Oceanscape Wall hanging

Stella Maris College

Holly Ashworth


"An 80cm by 38cm wall hanging, featuring a range of textile embellishments including machine quilting, hand applique, machine water-soluble embroidery, hand embroidery, beading, fabric dying, chenille panels and trapunto quilting. It depicts a coral reef seascape highlighted by bright colours, unique visual and tactile texture and specific odes to ocean sealife through the creation of jellyfish, octopus and small fish."

Images of Work

"A vibrant and intricate textile artwork resembling a richly detailed underwater scene, a coral reef. The dominant colours are bright and saturated: a teal/turquoise background, vivid yellow, lime green, bright orange, hot pink, deep red and various shades of blue. Metallic gold threads are subtly incorporated into some darker blue areas, adding a shimmering effect. The artwork is a rich tapestry of textures and forms, circular patterns on the central yellow starfish-like creature, mesh-like textures created with threads, intricate seed bead arrangements, and dense embroidery stitches forming coral-like structures and plant forms. Small, delicate shell patterns are also present. Three-dimensional embellishments include tiny seashells of various shapes and colours, small iridescent sequins in blue and silver, and clusters of seed beads in yellow, orange, green and pink, resembling small marine life or coral polyps. Fabric elements crafted to look like flowers or sea anemones, made from gathered and embroidered fabric, complete the piece. The aesthetic is highly decorative, maximalist and inspired by nature."

"A detailed textile art piece featuring a vibrant jellyfish. The jellyfish itself is an appliqué and embroidered element. Its cap is a gradient of colours, transitioning from a light pink at the top to orange in the middle and then to a deep purple at the edges. The underside of the cap has petal-like embroidered details in white and yellow. Hanging from the jellyfish are numerous strands of yarn and thread, resembling tentacles, a mix of colours including pink, orange, yellow and purple. Some strands hang loosely while others are braided; several are adorned with small beads in various shapes and colours, such as translucent purple teardrops, pink flower-shaped beads and iridescent round beads. The background is a quilted fabric in a bright turquoise blue. The quilting pattern creates raised circular shapes, giving a textured, bubbly appearance reminiscent of water. To the left and right of the jellyfish, additional fabric elements with frayed edges and wavy horizontal lines created by stitching further enhance the aquatic theme."

Select Student Folio Pages

The pages selected for each project reflect the individual students' interpretations of the syllabus guidelines for the MTP. Each student should develop their folio according to the guidelines, relating to their own individual project. This may result in a variety of presentation styles, numbers of sketches and/or experiments.