Consuo Textile Art was honoured and delighted to welcome Frances Geesin as their first guest artist – a truly appropriate choice.
Frances has embraced the potential of textiles to the fullest extent throughout her long career. As a lover of drawing she first trained in painting and drawing at Worthing Art College, she then moved to the Royal College of Art to study weaving, finding a correspondence with drawing in the lines of thread in the warp and weft. On leaving the Royal College she embarked on a successful career as a costume designer specializing in knit. After many years she returned to the Royal College to undertake a PhD during which time she developed her ‘signature’ electro-plated textiles, working with Phillips to produce the first heat sensitive threads to monitor body temperature. She also began her collaborative work with her husband, Ron Geesin, producing the interactive sound and light fibre panel for the Science Museum in London. She has retained a compelling curiosity and need to know what, how and why throughout her career, always keeping track of the latest scientific thinking, which culminated in her being awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Institute of Nanotechnology in 2008, amongst many other awards for technical innovation.
Frances Geesin is open and hugely generous in the sharing of her knowledge and understanding with other enthusiasts, be they professionals or students. She can be described as a modern Renaissance woman, for which we can all rejoice and be grateful.
Lesley Millar MBE
Professor Emerita of Textile Culture
University for the Creative Arts
