Linda Barlow

Linda Barlow was born in Manchester and began her creative journey with an Arts Foundation course at Bolton College of Art. She famously turned down a place at Brighton Art College to cycle around Europe — an adventure that sparked a lifelong love of travel and exploration. 

She later settled in Shropshire, where she raised two children and completed an Open University degree in Social Sciences, all while continuing to draw and create artwork whenever she could. 

Linda’s early practice centred on large textile pieces informed by her social‑science research, including work exploring the experiences of artists who were also mothers, and a major project on menopausal women. These projects included textile animations, several of which can be viewed on her website, and formed part of her MA at Manchester Metropolitan University.