Lois Blackburn

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Detail of Blue and White quilt, using cyanotype to transfer drawings of artists female ancestors. Work has appliqué and hand stitch details.

Textile Artist and Social Practice

Welcome. I am a textile artist working across the studio and social practice — exploring human experience through personal history, shared making and the quiet resilience of everyday life. In the studio I work through my own stories; with others, I invite people to share and reflect on their experiences in their own words and images, through making and being together.

My work has been exhibited nationally, most recently at the National Trust’s Hardwick Hall as part of Material Power (2025), where it engaged audiences of over 120,000 visitors.

Discover my projects, exhibitions and publications.

Click a photo to discover the story behind each piece.

Artist Lois Blackburn's Stoma Bag Covers, Cyanotype on fabric. Inspired by Illuminated manuscripts and celtic knots. — Under Repair 2026

Embroidered cyanotype on fabric sample. Part of Lost then Found series by Lois Blackburn. Picturing glasses, Rubber duck, keys and embroidered red crosses — Under Repair 2026

About me

I’m Lois Blackburn, a UK-based textile artist with over three decades of practice spanning studio work and social practice.

My studio practice is where I play, experiment and explore on my own terms — working through personal history, identity and the experience of living in a changing body. That creative freedom feeds directly into my participatory work, and the two strands are in constant conversation with each other.

When I work with others, what drives me is giving people the opportunity to share and reflect on their own experiences, in their own words and images. I create work where the conversations, relationships and shared making are as important as the finished work — making space for stories that are often unspoken, about the body, memory, identity, care and the quiet resilience of everyday life.

Over the years I have witnessed the remarkable impact that making art can have — on confidence and wellbeing, as a distraction and an outlet, as a way of sharing difficult personal stories, and as a source of pure joy. I have seen this in others and in myself. Arts and health are at the heart of everything I do.

Both strands share the same ambition: to make work that reaches people, that is seen, and that matters beyond the studio wall.

Embroidered cyanotype on fabric with vintage trimmings. Featuring a drawing of one of textile artist Lois Blackburn's female ancestors — Roots to the Sky 2024- 2025

Patchwork of dyed blanket pieces, with stitched map. Threads loose as work in progress — Roots to the Sky 2024- 2025

current and recent projects

Lost then Found: A participatory project exploring loss and discovery through cyanotype, stitching and storytelling, brought together in a collaborative quilt and series of printed gloves. 2026 — ongoing
Under Repair:A textile art project exploring cancer treatment and recovery. 2026- ongoing
Stitch your Walk: A free embroidery project exploring the landscape you move through — one stitch for every walk you take. 2026- ongoing
Comfort, the Breast Quilt: A participatory textile artwork bringing together stitched stories about breasts, health and body experience to encourage dialogue, awareness and collective understanding. 2022–24.

Detail of the art quilt I SEE you, over 100 embroidered eyes in black and white fabric, trimmings and stitch. — I SEE you, detail

Comfort the Breast quilt. A collaborative quilt made up of over 100 embroidered breasts, all shapes and colours. — I SEE you, detail

Why this matters

My work isn’t just visual — it’s about dialogue, care and shared human experience. People’s own words and images are the material, not just the inspiration.

Explore the art and its stories — or get in touch to find out about workshops, exhibitions and new projects.

A Necklace of Stars Quilt at Museum of Making, Derby. — Necklace of Stars at Museum of Making

Fresh Air and Poverty quilt, on display at National Trust's Lyme Park. Garry Lomas photography — Necklace of Stars at Museum of Making

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Follow me on socials

Instagram: @artistloisb
Facebook: @ladyloisartist