Weaving her magic

Craft-weaving artist Margo Selby on her passion for a complex and technical craft that’s a bit like Sudoku in colour

- Diana Crampton

The distinction between art and craft is always a tricky one, so I’m calling Margo Selby a craftweaving artist. A bit of a mouthful, but it expresses the breadth of her work. Margo – who definitely calls herself an artist however, as she expresses herself through many media – has lived in Whitstable for seven years, although she says it feels as if she has only just settled in.

Her studio is very colourful, with much inspiration from the pieces of unframed artwork adorning the walls. There are also several looms for teaching purposes.

After studying at Chelsea College of Art, Margo took a degree in textiles followed by a Masters at the Royal College of Art. After graduating, she was a freelance textile designer for mills, working on handlooms.

For the past seven years she has tried to break away from design, now seeing herself as an artist first and a designer second. She explains the differences. First of all there are boundaries in design constituted by others’ expectations, or because of commissions for a product.

In the case of art, the question is whether to create a beautiful piece of fabric just for the sake of creation and being able to be freer with the exploration.