone, just of the Ridgeway National Trail. She creates landscape and wildlife pictures using fibre. She takes inspiration from the unique and historical scenery around her from Uffington through to Avebury and beyond, working to capture light, depth and texture with fibre.

‘I love walking on the Ridgeway where you can see for miles and I still can’t get over the changeability of the views – the light can change in minutes and so the view just alters completely. I find the changing seasons here fascinating as well and enjoy returning to the same view at different times of the year as well as looking forward to the seasonal flowering and the resulting dramatic colours in the landscape.
The long history of the Ridgeway means the essence of the view has remained the same for centuries even though the changing light and seasons change the panorama.’

After studying engineering at the University of Bristol, Ushma practised engineering before pursuing a long-standing interest in art, and in 2009 she joined The Open College of the Arts, completing Painting, Photography and Illustration modules to develop her self-taught skills.

Ushma started using fibre as a medium in 2015 and has developed her knowledge and skills with practice. Fibres used include wool, silk, camel, alpaca, llama, angora, flax, seaweed, bamboo and acrylic.

‘I came across fibre as an ’easier to clean up’ alternative to paint and immediately took to it. I found ‘painting’ landscape views much easier for me in fibre. Each piece requires individual techniques to achieve the desired effect, so there is always something new to learn. I use mostly needle felting techniques but occasionally wet felt. I work indoors from photographs as the slightest breeze would blow the fibres away easily while I work!’