Interview with Harriet Hill, contemporary textile artist

Harriet Hill has been a practicing artist for about six years based in the Welsh Borders, focussing on felt-making. At present she lives in London while she is doing an MFA Textiles at Goldsmiths College.

Did you undertake formal training in college or within the Industry, or did you find your way into crafts via a different route?

I completed a Fine Art degree in Cardiff in 1987 but have found myself in the crafts due really to the medium I use and through participating in craft fairs.

How would you describe your work and your position within the crafts world?

My work plays between the functional and sculpture. I am currently exploring more conceptual ideas with a particular interest in spatial installations. I feel restricted by the categorization 'crafts' preferring to see myself as an artist.

What type of material do you prefer to use?

Felt - most of the work is created through the hands-on process of felt-making.

What would you most like to make that you haven't so far?

A huge, room-sized, slowly rotating, many-armed, felt thing!

What would you describe as the most significant development in your work over the years?

I guess initially the felt-making workshop I did aged 16 with felt artist Anne Belgrave - my introduction to the medium. But I am currently doing an MFA Textiles at Goldsmiths College in London and I think this is shifting my work dramatically.