Canadian-born artist Sandra Meech blends photography, painting, and stitch to tell layered stories of landscape, memory and climate. Drawing from Arctic expeditions and the flooded fields of Somerset, her work reveals what lies beneath – from melting glaciers to ancient ammonites. In this rich conversation, Sandra shares how sketchbooks, digital collage and the natural world continue to guide her evolving textile practice.
Every time I see my feet in a photo, I’m transported back to that moment in time. It totally grounds me – when I see where I stood, I remember what I felt.
– Sandra Meech
Takeaways from this episode
- Textiles can hold entire landscapes.
Sandra’s practice shows how cloth, thread and collage can map journeys across tundra, flood plains, and memory itself – turning personal experience into layered, expressive artworks.
- Climate is not just a theme – it’s a material.
From Arctic melt to Somerset floods, Sandra’s work incorporates real-world environmental change. Through copper, red thread and sculptural forms, she gives visual shape to ecological urgency.
- Sketchbooks are studios in miniature.
Sandra's long accordion books hold white resist trees, diary reflections, and layers of painted marks – becoming both record and rehearsal for future stitched works.
- Digital and handmade processes can coexist.
Combining Photoshop collages, heat transfers, mono prints and machine stitch, Sandra navigates seamlessly between technology and touch, art and craft.
- Stay with a theme. Sandra encourages artists to go deep with ideas that hold personal resonance.
“Give it time to develop,” she says. “You can work for six months in sketchbooks before the stitch even begins.”
Explore the artwork from this episode below
During the live interview, we shared some images of Sandra’s artwork. Since you’re listening to the podcast version, we’ve made these images available for you below.
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