Darren Ball
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Textiles
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Tecstilau
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Darren originally trained in Fashion Textiles, specialising in hand knit. After college he taught for many years but has gradually built his practice since 2015. And a relocation to Wales in 2024 means he is now working as a textile artist full time. He works on a domestic sewing machine, appliquéing, and free embroidering - and also makes hand knitted pieces for his embroideries. The work on show in this exhibition date from 2016. You can trace the development from his earlier figurative pieces, through to his recent textile narratives. And whilst he is still finding ideas in his beloved popular culture ephemera, he’s mixing visual metaphors in his work with more confidence - layering and complicating the visual stories.
Embroidery is a domestic craft, and its history is tied in with women’s histories. In the period Darren is particularly drawn to - the 1930s, 40s and 50s – most women were still making their own clothes and embroidering for their homes. Ready to Wear clothes were on their way to a mass market but still relatively expensive. Darren is inspired by domestic interiors, objects, and motifs of this period. And many motifs that we are familiar with and associate with that time, from birds to crinoline ladies, come from the popular magazines like Stitchcraft.
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Hyfforddodd Darren yn wreiddiol mewn Tecstilau Ffasiwn, gan arbenigo mewn gweu â llaw. Ar ôl coleg bu’n dysgu am flynyddoedd lawer ond mae wedi adeiladu ei bractis yn raddol ers 2015. Ac mae adleoli i Gymru yn 2024 yn golygu ei fod bellach yn gweithio fel artist tecstilau yn llawn amser. Mae'n gweithio ar beiriant gwnïo domestig, appliquéing, a brodio rhydd - a hefyd yn gwneud darnau wedi'u gwau â llaw ar gyfer ei frodweithiau. Mae'r gwaith sy'n cael ei arddangos yn yr arddangosfa hon yn dyddio o 2016. Gallwch olrhain y datblygiad o'i ddarnau ffigurol cynharach, hyd at ei naratifau tecstilau diweddar. A thra ei fod yn dal i ddod o hyd i syniadau yn ei effemera diwylliant poblogaidd annwyl, mae’n cymysgu trosiadau gweledol yn ei waith gyda mwy o hyder – gan haenu a chymhlethu’r straeon gweledol.
Crefft ddomestig yw brodwaith, ac mae ei hanes yn gysylltiedig â hanes menywod. Yn y cyfnod mae Darren yn cael ei ddenu’n arbennig – y 1930au, 40au a’r 50au – roedd y rhan fwyaf o fenywod yn dal i wneud eu dillad eu hunain a brodwaith ar gyfer eu cartrefi. Roedd dillad Parod i'w Gwisgo ar eu ffordd i farchnad dorfol ond yn dal yn gymharol ddrud. Mae Darren wedi’i ysbrydoli gan du mewn domestig, gwrthrychau, a motiffau’r cyfnod hwn. Ac mae llawer o fotiffau rydyn ni’n gyfarwydd â nhw ac yn gysylltiedig â’r cyfnod hwnnw, o adar i foneddigion crinolin, yn dod o’r cylchgronau poblogaidd fel Stitchcraft.
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Marcia-Winter Sun, 2016
Appliqué and free machine embroidery
Marcia was inspired by an image from Stitchcraft July 1945 and the joy that VE Day must have brought. Darren enjoyed playing with the flat areas of pattern.
41 x 35cm
Currently in exhibition, available for collection after the 20th September 2026.
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Marcia-Winter Sun, 2016
Appliqué a brodwaith peiriant rhydd
Ysbrydolwyd Marcia gan ddelwedd o Stitchcraft Gorffennaf 1945 a’r llawenydd ddaeth yn sgil Diwrnod VE, mae’n rhaid. Bu i Darren fwynhau chwarae gyda rhannau gwastad y patrwm.
41 x 35cm
Arddangosir ar hyn o bryd; ar gael i'w casglu ar ôl yr 20fed o Fedi 2026.
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Bluebirds and Budgerigars, 2026
Appliqué and free machine embroidery on vintage handkerchief.
This piece is inspired by the ‘Striking bird design’ sweater from Stitchcraft September 1948 and Darren’s interest in the use of bluebirds as imagery within design. He has come across them in numerous embroidery designs and they are referred to in many songs over a broad period such as Little Girl Blue, Daydream Believer, Blue Skies, Happiness is a thing called Joe and the best known Over the Rainbow to name a few. For Darren bluebirds suggest happiness, escapism and contentment, emotions that were important particularly during the war and that are needed again now. Portmeirion could be said to instill these same feelings. The figure that Darren has chosen for the piece is particularly contemplative and he leaves the viewer to speculate on what she may be thinking. The use of bluebirds as imagery may have begun in America but in contrast Darren thinks of budgerigars as very British, the most domestic of pet birds, comical, colourful and exotic. All of the bird images used in the piece are taken from embroidery transfers of the 1920s and 30s.
