In today's 'Meet and Greet' we would like to introduce you a lady who works wonders with fabric - Maria Tufft
Introduce yourself briefly I am Maria Tufft and having spent half my life in banking & finance I finally achieved a degree in Applied Textile Design as a mature student. What bliss! I now work part-time and make as much as I can on my days off. I am married to Ian and have 2 grown up sons still living at home.
Tell us about your workspace? I like to sew in my kitchen & dye in my tiny utility room but would love my own dedicated studio-space. Next house maybe...
What inspires you? I like colour and texture and like to let my work suggest it's own final design.
How and when did you get involved with Collective Art in Marlow? I first joined Collective Art in Marlow in May 2012, at the same time as preparing for Bucks Open Studios in June so it was definitely "in at the deep end".
What is your favourite technique? My favourite technique is dyeing in a plastic bag as you can never be quite sure what the result will be 24 hours later. No two pieces of fabric are exactly the same and they can be overdyed for even more surprises.
Apart from playing with fabric, do you have any other creative interests? When I'm not crafting I enjoy cooking and watching cookery programmes. I have also been working hard on my garden but not in the cold and wet weather.
Where else can we see your work? Having enjoyed my time with Collective Art in Marlow and Open Studios, my son is working on setting up a website for me and I intend to start selling on Etsy and Folksy in the new year.
As a bit of fun we also asked Maria the following ‘random’ questions.
Favourite film: The English Patient
Pets: Sadly none
Favourite place to be: At home
Person I’d most like to invite to dinner: David Hockney
Random fact about me: I'm addicted to Strictly Come Dancing and even watch the mid week programmes . . .