Hello, I'm Ilona
I've recently started a new venture making coastal textile collage art from my home in the North Devon countryside.
Each piece is made from shells I collect by hand on the North Devon coast and textiles that have had a life before. That gives every collage a real sense of place, texture and story. I want them to capture that calm, windswept seaside feeling while being thoughtful and sustainable for the future.
Where the shells come from
I collect every shell by hand on the beaches of North Devon: Saunton, Croyde, Putsborough, Woolacombe and Instow. Each walk along the tideline turns up something different, and those finds decide what each piece becomes.
My seascapes are built up from layers of reclaimed cotton, silk, lace, hessian and yarn, finished with hand stitching. On the shore of each piece sit natural finds: cockle, whelk, limpet, topshell, mussel, razor clam, wedge clam and saddle oyster shells, along with mother-of-pearl, sea-smoothed stones and driftwood.
The collections
- Blue Seascapes: deep navy skies and layered blue seas (23 × 23 cm)
- Colour Pop: brighter skies in coral, purple and golden sand (18 × 18 cm)
- Driftwood: driftwood and shells arranged on striped reclaimed cotton (23 × 23 cm)
- Minis: "Read Me" shells, each paired with a line of text from an old book (10 × 10 cm)
Every piece is mounted in a white box frame with a glass front, ready to hang on a wall or stand on a shelf.
Commissions
I'm happy to take commissions. If you'd like a piece made for a particular person, place or occasion, please get in touch and tell me what you have in mind.
See the work in person
You can see my work at the Fifty Crates of Crafts shops and galleries in Appledore and Bude.
Every piece is one of a kind
No two collages are the same. The shells and fabrics that go into each one can't be found again, so once a piece is sold, it's gone.
Browse the collection · Follow along on Instagram @ilonaroberts.art