Darren doesn’t usually include paint or dye in his pieces but in this instance he has used heat transfer paint for the sweater. He sees the heat transfer printing as appropriate as it references the printed leaf border used in Portmeirion ceramics. The scale and complexity of the sweater design would make it very difficult to render successfully in appliqué.
Darren’s imagery is embroidered onto a particularly lovely vintage handkerchief decorated with very fine embroidery. He didn’t want to conceal this and feels that it references the beautiful plasterwork ceiling of the Hercules Hall at Portmeirion very successfully.
Like Clough Williams Ellis, Darren has a love of antiques and vintage items. He aims to be as sustainable as possible in his practice using upcycled fabrics collected over many years, remnants or vintage pieces rather than new fabric.
44cm x 44cm
Currently in exhibition, available for collection after the 20th September 2026.
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Bluebirds and Budgerigars, 2026
Appliqué a brodwaith peiriant rhydd.
Ysbrydolwyd y darn hwn gan siwmper ‘Striking bird design’ o Stitchcraft Medi 1948 a diddordeb Darren yn nefnydd adar glas fel delweddaeth o fewn dylunio. Mae wedi dod ar eu traws mewn dyluniadau brodwaith niferus ac mae cyfeiriad atyn nhw mewn llawer o ganeuon dros gyfnod eang megis Little Girl Blue, Daydream Believer, Blue Skies, Happiness is a thing called Joe a’r mwyaf adnabyddus Over the Rainbow i enwi ond ychydig. I Darren mae adar glas yn awgrymu hapusrwydd, dihangfa a bodlonrwydd, emosiynau oedd yn bwysig yn enwedig yn ystod y rhyfel ac mae eu hangen eto yn awr. Gellir dweud bod Portmeirion yn meithrin yr un teimladau. Mae’r ffigur dewisodd Darren ar gyfer y darn yn arbennig o fyfyriol ac yn gadael i’r gwyliwr ddyfalu ynglŷn â’r hyn mae hi’n meddwl amdano. Efallai bod y defnydd o adar glas fel delweddaeth wedi cychwyn yn America ond mewn cyferbyniad mae Darren yn ystyried bod byjis yn Brydeinig iawn, y mwyaf domestig o adar anwes, smala, lliwgar ac ecsotig. Caiff yr holl ddelweddau o adar a ddefnyddiwyd yn y darn eu codi o drosluniau brodwaith o’r 1920au a’r 30au.
Nid yw Darren yn cynnwys paent neu lif yn ei ddarnau fel arfer ond yn yr achos hwn mae wedi defnyddio paent trosglwyddiad gwres ar gyfer y siwmper hon. Mae’n ystyried bod printio trosglwyddiad gwres yn addas gan ei fod yn cyfeirio at y border dail printiedig caiff ei ddefnyddio yng ngwaith cerameg Portmeirion. Byddai graddfa a chymhlethdod dyluniad y siwmper yn eu gwneud yn anodd iawn i’w gyfleu gydag appliqué,
Caiff delweddaeth Darren ei brodio ar hen hances arbennig o hyfryd wedi’i addurno gan frodwaith arbennig o gain. Nid oedd am guddio hwn, roedd yn teimlo ei fod yn cyfeirio’n llwyddiannus iawn at nenfwd gwaith plaster Neuadd Ercwlff ym Mhortmeirion.
Fel Clough Williams Ellis mae Darren yn hoff o hen bethau a hen eitemau. Mae’n anelu at fod mor gynaliadwy â phosib yn ei ymarfer gan ddefnyddio ffabrigau wedi’u huwchgylchu wedi’u casglu dros lawer o flynyddoedd, gweddillion neu hen ddarnau yn hytrach na ffabrig newydd.
44 × 44cm
Arddangosir ar hyn o bryd; ar gael i'w casglu ar ôl yr 20fed o Fedi 2026.
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Faux leather brooch with carrot design
7 × 5cm
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Tlws lledr ffug gyda dyluniad moron
7 × 5cm
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Jacqueline, 2016
Appliqué and free machine embroidery
A small image from Stitchcraft May/June 1947 formed the starting point for this piece. The original photograph was black and white. Darren decided to make his first embroidery focusing solely on tone. He really enjoyed the use of the lace fabrics to achieve the tone. The free machine embroidery produces a beautifully sharp, fine embroidered line to add crispness to the piece.
45 x 39cm
Currently in exhibition, available for collection after the 20th September 2026.
