Elements 1: Water

This didn’t start out as a series. I just wanted to refire my making mojo after six weeks of lacking the energy even to read or watch TV, let alone make anything.

I’d been looking at some of the wonderful Japanese wave and ripple designs published by the Public Domain Review. So I picked a familiar technique – coiling – and familiar materials – wire and hemp for the core, linen yarn for the stitching – and just went for it.

Some of my pieces require a bit of advance planning, especially the modular work that has to fit together. But this was more intuitive – going with the flow(!) and seeing where it went. In fact I was “in the zone” so much that I didn’t take any process photos until I was well over halfway.

The repetitive meditative nature of coiling was a perfect way to ease back into making. I enjoyed it so much that I’ve decided to make a series of four different elements: water, fire, earth, and air. Watch this space!