Cathy Snelling grew up in Somerset and from a young age was making characters out of recycled boxes, fabric and trinkets.

Infusing inanimate objects with personality and humour, her works draw inspiration from archaeological relics, myths, and ancient customs and puppetry. Cathy’s passion for sewing is evident in her preference for hand stitching, a process that not only calms her mind but also allows her to delve into the hidden layers of everyday life.

Her work involves using vintage fabrics and left-behind sewing memorabilia. By creating individual items that are ultimately drawn together to form a final piece with multiple layers and hidden characters, it invokes a metaphor for trying to fit into the world — a theme that subtly influences her work throughout.

Cathy is an avid collector of vintage fabrics and accessories, such as buttons, pincushions, and thread, which she treasures as valuable elements of her creative process.

Alongside her artistic practice, Cathy Snelling has worked as a model-maker, costume-maker and rigger along with puppet maintenance for films that include Chicken Run, The House, Fantastic Mr Fox, Fireman Sam, Shaun the Sheep and The Koala Brothers for clients including Aardman, 3 Mills Studios and Nexus Studios.