Amélie Crépy

Textile creator

©Yanis Angel

©Tor Harrison

Deep-dive into pigments and raw materials

Amélie is a British-French textile artist and designer
Her aesthetic is characterised by geometric forms, muted colours and linen as a canvas
Research and experimentation constitute a key part of her creative process

Amélie Crépy chose the path of craftsmanship driven by a cause. She wanted to challenge preconceptions of artistic materials and raise awareness about the environmental impact of commercial dyes and pigments. With a background in womenswear design and years of working for luxury fashion houses, Amélie decided to embrace the fine art side of textile design and turn to organic materials. She opened her workshop in 2019. Traditional ink-making, textile dyeing and processing flax into linen are among Amélie's primary specialisations. She has a very particular method of creating an art piece with colour, that begins with her foraging for the ingredients used for making the dye. Amélie is also a founder of Creative Pattern Studio which creates bespoke print and woven pattern designs.

Interview

©Tor Harrison

©Tor Harrison

What are your sources of inspiration?: There are several. Nature. The knowledge of other artists and makers. Research on a subject related to my own. I am also interested in the history of pigment making and dyes, and exploring the first, primitive ways humans made colour.
How do you express tradition and innovation in your work?: I express tradition and innovation in my work by combining contemporary abstract art with materials used by 4th-century scribes. My monochromatic pieces focus on a single colour, encouraging viewers to connect with the texture and depth of the material.
What do you love most about your craft?: The research. What I create is heavily reliant on process and experimentation. I very much enjoy unearthing the history and tradition of the subject and applying this information with a twist of my own through rethinking and repurposing traditional techniques.
Is there something about your work that surprises people?: I practise a traditional ink-making process that has been used to create calligraphers’ ink since the 4th century. This method utilises oak galls: peculiar cocoon-like forms, created when gall wasps lay their eggs on oak trees.

Amélie Crépy is a rising star: she began her career in 2019