Judi Mirac studied Fashion and Classical
Embroidery at Swansea College of Art.
After completing 4 years of study she moved to London
to work at the Royal School of Needlework. The variety of work there included restoring
tapestries from Stately Homes and working on the Overlord Tapestries.
Further studies at Brighton Poytechnic resulted in a Higher Diploma ( commended
) and a Teaching Diploma from Newcastle Polytechnic. Thereafter she ran a studio, taught and exhibited widely.
In 1992 she moved to Cape Town and set up her studio, ran workshops and became
actively involved in education and outreach programmes. One such project involved living and working with the San
for 1 month teaching decorative textile techniques and creating a large textile for the entrance of the San Cultural Centre,
Western Cape.
She also worked on a variety of projects with women from the disadvantaged communities.
From 2006 /07 she taught as an External Lecturer, working with first year Architectural
students at the University of Cape Town, teaching Textile Art at the Academy of Fashion, and the B.H.C. School of Design,
Cape Town. She also ran workshops at South African Fashion Week working with women from the rural areas.
Her studio work included creating silk bags decorated with beads, ostrich feathers
and ostrich shin leather, these were sold at exclusive Game Lodges in South Africa and Namibia, galleries in London
and the U.S. She designed a range of silk waistcoats based on traditional African patterns which were purchased and worn by
South African envoys in Europe. Her silk free-machined textiles are in collections world-wide, she has undertaken
various commissions including one for the South African Embassy in Germany, one of her textiles forms the centre-piece of
a Church in the Western Cape. She has been involved with the South African National Gallery assisting with the conservation
of their textiles, and their Education Department.
In 2007 she participated in the Sympossium 'Dress and the African Diaspora'
at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
In 2008 images of her textiles were used as part of the lighting projections for
the Ethiopiques concert at the Barbican Centre, London.
