In conversation with Ellie Pearce, a textile artist.

Ellie Pearce is a 23-year old Fine Art graduate who now runs her own business and sells handmade tufted rugs. Her rugs are extremely unique as they portray parts of the human anatomy ‘as seen under the microscope’. For any scientists out there who have a passion for rugs, I think I found your hidden gem!

To give you a few examples, some rugs depict the intestinal wall, an ovarian cyst, an ovarian follicle and so much more!

To browse through her creations, check out her Instagram and Etsy account right here.

How did your passion for tufting and the business you made from it all start ?

I decided to buy a tufting gun after making some punch needle rugs during my final year studying Fine Art at university. Whilst I enjoyed using the punch needle, I wanted to make a large-scale collection of rugs for my final degree show work and decided a tufting gun would speed up the process! I’ve only started selling the rugs from my degree collection within the past couple of months and so am still developing and experimenting with what I want my textile small business to be!

Could you tell us a bit more about tufting ?

Tufting is a process used to create rugs. It’s a handheld electric machine/gun which pokes yarn through cloth at high speed to create piles, I use both cut & loop pile tufting guns. Cut pile creates a very fluffy texture which I prefer using. It is now becoming more accessible for many and instead of a way of carpet making, it’s becoming a medium to make artwork and custom fun pieces of textile art.

Picture of one of her rugs depicting the intestine.

Many of the rugs you make are based around the human body, especially the female body, how come you decided to go into that realm of art ?

My final year degree project focused on the human body under the microscope, focusing especially on areas of the body that can be affected by a chronic inflammatory disease called Endometriosis, it is where tissue similar to, but not the same as the endometrium (uterus lining) is found outside of the uterus & in the rest of the body. I use rug making and textiles to explore the beauty hidden behind something so painful and as I am myself trying to get a diagnosis for Endo, it has been a therapeutic and interesting exploration. I want the textile pieces to act as conversation starters about taboo subjects, which is why I translate areas of the human body (such as the rectum) into rugs!

Do you have any upcoming projects or goals for the near future ?

As Endometriosis is a whole body disease, there are still plenty if body areas/organs which I haven’t yet been able to translate into rugs so the series is ongoing. I’m also excited to be having my tufted artwork sold in a vintage store called ATIKA, so I’ve been busy working on body themed works for that!

Another one of her rugs depicting an ovarian cyst.

Is there an inspiration for your work, an idea or a person you look up to ?

I really love Sheila Hicks! She’s my favourite artist and I just admire the overwhelmingly beautiful textile works she creates. They’re so sculptural and playful that when you see them in real life you want to dive straight into them! I also love the work of Judith Scott who uses wrapping thread techniques to transform objects into fiber art sculptures.

As for running an Etsy shop, what have you learned in the process and what tips would you give to someone wanting to start selling on this platform ?

I would say that it’s going to take some time to develop an Etsy shop and don’t undervalue your artwork just because you want it to sell quickly! I would also say that it really helps to photograph pieces/products in-situ so buyers can imagine the products in their own home!