Hello everyone, it has been a while! I have been totally immersed in the wonderful world of fibres and creative exploration for the past few weeks, so I haven’t kept up with my writing (other than scribbles in my notebook about ideas and thoughts).
Just before Christmas I received news that I had been awarded a VACMA bursary, thanks to Creative Scotland and Angus Council.
The bursary was to fund a few weeks developing my creative practice, which is such a wonderful opportunity for any artist or craftsperson!
My project was to focus on elevating jute garden twine, by combining it with other materials, through decoration of the form’s surface. I had already had an idea for a series of baskets that could be threaded onto a central pole, as a sculptural piece, and decided that this would be perfect for this project, as I could explore a different idea on each giant bead.
The idea came from the stacking toys that my children enjoyed so much when they were younger, so I have titled it, Beyond The Playroom.
The jute forms are made with the wrap stitch, which has become such a core element of my work. Each one has a hole, top and bottom, so that it can be threaded onto a pine pole. The jute twine makes them very strong, which was important for a sculptural piece, which could be rearranged. I began with the spherical bead and handprinted a series of canvas circles, which I then cocooned in linen thread. I pinned these circles directly to the surface of the basket, so that I could see where I wanted them all to be secured and then worked a single round of coil which attaches to both the jute form and the cocooned pieces. This round of coil, forms part of the finished design and was also worked in linen thread.
I was really pleased with how this bead came together. It follows on from ideas that started with joining my limpets together a couple of years ago, but working pieces over an inner form like this, gives them much more strength.
For the second giant bead, I decided to cover the surface with handprinted canvas pieces, layering them like feathers.
This also lead directly to the third bead, where I used the same method to attach rows of tassels to the surface. I started making the tassels with the the small ends of thread that had built up during the project to that point – a mix of jute, linen and cotton. In the end I needed so many tassels to complete the work, that I had to cut fresh lengths specifically for that purpose.
But that process made me ask myself the question,
“Couldn’t I be using more repurposed and waste materials in my creative practice?”.
I just love the rich textures of the tassel bead and with both of these layered beads the surface and form of the jute inner, was completely transformed.
I made the form for the final bead early on, working a band of linen coil around the centre, but the final design for this one took a bit more thought. Although I had an idea of how I wanted it to look, I wasn’t quite sure how to achieve that until I had worked through the other parts of the project.
In the end I made eight canvas petals for the top and bottom of the bead and quilted them, before pinning them in place, to the surface of the bead.
It was then a process of carefully working three rounds of coil, which attached to both the canvas and the bead. Although a similar idea to the first bead, it didn’t require the canvas to be cocooned first, and allowed the design to carefully follow the form of the bead.
I completed it by adding a central disc, also worked in linen and at this point realised the need for measuring carefully, when so many elements need to meet up perfectly!
I managed to make the first end work by careful variation of the core fibre thickness, but having learned by my mistakes I had no need to, on the second disc.
This project has given me so many new paths to follow and so many questions to explore. As well as the use of repurposed materials, I am keen to explore visual story telling in future pieces, although I am not yet sure how I will achieve that.
Storytelling has been such a big part of my life, raising five children. I have read aloud to them everyday for the past 24 years! But with my youngest having just turned 8, I know that my talents as a storyteller won’t be needed much longer, and perhaps it is time that I started to tell some stories of my own, through my basketry. Or at the very least, provoke the viewer to ask themselves, what the story behind it might be!
So much to think about, so much to process, but I can’t wait to tidy up my worktable and get on with the next piece.
Many thanks to Creative Scotland and to Angus Council for this opportunity, I think it will have a huge impact on my creative practice, as I move forward.
