Slow Steps
“Most of our lives we live closed up in ourselves, with a longing not to be alone, to include others in that life that is invisible and intangible. To make it visible and tangible, we need light and material, any material. And any material can take on the burden of what has been brewing in our consciousness, in our awareness or in our dreams. ”
This collection included handweaving, handstitching, natural dying, printmaking & writting.
The works were made over a two year span, while I healed from a ligiment tear in my foot.
slow steps
“When I stop to think about sharing the meaning in my work, I realise how deeply personal it is. This work is about healing, emerging from a time of confusion and doubt, a time in which I stumbled and found myself deep in reflection. Slow Steps has been about remembering the joy of creating for myself. Drawing with carving tools, fiber and thought. Slow Steps is the beginning of stepping away from the fear of imperfection. I'm learning to just be, to play, to make with intention, but to be able to breathe freely within it. Slowing down, tuning in.”
It was the beginning of June last year, where I found myself post surgery, sitting by the fire, ready for a winter of exactly that. Feeling incredibly foggy and intentionally still, in the fear of movement induced pain. Here I found myself at the beginning of a new sense of slow.
Eight months later and in a new stage of recovery, I reflect. Two surgery's, casts, moon boots, the pretty constance view of my knee as I sat with my leg piled high on pillows. Learning to walk twice, and still seemly doing so. Bum shuffling up and down stairs. Figuring out new ways to do simple tasks; like carrying water across a room on crutches. Sitting on a chair in the shower with my leg in a water tight bag. Sobbing into an ice-cream. Complications, more painful than the initial tear. Overly optimist advice, adding premature excitement to an already exhausted existence.
While all of this may sound doom and gloom, with little room for moments of light. I realise now it was there all along, I see it, spinning through my eye, a thread. It was there, right next to me, my thread of light. I've carried it in my fingers, it's guided me in movement, and held me in my healing.
This thread has taught me a new sense of slow and for this I am grateful. For slow moments in my life have magnified and so too their meaning.
Each woven piece took about 24hrs of accumulated time to weave.
Warp: Black merino wool
Weft: Black merino wool - white mercerised cotton
Warp: 2meters - black merino wool
weft: black merino wool - green & white mercerised cotton
Warp: Black merino wool
Weft: Black merino wool - handspun Polworth form local Starcrest Farm in Oxford, Canterbury. All handspun yarn is naturally dyed with fresh indigo, avocado skins, carrot tops, walnut husks and iron.
Warp & Weft: Black merino wool
This piece, woven entirely with black merino wool gives focus to texture, highlighted through light and the subtle changes in pattern.
Warp: Black merino wool
Weft: Black merino wool - mercerised cotton hand dyed with Indigo
Warp: Black merino wool
Weft: Black merino wool - handspun Polworth brown wool form local farm Starcrest Farm in Oxford, Canterbury.