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Jacqueline, 2016
Appliqué a brodwaith peiriant rhydd
Delwedd fechan o Stitchcraft Mai/Mehefin 1947 ffurfiodd fan cychwyn y darn hwn. Roedd y ffotograff gwreiddiol yn ddu a gwyn. Penderfynodd Darren greu ei frodwaith cyntaf gan ganolbwyntio ar dôn yn unig. Cafodd fwynhad arbennig yn y defnydd o ffabrigau les i greu’r tôn. Mae’r brodwaith peiriant rhydd yn cynhyrchu llinell frodwaith gynnil a chain i ychwanegu coethder i’r darn.
45 x 39cm
Arddangosir ar hyn o bryd; ar gael i'w casglu ar ôl yr 20fed o Fedi 2026.
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Faux leather brooch
7 × 5cm
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Brots lledr ffug
7 × 5cm
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Harlequin, 2024
Appliqué, free machine embroidery and hand knit.
This piece is inspired by an Instagrammed photograph of celebrity Harry Styles at an awards ceremony wearing a very specific outfit. Several artists have chosen to paint the Harlequin as a subject but it is Picasso’s paintings which make the strongest impression on Darren. Picasso represents the Harlequin over a number of years spanning several different periods in his work. Darren particularly likes the works from the Rose or Saltimbanque Period because they have a beautiful warmth, tenderness and fragility and for their delicate painterly quality. The work which inspired this piece was a little earlier, the Seated Harlequin 1901, an early Blue period painting in which Picasso suggests the influence of Van Gogh and Gauguin on his own work. Darren enjoys the simplified use of line and the flattened pattern in the painting.
Why was Picasso so intrigued by the character of the Harlequin? Was it the Harlequin’s complex character or was he identifying with him as the conquering lover, stealing the love of Columbine from Pierrot with his wit and guile?
Darren loves Picasso as a painter and sculptor particularly for his great exploration of media. He especially likes his ceramics in which he playfully transformed traditional domestic ware into works of art of such spontaneity.
Darren has taken the domestic crafts of knitting and embroidery and created art inspired by contemporary culture and the challenging of traditional gendering in fashion.
38 x 36cm
Currently in exhibition, available for collection after the 20th September 2026.
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Harlequin, 2024
Appliqué, brodwaith peiriant rhydd a gweu â llaw
Ysbrydolwyd y darn hwn gan ffotograff Instagram o’r gŵr enwog Harry Styles yn gwisgo gwisg benodol iawn mewn seremoni wobrwyo. Mae sawl artist wedi dewis paentio’r Harlecwin fel testun ond paentiadau Picasso sy’n creu’r argraff fwyaf ar Darren. Mae Picasso’n cynrychioli’r Harlecwin yn ei waith dros nifer o flynyddoedd, yn rhychwantu sawl cyfnod gwahanol. Mae Darren yn arbennig o hoff o weithiau o gyfnodau’r Rhosliw neu’r Saltimbanque gan fod ganddyn nhw gynhesrwydd hyfryd, tynerwch a breuder ac am eu hansawdd arluniol gynnil. Roedd y gwaith a ysbrydolodd y darn hwn yn dod o gyfnod ychydig yn gynt, yr Arlequin assis (Harlecwin ar ei eistedd)1901, paentiad cynnar o’r cyfnod Glas lle mae Picasso’n awgrymu dylanwad Van Gogh a Gauguin ar ei waith. Mae Darren yn mwynhau’r defnydd wedi’i symleiddio o linell a’r patrwm gwastad yn y paentiad.
Pam oedd gan Picasso gymaint o ddiddordeb yng nghymeriad Harlecwin? Ai oherwydd cymeriad cymhleth Harlecwin neu a oedd yn uniaethu ag ef fel y carwr buddugol, yn dwyn serch Colombina o Pierrot gyda’i ffraethineb a’i ddichell?
Mae Darren yn hoff iawn o Picasso fel paentiwr a cherflunydd yn enwedig am ei archwiliad mawr o gyfrwng. Mae’n hoffi ei waith cerameg yn arbennig lle mae wedi trawsffurfio’n chwareus llestri domestig traddodiadol yn weithiau celf o’r fath natur ddigymell.
Mae Darren wedi cymryd crefftau domestig gweu a brodwaith a chreu celf wedi’i hysbrydoli gan ddiwylliant cyfoes a’r her o wahaniaethu traddodiadol ar sail rhywedd mewn ffasiwn.
38 x 36cm
Arddangosir ar hyn o bryd; ar gael i'w casglu ar ôl yr 20fed o Fedi 2026.
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Faux leather brooch
7 × 5cm
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Brots lledr ffug
7 × 5cm
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