(español aquí)
Anne Barton de Mayor. Textile and mixed media artist born in London.
Anne lives and works in Villafranca del Cid (a village in the mountains of Castellón, Spain). She is the owner and manager of Abadia Seven, an alternative art venue in an enormous, dilapidated house (that used to be the village presbetary) virtually unchanged since it was built in 1617. Her workshop and exhibition area occupy the sprawling attic.
Anne is one of the nine artists selected for the 2023-24 DAR project to raise awareness about female artists in rural areas of Spain.
I find inspiration everywhere, but my work is particularly informed by my childhood surrounded by my mother’s haute couture creations; the years I spent living in London, Paris, Caracas, Valencia (Spain), Ibiza and the mountains of Castellón; my love of old, used objects; and decades translating medieval manuscripts, with their fascinating illuminations and scripts.
I alter my fabrics with homemade, organic dyes, or by applying rust or even burying them in the earth for different lengths of time.
Then, using freemotion embroidery I ‘draw’ or ‘write’ on them, using the needle as my pencil.
But my exploration of textile and mixed media art extends beyond my workshop. I have transformed my delapidated, seventeenth-century house in Villafranca del Cid into Abadía Seven, an alternative art venue that regularly hosts exhibitions, collective art and other activities with the local community and visiting artists.
Finally, Abadía Seven is also the HQ of Villafranca del Arte, a platform for creative activities at different times of year: street decoration workshops at Christmas with the local community; poetic canvasses for poetry festival; outdoor art installations; arts and crafts for children… Suggestions are always welcome!
