I enjoy layering textures much more than organising colours. Free form knitting and free weaving allow me to work with conventional craft techniques in a distinctly unconventional way. I add embroidery, beads and found objects to create a haptic as well as visual experience of textile art.
Apart from an initial design sketch and the accumulation of yarns, threads and embellishments, I do no advance planning or sampling. The wall hangings develop organically both in the techniques used and the narrative created. As much of my work is a response or reflection of landscape, I include small gestures of authenticity – perhaps some wool which had been wrapped around my boot as I walked a track or an artefact that I found on my journey and stitched into place.
Whilst – as the title of this page suggests – they settle well against the white walls of an exhibition space, I like the hangings more when they dangle outside from tree branches or are left on rocks. In either location environmental factors alter and enhance the creative process which I might have started but which nature and the weather will continue.
