Artist/Designer Paula de Santis Smith is based in Cambridge.
I am a Textile Artist and Designer who has a passion for colour and the embellishment of cloth. Whilst living in Wales during the 80’s & 90’s, my early work experimented with a variety of mixed media, paint, glass, cloth and “found objects” to create life size figures in room installations. This led me to work in a more theatrical way. I became interested in theatre costume & set design. I started to collaborate with dance and theatre companies, designing and making costumes and props. I worked on a number of projects and became fascinated with 18th & 19th Century womens’ fashion, the restrictions it imposed and how the female body form changed over the centuries. I also designed and made fashion accessories, which developed into the commercial business venture ‘de Santis designs’. I also have a second website which contains my Fine Art textiles: www. artisantis.co.uk
In 1999, I moved to London to develop my art career, having a studio in The Chocolate Factory in Wood Green where I worked on many freelance projects, designing costume for carnivals and completed a number of interior design commissions.
In 2010, I moved to Bedfordshire where I continued to develop my work and created two separate bands, de Santis designs textiles, fashion and interiors and Artisantis, costume and 3 dimensional textiles.
I now live in a beautiful village in Cambridgeshire where I am developing new work exploring innovative techniques and methods for making textiles. My work continues to evolve and change. The rural countryside has inspired me to use natural resources (found objects) to dye fabric. I continue to work in mixed media, I experiment using felt, eco prints to name but a few, mixing fibres and techniques to create ‘Fine Art’ pieces that have a narrative.
de Santis designs has range of products, cushions, scarfs etc. You can buy my products by going to my online shop, click on the Etsy icon at the top of the page.
I am a qualified teacher with a PGCE in Adult Further & Higher education and also have a PGCE in Leadership and Management in education. I am an experienced workshop leader, having worked in art education for over 30 years. I have taught in state & independent schools as well as further & higher education. I run freelance workshops & courses, you can see examples of these by clicking this link.