A foray into upholstery
This is a bit of a diversion from my normal subject area. But I’m posting about it because upholstery is a subject I knew very little about, and it’s not until I tried it that I became aware just how much work is involved (a bit like basketry!). We have a set of six ladderback […]
Peter Collingwood at Margaret Howell
Those of you who have followed me for a while know that I am a great fan of Peter Collingwood. His book The Maker’s Hand (aka Textile and Weaving Structures) is one of my favourite reference books for the way it analyses techniques from around the world, and I admire his engineering ability that can […]
Twining with bindweed
Much of my practice involves playing with different materials. Often I repeat the same technique with different materials, as the qualities of the material can have a significant effect on the result. Thickness, rigidity, flexibility, and even colour can make a piece look very different. Previously I’ve made spiky dodecahedrons by twining with hemp and […]
Claudia Alarcón and Silät at the De La Warr Pavilion
Many years ago at a Slow Food event in Italy, before I got into basketry, I bought a bag made in Argentina. What appealed to me was the cleverness of the open-weave structure, the colours (I took it for granted they were natural dyes), and the strong smell of woodsmoke, which persisted for quite a […]
More looping with two colours
Following on from my previous looping experiments, I decided to continue working with two colours. When I worked with simple and cross-knit looping in two colours before, I was working around a tube to create a cylinder, so no increases or decreases were required. But to make a basket base you start at the centre […]
Do Ho Suh: Walk the House at Tate Modern
In this beautiful, thought-provoking exhibition, Korean artist Do Ho Suh explores the concept of home, based on dwellings he has lived in in three cities – Seoul, New York, and London. By physically recreating aspects of these houses and apartments through rubbing and stitching, Suh explores the relationship between architecture, the body, and memory. What […]
Sukumo indigo vat
If you’ve followed me for a while you’ll know that I used to do a lot of indigo dyeing before the basketry bug took hold. I’ve worked with synthetic and natural vats and also grew Japanese indigo in my garden. I used freshly picked leaves to create beautiful turquoise on silk, and also fermented the […]
Looping experiments
Now that my Morley College teaching year is finished, the July issue of the Basketmakers’ Association Journal has gone to press, and the weather has cooled down a bit, I have more time to play. One thing that I really enjoyed during the pandemic lockdown was having the time to try things out and experiment, […]
Completing our tukutuku
About a year ago I attended a workshop to make a tukutuku – a latticework panel used to decorate a Māori meeting house. You can read the blog post about it here: unfortunately, we ran out of time to complete it. Happily, the tutors Jim and Cathy Schuster returned to the UK a couple of […]
Saltaire Arts Trail 2025
I’m very excited to be taking part in the Saltaire Arts Trail over the late May bank holiday weekend on 24-26 May. Saltaire, a village near Bradford in West Yorkshire, is named after Sir Titus Salt. In the mid-1800s he built a textile mill here on the River Aire, along with a village to house […]
