I am Pam Holland

In this format, the blog, I am almost preaching to the converted.

Textiles, design, photography and art.

So how did a Textile Artist such as I become involved in the decoration of a hotel.

Well put quite simply it was given to me as a challenge and expectation.

Trust me, challenge it is. Textiles are a 'malleable transmitter of ideas'. Malleable goes beyond the soft furnishings we encounter daily but they dominate our daily life as pleasurable things.

My role at our hotel is to 'dress' the walls that our designer  wishes to keep pure and white.

So we have a little conflict.

The earliest forms of constructed dwellings were tent structures, nomadic habitations you could fold up and carry, and yes, they still exist today.

I took the opportunity of purchasing two pieces of textile art for the hotel from the Tent Makers of Cairo when Jenny Bowker bought them to Birmingham for an exhibition.

The large piece is appliqued by hand and made by the delightful man in the foreground.

They just cut a hunk of fabric, turn it by hand and stitch it down with a large needle at an alarming speed.!!

I'm in awe of their talent. However, I will share this with 1000's of people now who will share the enjoyment that I've experienced.

The difference between textile furnishings and textile art is hard to define.

Frank Lloyd Wright treats textiles in a similar way, his tugs take on the appearance of art works.

Throughout history there has been an enduring tradition of textiles adorning walls. The technique and labor of work seen the the photos above makes them suitable for domestic and public places.

Our building is 'modern 60's' and particularly in the 60's Fiber art was considered the ideal solution for humanizing featureless buildings in the modernest style.

I created a couple of panels for wall decoration yesterday.

The panels are created individually and cover the entire wall. This isn't the fabric we'll use… I actually have the job of designing the fabric but  these are a sample.

They were fun to make and I'm going to make some for my house.