Circles and Spirals: Round and round we go

Stitched spirals; work in progress

My last couple of posts have been going into a bit more depth about my work; how it's created and some of the reasons and meanings behind it. Continuing that theme this post is vaguely about recurring motifs, specifically circles. Throughout human history and across cultures there are certain images, ideas and motifs that regularly recur, albeit in different forms. One example is spirals which are found decorating the artefacts of many civilisations across the millennia. The spiral is frequently seen as a symbol of life and evolution, I like this symbolism and find I can relate it to my own life and experiences.

Stitched limpet shell sample, Westray 2017

Stitched limpet shell sample, Westray 2017

Stitched limpet shell sample, Westray 2017

I've always been drawn (literally and metaphorically) to circles and spirals. At school my books were covered in spiralling patterns, expanding to fill every available space. These shapes and forms have continued to appear in my doodles, drawings and textile work sometimes as background pattern, sometimes as the form of the work itself, such as my 'nests.'

Sketchbook page, Westray 2017

Sketchbook page, Westray 2017

Sketchbook page, Westray 2017

Sketchbook page, Orkney 2017

When we were away in Orkney earlier this year we visited several museums and I found myself repeatedly drawn most towards the Pictish artefacts and some of the earlier Viking pieces. One of the recurring motifs was small circles which appeared on all sorts of artefacts including pots and combs. Similarly the carved stones and rocks with circular and spiralling patterns intrigued me. There are many good examples in Orkney although they are also found across Britain.

Fly to the Sky (Dusk)
Stitched textile banner 2017

Stitched spirals; work in progress

In my current work these spirals and circles continue to make an appearance. I've been working a lot on hand stitched banners; small scale textile pieces composed of hand dyed fabrics, threads and feathers. These banners are held together with meandering, often spiralling lines of running stitch which represent our journeys, both physical journeys and emotional/spiritual journeys.

Fly me to the Sky
Cyanotype and hand embroidery on cotton 2017

Circles to the Sky
Pen on paper 2017

Sky Feather Collar; work in progress.

Continuing with the feather theme I've also been working on a series of drawings and textile pieces based around feathers in circular formations which relate to collars and capes. The druids, amongst others, believed that birds had a direct connection to the heavens and the spirit world and wore capes and cloaks made from feathers in order to channel the birds spirit and to be able to transcend to the heavens. This is something I've been exploring in various ways and has led to some of the pieces I'm most pleased with.

Felted Nests, 2017

Felted Nests, 2017

Felted Nests, 2017

I've also been working on small felted vessels, nest-like forms that I want to explore further. I have an exhibition opening at Farfield Mill on 5th October which I'm really excited about but which has meant a certain amount of my focus has been on completing pieces and getting organised rather than exploring new ideas. Once the show is up I'm looking forward to developing the felted nests a bit further and possibly working more with hand made paper.