Susan Purney Mark

Susan Purney Mark is an award-winning textile artist on Pender Island, BC. Since the early 1990s, she has created contemporary work using layered dyes and paints. Her practice has evolved from functional to pioneering. She incorporates paint and dye layers while exploring dimensional body and vessel shapes as feminine forms. “I live and work on the traditional and unceded lands of the W̱SÁNEĆ and Tsawout peoples. My practice is process-led and materially rich, developing textile work intended for exhibition and installation. My training includes the London City & Guilds programme in textiles and surface design, with further study at the Ontario College of Art and the Vancouver Island School of Art. For more than 30 years, my studio practice has centred on cloth and surface: dye and paint on fabric, wax resist, screen printing, and precisely sequenced dyeing methods that build tonal depth. This technical grounding supports cohesive bodies of work—wall-based textiles and dimensional forms—with attention to material integrity, scale, and installation considerations. Rooted in my family’s needlework traditions, my work has evolved into an investigation of mark making, text, and narrative—often within a controlled palette and an abstract visual language. Layering is central: cloth, paper, and found materials accumulate into surfaces that hold both structure and trace. Recycled elements are frequently incorporated (painted, waxed, stitched, or cut), while hand stitching functions as line, rhythm, and anchor. Recent series focus on dimensional body and vessel forms—sculptural textiles that consider feminine attributes across a conceptual timeline from pre-birth to death. Alongside my studio practice, I’ve written several books on textile techniques and surface design, and I teach textile workshops nationally and internationally.”