Improv comedian and professional embroiderer - unlikely companions on a single CV but it's what you find on Lauren Sinner's. The American fabric artist is in Wellington on a residency at the New Zealand Pacific Studio in the Wairarapa. She's gathering material for the Surface Design Journal that she co-edits, preparing for a special feature on New Zealand-based textile artists next year. Lauren's also busy creating her own work, taking inspiration from punk music, botanical illustrations, childrens' books, comedy shows - and now also from New Zealand. She describes her mother as an obsessive quilter and embroiderer. Lynn Freeman asked if she relates to Lauren's expressive and unconventional embroideries: Incidentally, if you're worried that South Island embroiderers won't be represented in the New Zealand articles in Lauren's journal, fear not. Her co-editor spent several weeks in the South earlier in the year meeting textile artists.