Vikings! Weaving based adventures

Weaving

One of Prism Arts big projects this year is a project exploring our Viking heritage in West Cumbria. Funded by the Heritage Lottery and working with Studio Theatre West the project has involved researching dialect, landscape, warfare, textiles and many other aspects of Viking life. There have also been lots of research visits, including a trip to the Isle of Man.

Inspiration from the Isle of Man

Inspiration from the Isle of Man

Inspiration from the Isle of Man

I have been involved in the project in a small way looking at textiles and taking part in the Isle of Man trip. I've really enjoyed working on this project, it's given me different avenues to research that I wouldn't have necessarily come across otherwise.

Inspiration from the Isle of Man

Inspiration from the Isle of Man

Inspiration from the Isle of Man

During my first session on this project a Viking reenactor visited to demonstrate some natural dyeing techniques the Vikings would have used. Natural dyeing is something I've been interested in for a long time and it was really interesting to hear about different processes and dye stuffs. I think that this is an area of my personal practice I would really like to develop more so I enjoyed the session and it gave me some new avenues to explore. Since then I've been playing about more with plant dyes and am currently making a list of dye plants to grow at home.

Viking reenactor: Natural Dyeing

Viking reenactor: Natural Dyeing

Natural Dye-stuffs

My main contribution to this project has been to run weaving sessions. Almost every Viking homestead would probably have had a loom set up and cloth would have been made for clothing, the home and for trade. I've really enjoyed these sessions, seeing how each individual child and participant has approached the weaving in a different way has really inspired me and encouraged me to 'play' more in my own work.

Drop spinning!

Drop spinning

Hand-spun yarn and felted cords

For my first hands on session I did some felt making and a bit of drop spinning with the children and participants. Whilst we may not have produced a huge amount of usable thread it was hilarious and everyone enjoyed trying to keep the spindle going and draw out the fleece at the same time. I got the children to work in pairs and it was lovely seeing how absorbed they were in the task and how proud they were when they got it working!

Weaving on cardboard looms

Weaving on cardboard looms

Weaving on cardboard looms

I then continued my sessions looking at weaving. Because time was relatively limited I made simple cardboard looms so that everyone could have a go and learn the basics. I also took along some larger simple frame looms and peg looms so that if people really got into it they could take it further. I only had a half day session with each of four groups of four children (16 all together!) but the Studio Theatre West Coast participants were with me for all those session so got two full days of weaving.

Weaving on cardboard looms

Weaving on cardboard looms

Weaving on cardboard looms

As I mentioned before it was fascinating seeing the different approaches everyone took and it was also fascinating seeing which ways of weaving worked best for the participants. The children created a range of imaginative and beautiful weaves, with varying degrees of technical skill, and enjoyed experimenting with incorporating different materials, such as ribbons, twigs and feathers.

Woven on a cardboard loom

Working on a frame loom

Sculptural Weaving on a frame loom

I was really pleased with how well the Studio Theatre participants took to it, I didn't expect them to get so involved but one of the participants (who no one expected to go for textiles) produced the most beautiful and unique pieces by manipulating the warp threads and working tightly in small sections back and forth. I love the structural quality and careful colour choices of the work he's made. Interestingly the other participants struggled with weaving on the frames but worked really well with peg looms. I find it endlessly fascinating how different minds work and it just goes to show that it's always worth putting the effort into finding a different way that works for you.

Working on a peg loom

Working on a peg loom

Boris, or how to weave a hare...

Boris, the willow hare

One of the many great things about being an artist, particularly an artist employed by an arts organisation, is that ones training/team building/professional development tends to involve doing art stuff. Thus the Prism Arts team building day involved us all learning to make willow hares with basket maker and willow weaver Phil Bradley at the end of January.

A bunch of sticks...

Starting to add form...

A body emerges...

I was really looking forward to this workshop, last year I did a basket making course and I've done quite a bit of willow weaving to make giant puppets and lanterns so I was keen to develop my skills further. Phil is a well known and respected willow weaver and teacher and so I was looking forward to some expert guidance.

Adding structure

Can you guess what it is yet?

Taking shape

We all had a great day, it was good to have time to focus on creating something that we hadn't had to plan and to be guided through a way of working. I found it very rewarding and as well as being pleased with my sculpture I found it gave me lots of inspiration and ideas for future work. Most of all I enjoyed working with my hands, seeing my hare emerge from a bunch of sticks and spending time with my friends.

It looks like a moose...

Getting there

A host of hares

Another of the things that I enjoyed about the day was hearing about Phil's approach to work, he has an understanding and appreciation of the creatures he is representing in willow and this really shows through. He works in quite an instinctive and natural way which combined with the skill one gains from putting a lot of time and effort into ones craft leads to his sculptures having a real sense of life and movement. Whilst they may not be anatomically correct they capture the spirit of the animal. I found this very inspiring and is something I hope to bring into my own work.

Boris from the front

He casts very beautiful shadows

Studio Arts: Leaf Exhibition

Exhibition View: Collages, prints and handmade paper

Sometime ago I wrote about some of the work I was doing with my Prism Arts group. We were looking at developing various visual arts skills and techniques, using leaves as a starting point. These sessions went really well, with the participants getting stuck into trying new techniques and starting to develop personal visual vocabularies. The sessions worked so well that the group has evolved form being the visual side of our Studio Theatre Company into becoming a separate visual arts group.

Exhibition view

Bunting made from lino prints on fabric

Lino prints on fabric

For me this is a very exciting development because whilst I love theatre my passion really lies in the visual arts. Altering this group to focus on the visual arts allows me to really use my skills and knowledge to enable the participants to develop theirs. The leaf workshops (as I like to call this block of work) showed that this was the best way for the group to develop and expand. We looked at a range of techniques including lino cuts, paper cuts, paper making and weaving. The positive responses from the participants were really encouraging and have also resulted in an impressive body of work.

Collages

Collage and print

Prints

To celebrate this we held an informal exhibition in our main studio space. This allowed us not only to see how much work had been done and to celebrate our achievements but also provided a good opportunity to start developing our critical thinking skills. Having the work up on display (and before that selecting particular pieces to go up on display) makes it easier to talk about what we like and why, what worked well, what didn't work so well and ideas to try out in the future. Having the work in front of us to refer to is very helpful during this process.

Leaf prints on fabric and lino plates

Lino plates

Leaf prints on fabric and handmade paper

I really enjoyed working with the participants to create this work and seeing it displayed in the studio space I felt so proud of what they'd achieved and excited to see how the work will develop. As often happens I was intrigued by how although we all had the same starting point and used the same techniques and materials everybody's work is very different. Our next big 'event' for the visual arts group will be C-Art in September and I'm really looking forward to seeing the work the group produces.

Weaving (done on a peg loom)

Weaving (on a frame)

Weaving (on a frame)