Combining painting, sculpture, embroidery, ceramics, and curated collections of objets d’art, the exhibition lays bare an emotional terrain rarely voiced in public discourse. At once therapeutic and provocative, All Roads Lead to Mother is a tribute to resilience, a meditation on generational healing, and a conversation between two artists united by love, vulnerability, and truth.
As part of the exhibition, Sam collaborates with artist Kaori Okada Hood to present Mother’s Little Helpers, a collection of ceramic works as part of a series exploring the lifelong relationship between women and drugs.
All Roads Lead to Mother is an act of creative intimacy between women, a space for healing, reflection, and radical honesty.
Private View:
3 July 5pm – 10pm RSVP online
Open to the Public:
Saturday 5 July 10am – 4pm then Monday – Friday 10am – 4pm until July 20
Venue: Swan Hill Studios, 17 A Swan Hill, Shrewsbury SY1 1NL
Website: swanhillstudios.com
About the Artists
Daisy Pooley-Tolkien-Williams is a textile and craft-based artist whose practice centres on the emotional landscapes of motherhood, womanhood, and the quiet power of making. Working primarily with fabric, stitch, and found materials, Daisy aims to create intimate, tactile works that give form to experiences often left unspoken—grief, transformation, tenderness, and rage.
Drawing on traditions of domestic craft, Daisy reclaims techniques historically dismissed as “women’s work” to explore themes of identity, care, and emotional release. Stitch by stitch, she builds spaces of catharsis; spaces where the physical act of making becomes a means of processing, remembering, and reimagining.
Her work blurs the boundary between personal and collective experience, holding space for the raw, complex truths of motherhood and the evolving shape of womanhood. Each piece is both artifact and offering: a gesture toward healing, a record of labour, and a quiet act of resistance.
Sam Pooley-Stride has spent the last decade rooted in abstract painting, but her practice has since evolved into a multidisciplinary exploration. While painting remains the backbone of her work, she now moves fluidly between print, sculpture, neons, and archival material. This expansion reflects a deeper dive into personal and collective narratives of womanhood, particularly through the lens of motherhood.
Her work navigates the raw, chaotic, and often contradictory experiences of being a mother and a woman: the unspoken frustrations, the tender ruptures, the unglamorous truths. Drawing inspiration from the unseen corners of female life, Sam celebrates kinship, candid conversation, and the inner lives of women with both vulnerability and irreverence. Themes of intimacy, friendship, and emotional excavation are ever-present forming a visual language that is both confrontational and deeply human.
About Swan Hill Studios
Nestled in the heart of Shrewsbury, Swan Hill Studios is a creative space designed for artists, makers, and creatives to connect, collaborate, and create. Housed in a charming 18th Century building, the studio provides an inspiring environment that fosters artistic expression across various disciplines.
Swan Hill Studios offers dedicated workspaces, communal areas for creative exchange, and a dynamic program of exhibitions, workshops, and events. It is home to a diverse community of artists and hosts The Circle, a membership initiative that provides exclusive opportunities for engagement, networking, and creative development.
Whether you’re an established artist or just starting your creative journey, Swan Hill Studios is a welcoming space where ideas flourish, collaborations thrive, and artistic potential is nurtured.
Swan Hill Studios is more than just a venue—it is a dynamic and inclusive creative hub where artists, makers, and innovators can work, connect, and share ideas. Our thoughtfully designed spaces cater to a variety of artistic and professional needs, offering a flexible and inspiring environment for creativity to thrive.
