‘Stitched’ Pam de Frere

From an early age, texture, colour and the play of light intrigued and fascinated Pam de Frere. Growing up on a Hawke’s Bay orchard allowed Pam’s creativity to flourish amongst a playground of trees, birds and open spaces. Pam’s parents recognised her creative abilities, and when Pam was twelve, her parents built her a dark room. Her creativity, love of nature, and passion for photography culminated in a Diploma in Photography from Whitecliffe Art School, where she also learnt the art of calligraphy and handmade books. Throughout her teaching career, Pam encouraged a love of the arts in her students, and she continues to share her diverse knowledge and passion for visual arts through community workshops where her students can learn bookmaking, and combine photography and printmaking, stitched and layered paper, fabric and fibre to create their own multimedia artworks.

Pam’s first solo exhibition in 2019 pushed her beyond her own self-imposed “boundaries” and now she is having another go! Her dabbling, doodling and playing has enabled her to stretch even further and this exhibition is the result of 8 dedicated months of attention, amazement, learning and joy. Pam’s love of fabric, thread, stitch, and nature has combined in fascinating ways to show her that the more she plays, the more the ideas flow, the more excited she becomes.