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Valerie Potter briefly studied at Hull College of Art until she was expelled for having 'no talent'. In her late teens she was diagnosed with schizophrenia, although her mental health has improved as she has developed as an artist. At the age of thirty-four she was awarded a degree in what she describes as 'The History of Ideas' from Middlesex Polytechnic. At first Potter experimented with poster paint before taking up drawing. In 1990 she started producing thread drawings, black stranded cotton embroideries on unbleached calico. Recently she has experimented with making 'cross stitch pictures', which are, she says: 'my favourite of all my artistic endeavours because they are so absurd. Can you imagine anything more pointless and bizarre than trying to create a world that is made up of curves and swirls on a grid that only takes straight lines? A cross-stitch … is an obsessional quest for bizarre beauty without anything to recommend it except the final result'. Potter lives and works in England.

Valerie Potter undated Courtesy of Tate Archive view larger image		Valerie Potter undated Courtesy of Tate Archive Photo credit: Andrew Wood view larger image		Letter from Valerie Potter to Monika Kinley Date unknown Courtesy of Tate Archive view larger image		Untitled (butterfly, the way to hell) 1991 Embroidery on cloth Courtesy of the artist and the Musgrave Kinley Outsider Collection view larger image
Biography details written by Valerie Potter 1997 Courtesy of Tate Archive view larger image		Biography details written by Valerie Potter (page 2) 1997 Courtesy of Tate Archive view larger image		Untitled (postcard) 1990 Courtesy of Tate Archive view larger image		Untitled (postcard) 1985 Courtesy of Tate Archive view larger image

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