fabric, felt and textures
I work with fabric a lot and love to explore layers of colour and texture. Many projects and commissions I’ve worked on have involved creating
flags, banners, costumes, bunting, cushions, tents and puppets using fabric.
I make felt a lot (both needle felting and wet felting), its a wonderfully tactile process with people of all ages (children and adults) which has that slightly magical quality as you watch the fibres unfold into something... For years I've been working with dyes and adding / changing colours of fabrics and I've recently been experimenting more and more with the use of natural dyes (especially with sheep’s fleece, which I then felt). The use of natural dyes links brilliantly with all the outdoor and forest school work I do and I adore the combinations of foraging and brewing dye baths - its a mesmerising set of processes.
I also love to weave, crochet and stitch and I adore combining fabrics with other materials such as papers, wood, bark and wire. Layering different textures, patterns, colours and methods is central to the way I work with all materials. Rather than stick to rigid "rules" about how to use certain materials I work in a way that is about experimenting and testing out ideas to see what might happen.
I've always been drawn to saving and using little scraps of fabric, I rarely throw things away (the odds and ends of wool from crochet are brilliant for layering into felt or handmade paper for example) and I'm really drawn to upcycling old clothes and fabrics from charity shops and reclaiming things from the bin.
I love the histories and stories that are often embedded in fabrics and fibres - there's a human history and also a history of the natural world to be found.
flags, banners, costumes, bunting, cushions, tents and puppets using fabric.
I make felt a lot (both needle felting and wet felting), its a wonderfully tactile process with people of all ages (children and adults) which has that slightly magical quality as you watch the fibres unfold into something... For years I've been working with dyes and adding / changing colours of fabrics and I've recently been experimenting more and more with the use of natural dyes (especially with sheep’s fleece, which I then felt). The use of natural dyes links brilliantly with all the outdoor and forest school work I do and I adore the combinations of foraging and brewing dye baths - its a mesmerising set of processes.
I also love to weave, crochet and stitch and I adore combining fabrics with other materials such as papers, wood, bark and wire. Layering different textures, patterns, colours and methods is central to the way I work with all materials. Rather than stick to rigid "rules" about how to use certain materials I work in a way that is about experimenting and testing out ideas to see what might happen.
I've always been drawn to saving and using little scraps of fabric, I rarely throw things away (the odds and ends of wool from crochet are brilliant for layering into felt or handmade paper for example) and I'm really drawn to upcycling old clothes and fabrics from charity shops and reclaiming things from the bin.
I love the histories and stories that are often embedded in fabrics and fibres - there's a human history and also a history of the natural world to be found.