Sarah Burns

Sarah Burns is a pattern-maker and textile printer. She studied politics at Jesus College, Cambridge, and Textile Design at Chelsea College of Art. She teaches natural dyeing and printing in her West Sussex studio as well as at Ditchling Museum. Her designs can be seen at the Guy Goodfellow Collection in Chelsea, at Dartington Hall, and as part of the Virginia White Collection. She is the co-author of Barron & Larcher, Textile Designers (2018 ACC Art Books).

Describe your approach to teaching.

I still consider myself a learner and I seek to put the learner at the centre of everything I do. My aim is to give them every opportunity to develop their own individual practice and to become more confident in their abilities.

What inspires your own work?

My work is inspired by the bold rhythmic patterns of vernacular arts and crafts like the shwe shwe fabric of my native South Africa and the Romanesque carvings of ancient churches where I live in West Sussex. But I’m most inspired by the sensuality of the process of patternmaking itself – I find the smells, tastes and textures absolutely captivating.