2025 Winner Emily Stewart

Congratulations again Emily on becoming our CIDA 2025 winner. You are incredible!

Where did you study and what was the course title?

I studied Textile Design at the Glasgow School of Art.

Name of your lecturer – course tutor?

Elaine Bremner – weave tutor

A little about the project

‘Through the lens’ explores fine art influences and blends them with technical weaving processes, using the jacquard and dobby loom to translate intricate visual forms into bespoke woven fabric for interiors. Central to this work is a deep focus on colour, not just as a visual feature, but as a structural and expressive tool to dictate tone, complexity, and visual impact of each piece. Fusing fine art with contemporary textile design, I integrate painterly techniques and depth into woven cloth, using colour to guide both the aesthetic direction and technical construction of my designs, pushing the boundaries of both disciplines. I reinterpret botanical and still life subject matter, through the fractured lens of cubism, while investigating the expressive power of colour and its ability to abstract and reshape perception, unlocking new compositional possibilities. Cubism, with its fragmented representation of reality and multiple overlapping perspectives, provides a compelling framework to explore how ordinary subjects can be perceived and reconstructed in dynamic ways, resulting in floral designs that use colour to distort reality through layered and multidimensional viewpoints. The colourful cubist nature of my designs offers fresh perspectives on modern floral textiles, realistically representing my subjects while simultaneously manipulating viewpoints through layered, colliding perspectives.

All my jacquard pieces are woven with five wefts using mercerised cottons to amplify the richness, saturation, and clarity of each hue. A key aim of the design process is to capture the delicate quality of my watercolour paintings in woven form using shaded satin structures to create sophisticated blends of yarn on the cloth surface. I use Photoshop to digitally draft and render my artwork, enabling precise colour planning and placement control, building smooth tonal transitions. In Pointcarré, I assign weft-faced to warp-faced structures to specific pixel regions, allowing for seamless gradients and exact control over yarn visibility. My practice is defined by careful digital planning and an in-depth exploration of how weave structures interact with material and colour, uniting fine art with textile craftsmanship.

1. How did you feel about winning the attention of the judges – what does it mean to you?

I’m incredibly grateful and deeply honoured to have been picked by such an esteemed and talented panel of judges. I am absolutely thrilled. It means so much to have my work recognised in this way, and I truly appreciate the time the judges took to explore and understand my project.  

2. How important is colour in your work and why?

Colour is the most important element in my work. It guides the composition, shapes the tone, and allows me to layer abstracted perspectives within my designs. I treat colour not just as a visual tool but as a structural component, using it to create depth, control tonal transitions through shaded weave structures, and blend painterly techniques into woven form. Through careful digital planning and technical accuracy, I use colour to distort and reframe reality, unlocking new visual possibilities in textile design.

3. What is your main source of inspiration?

My main source of inspiration is botanical and still life imagery, which I reinterpret through the fractured, dynamic lens of cubism. I’m fascinated by how colour and structure can be used to fragment and reconstruct everyday subjects, and I use this to explore perception, intersecting multiple viewpoints within a single design. Artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe, the Scottish Colourists, Juan Gris, and María Blanchard have all influenced my approach, particularly in how they use colour expressively and compositionally. My semester studying in Japan also had a significant impact on my practice, shaping my sensitivity to detail, form, and harmony.

4. What makes you happiest/most fulfilled in your creative process?

What brings me the most fulfilment is seeing the weave physically form in front of me. From initial painting, through Photoshop manipulation and pattern development, to the meticulous process of preparing files and setting up the loom (when dobby weaving), I get to construct my creative vision thread by thread. Watching my ideas transform into a tangible, woven reality through yarn and structure is incredibly rewarding.

5. Creative high point?

A creative high point for me was in my final year of art school when I began to understand jacquard programming on a deeper level and gained the confidence to navigate the software independently, allowing me to translate my ideas more effectively into woven cloth. Reaching the point where I could code the loom myself was exciting, especially given how complex the software and processes are, deepening my technical understanding of how material and structure interact. I know there’s still so much more to learn and explore, and I’m excited to continue developing my skills in the future.

6. Creative low point?

I could say a creative low point for me is right now, as I no longer have access to a jacquard loom or the specialist facilities I used during my studies, however I don’t really see it as a low point, just a temporary pause as I am determined to eventually acquire my own loom or find a studio that supports this kind of work.

7. Where do you want to be in 3 years’ time?

Since graduating, I've been working as a weaver in a cashmere mill at Alex Begg, operating large-scale manufacturing looms. I’m hoping to gain experience here, then move to London and work in a more design-focused role or position where I can manually handcraft woven fabric, as this is where my passion is. Ultimately, I aspire to set up my own weaving studio and business, creating jacquard and dobby fabrics for interiors.

8. What is your favourite colour?

Teal, I’ve always been drawn to teal and turquoise tones and often find ways to incorporate them into my designs. I love blue and green, and teal is a perfect mixture of these colours, and it seems to complement a wide range of other colours.

Instagram: www.instagram.com/emily_textilesyr4