Spanish version

My recent work is derived from Pojagi using the technique of Chogakpo. Chogakpo is a form of Korean patchwork originating from the 14th century when women then used up their scraps of silk, cotton, rami or linen from making clothes to make wrapping cloths and covers called 'Pojagi'. These cloths were used for wrapping many things including precious articles, clothes, bedding and for covering tables of food. They were also used to adorn the Confuscian or Buddhist altars or enclosed a gift for an important occasion or ceremony . The majority of pojagi were embroidered or patched (Chogakpo) with the traditional triple-seaming technique called Gekki. The beauty of this technique lies in the result that selected fabrics can be artistically and harmoniously arranged without any particular design concept. Every piece produced has an intrinsic originality. The strong linear elements formed by varying the Chogakpo seaming techniques continues to intrigue me to produce clothing, flat or three-dimensional pieces. Its beautiful simplicity in abstract design, especially with silk organza, evokes constant delight when I show both men and women my work.

Previous to the Chogakpo patchwork I have constructed wallhangings that are made from my own dyed fabric, remnants or hand-dyed material from other artists. The manufactured fabric used was further manipulated by overdyeing to create my own original pieces with a sense of history. The resulting surfaces were embellished with hand or machine stitchery. This year I have begun a series of small quilts called Table Gems (Tischschmuck in German). The need to organise neatly samples, new technique tryouts, precious pieces left over from larger works or forgotten projects led to the beginnings. Using these previously discarded items I have fused, melted, and appliqued fabric scraps with paper, plastic, wire or embroideries in a small but consistent format to produce a collage of mixed media quilts. A measure of coordination and a viable means to focus by concentrating on scaled down imagery.

My treasure trove of ethnic textiles, fabrics and threads that have been acquired during my travels or from workshop seminars are constant reminders of how friendships have been woven and bonded into this innate material to make it come alive in another form. Then there is knowledge gained from those encounters which has to be sorted out, rearranged, designed and put together as a piece of personal expression.

It is always pleasing when someone shows an interest in your work. The positive criticism feeds your confidence and makes you want to be more adventurous. It is difficult for me to be personally coherent about my work. I have a head full of techniques and experiences that have been absorbed, the essence of which has to be pulled out, set down and then turned into a personalized textural object. I can best express myself with a piece produced through the unconscious with direct handwork.

Ann Ridge 2002

Correspondence course to gain a diploma in embroidery at the Stitch-Design Art School, London with Julia & Alex Caprara & Francis Ross-Duncan. In June 1991 the students' examination pieces were exhibited at Knapp Gallery, Regent's Park College, London

Attended my first design course for quilting in 1989 with Ruth McDowell at an Empty Spool Workshop in Engelberg, Switzerland

3-week textile and craft appreciation journey to explore the villages of ethnic peoples, their textiles & embroideries in South West China

Solo exhibition at Juvena of Switzerland, Volketswil, Zurich, Switzerland

Workshops and seminars in France, Holland, Switzerland, U.K. and U.S.A with renowned teachers and artists to continuously improve and update techniques for hand and machine embroidery, design, contemporary patchwork and quilting

patCHquilt AGM and exhibition, Zurich, Switzerland. Exhibited some of my embroideries and spoke to visitors about my experience stitching the English way of contemporary hand and machine embroidery

Three pieces of my own work were exhibited in the Seminar Hotel, Unteraegeri, Switzerland during a Workshop with Sonja Shogren

Solo exhibition MAGIC STITCHES "Experimentelle Stickerei" in Fehraltorf (Zurich)

Three week textile and craft appreciation journey to Gujarat and Rajasthan, India

Exhibited at the CRAFT, EMBROIDERY & FASHION `97 held by Madeira Threads (UK) Ltd in Harrogate, U.K.

Was invited to exhibit my work for 3 weeks with four other textile artists by Scheidegger Buchhandlung (Textile Bookshop) to celebrate their 30 year anniversary in Affoltern-am-Albis, Zurich, Switzerland

Group Exhibition exhibiting at Galerie Chateau de Vullierens, Switzerland entitled "Patchwork D'Aujourd'hui"

Second solo exhibition MAGIC STITCHES "Experimentelle Stickerei" in Fehraltorf (Zurich).

Group exhibition by 'cutting edge' quilters entitled 'contemporary art quilts 2000' in Uffington, Oxford, U.K. First ever juried contemporary art quilt exhibition in the U.K.

Gave a workshop for Bernina (Schweiz) AG at their '2. artista Champions Treffen' conference in August 2000 for the 34 Bernina sales representatives of Switzerland

Solo exhibition "Tischschmuck & Retrospective" (Table Gems) at Patchideal, Diessenhofen, near Schaffhausen

Publications in magazines such as 'Inspirations' of Bernina (Switzerland) AG, Madeira (U.K.), 'The World of Embroidery', U.K., Art/Quilt Magazine, U.S.A. and in local newspapers in Switzerland when an exhibition took place.

Gruppenausstellung Patchwork & Quilt Expo VIII, U.S.A. in Barcelona, Spanien