www.pennystonecreative.co.uk pennystonecreative@gmail.com John Stanley Portfolio MA Fine Art – Teesside University
John Stanley BA(Hons) Time-honoured, materially informed craftmanship Through Pennystone Creative Studio, John Stanley examines material, process, and permanence through a practice rooted in hand-crafted mastery. Traditional techniques are reimagined through a contemporary, editorial lens, producing work defined by quiet luxury, integrity, and narrative depth. Based in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, John trained at York School of Art, where he developed his focus on textiles and fibre. The surrounding landscape and its rich heritage continue to shape his practice, informing both material choices and a strong commitment to sustainability. A defining aspect of his work is the use of locally sourced rare breed fleeces, reflecting a close relationship with place and process. Natural dyes, made from seasonally grown and foraged plants, bring depth and variation to his mixed media pieces. These processes yield richly nuanced surfaces, where colour, texture, and form are developed through time, skill, and an intimate knowledge of material. Alongside his studio practice, John leads workshops and delivers talks, sharing his knowledge with a wider audience while encouraging engagement with traditional making in a contemporary context and fostering a deeper appreciation for craft.
Selected Exhibitions ‘Threads of the Dale’ BA (Hons) Degree Show, 2026
John Stanley's Field to Fibre series of work is a testament to the resilience and adaptability of natural fibres, celebrating the deep bond between traditional craft, material, and the Swaledale landscape. This captivating textile work, a series of three, follows the complete metamorphosis of a fully traceable Swaledale fleece from its raw, windswept origins on the fells to its final form as a crafted artwork. Field to Fibre I, 2025 Field to Fibre III. 2025 METAMORPHOSIS March 11 – May 31, 2026 Location Farfield Mill Garsdale Road, Sedbergh, Cumbria, LA10 5LW
Field to Fibre III, 2026 Swaledale Wool, Bamboo SOLD Field to Fibre Series, 2026 Field to Fibre I, 2026 Swaledale Wool, Bamboo SOLD Field to Fibre II, 2026 Swaledale Wool, Bamboo
The Silence of Rain, 2025 Dalesbred Wool, Bamboo, Jesmonite SIZE : Framed 530mm x 430mm SOLD The Silence of Rain is a wool- felted artwork that evokes the haunting stillness of landscapes parched by drought. Crafted from natural fibres, the piece uses the tactile softness of felt to contrast the harsh reality of a world waiting for water. Embedded within the fibres are whispers of climate anxiety and ecological grief. Yet, the softness of the medium offers a quiet hope—a reminder that nature, like felt, can be reshaped, revived. The Silence of Rain, 2025 Weather Forecast, Badger in the Wall Gallery, Clapham 2026
Moorland Transitions This triptych investigates the contrasting outcomes of three approaches to managing the Yorkshire Moors through textile practice. This first sculpture interprets controlled heather burning, exploring its visual intensity and its long-established role in grouse moor management.
Moorland Transitions This second examines heather cutting as an alternative intervention, questioning its impact on the landscape and habitat.
Presenting these contrasting scenarios side by side, the work reflects on the tensions between tradition, conservation and rewilding, inviting viewers to question how human intervention shapes both the ecological health and cultural identity of the Yorkshire moors. The final piece considers the effects of allowing the moor to regenerate naturally through ecological succession, encouraging greater biodiversity and resilience. Moorland Transitions
‘Threads of the Dale’ BA (Hons) Degree Show, 2026 ‘Threads of the Dale’
‘Threads of the Dale’ A curatorial decision was made to present the work against a scenic backdrop. A photograph of Wensleydale was intentionally blurred to create a subtle background that enhances the visual impact of the sculpture while maintaining the landscape as an important contextual element.
‘Threads of the Dale’ The piece draws on the visual and structural language of the landscape, dry stone walls, hay fields, rolling hills, and agricultural systems, translating these elements into layered, textural forms. Through fibre manipulation, the material is transformed into a tactile surface that echoes the contours and rhythms of the land. ‘Threads of the Dale’ is a sculptural textile work that explores the relationship between material, landscape, and provenance through the use of locally sourced Wensleydale sheep wool, from Wensleydale. Hand-dyed and prepared, the wool retains a direct connection to its origin, embedding the physical and cultural characteristics of the Yorkshire Dale within the work itself.
‘Threads of the Dale’ By inviting touch, the work extends beyond visual experience, encouraging a physical engagement that reconnects the viewer with the material’s origin. In doing so, ‘Threads of the Dale’ seeks to dissolve the distance between land, animal, and object, offering a contemporary interpretation of heritage, labour, locality and provenance.
My creative practice has evolved from ceramics to fibre art, reflecting a growing interest in materiality, sustainability and the relationship between landscape and making. Ceramics to Fibre – My artistic journey.
While ceramics introduced me to form, texture and three- dimensional construction, fibre has provided greater freedom to experiment with natural and reclaimed materials, including raw fleece, wool and found objects. Ceramics to Fibre – My artistic journey.
Ceramics to Fibre – My artistic journey. This transition has enabled me to explore themes of environmental change, rural heritage and ecological resilience through tactile processes such as felting, stitching and sculptural construction. Resulting in blending the two disciplines. Working with fibre has deepened my appreciation of the connection between material and place, particularly within the Yorkshire Dales. My practice continues to develop through research- led experimentation, combining traditional craft techniques with contemporary environmental concerns to create meaningful textile sculptures.
Website link www.pennystonecreative.co.uk Email pennystonecreative@gmail.com johntstnly@aol.com
I now work primarily with locally sourced fleece materials because I am interested in what a material can tell us about the place it comes from, and the inherent provenance it holds. Through my textile and mixed media works I investigate how natural materials can communicate narratives of place, encouraging audiences to consider the relationship between the land, the inhabitants and the communities that shape it.