Artist Talk with Sarah-Joy Ford

Video (9:32): NWCDTP PhD Placements – Crafting identity at Plas Newydd by Sarah-Joy Ford who explores the home and embroyderies of the lesbian couple Eleanor Butler (1739–1829) and Sarah Ponsonby (1755–1831). Learn more about Sarah-Joy’s art project Crafting identity at Plas Newydd.

Plas Newydd is a historic house in Wales, managed by Denbighshire Council and open to the public. It was home to Lady Eleanor Butler (1739–1829) and Sarah Ponsonby (1755–1831), who captured the imagination of Regency society when they eloped from their families in Ireland to begin a life together, eventually settling on the outskirts of Llangollen, Wales, in the small cottage they christened ‘Plas Newydd’ in 1780.

Sarah-Joy Ford, PhD Candidate in Design, Manchester Metropolitan University. Sarah-Joy is an Artist and Associate Lecturer at Manchester School of Art. She works with textiles to explore the complexities and pleasures of queer communities, histories and archives. Her practice sits at intersection of digital and traditional: using strategies of quilting, digital embroidery, digital print, applique and hand embellishment.

[The copyright of the video above remains with the original holder and it is used here for the purpose of education, comparison and criticism only.]