On today’s episode of the Gallery Girl podcast we are joined by Shereen Quttaineh, an Amman-based mixed media artist and art educator. Within her work, Shereen explores contemporary textile art and printing, often using reclaimed fabrics and unusual textiles to explore the possibilities the materials present.

“I don’t think I ever really planned to become an artist”, says Shereen, “It seems like it was a given. It just happened to be that when it was time for university that it would be art, but it was never planned for. As for the textiles, my mum always had textiles and a lot of wool at home and a sewing machine…she used to enjoy working on projects for myself. Watching her I used to steal her sewing machine and her fabrics and cut them up into little dresses for my dolls.” Regarding embroidery, Shereen was interested but didn’t find a passion until recently. She taught IB diploma students art for many years, and got into textile art and textile artists while exploring with her students. “I would experiment with the students, but I left it for a while”, she said, “During Covid it re-emerged with all the quiet time that we had, textiles re-emerged then.”

Shereen has been working as a full-time artist for the last two years. She says her process is very intuitive. “I really enjoy creating limitations for myself”, she says, “I give myself rules…and see where that takes me. Having too much choice I get kind of lost not knowing where to start from.” She lets the material itself guide her. These limitations began in covid when she had very little fabrics around her, ever since she has worked with repurposed materials. “As I started putting my work out there people started getting in touch and donating the scraps of fabric they have”, she says, “I don’t buy any fabrics. All I do is repurpose any materials around me. It could be plastic bags that I sometimes fuse together by ironing them…the netting in water bottles or fruits and scraps from different people’s scrap bags.” It follows that sustainability is very important to her. “I think I provide a platform where people can dispose of their junk”, she adds, “For me, it’s a treasure to turn into something beautiful.”

In addition to making artworks that might be displayed in a gallery, Shereen also creates wearable items including bags, jackets, earrings and lampshades. “It makes art a bit more accessible to more people”, she says, “I do create each piece like an artwork. I wouldn’t make the same piece twice.” Here too, she repurposes old fabric. “A pair of jeans might turn into a clutch or an earring.”

Shereen also gives workshops, having been a teacher for 22 years. “I always thought of myself as an educator before considering myself as an artist”, she explains, “It’s quite rewarding, that human interaction and that excitement you see on people’s faces when they make something new.”

Her work has a large collaborative quality to it. During Covid she embarked on a project called the travelling tapestry, travelling around different homes. “There was this woollen blanket that I packed in a bag and people started becoming interested in hosting that blanket”, she explains, “Each person would have it for a week and they would have a journal where they could write what they felt and what they thought.” The idea was for the participants to intersect with each other and while the project is on hold, Shereen is planning for it to travel again soon. 

Talking about her inspirations, Shereen explains that she is inspired by the foliage and the flora in Jordan during Spring. “I’m obsessed with that raw, unplanned scenery. It’s all so intricate and intersects in different ways, all the textures”, she says, “There’s a beauty when everything green turns golden. I love how all the thistles dry up and become all those browns and gold, sharp and scratchy.” 

As for right now, Shereen is working on a collection of paintings that also include stitching. She is also working on developing her jewellery making skills. And regarding the future? “I kind of lean more towards just letting it become whatever it needs to become ”, she says, “I’ve found that all that planning is quite challenging and stresses us a lot. I’m just going to go with the flow. I believe create and make what I want to make and see what opportunities come my way and say yes to what feels right.”