Rusty circles

I've always enjoyed the effects of weathering and seeing the impact of the elements over time. I find coastlines endlessly inspiring, the ceaseless erosion by waves, wind and salty air on wood, stone and metal.

I am mesmerised by patination and rust and have been exploring natural rust colours with rust dying.

I love the ginger tones that rusty iron creates and have been using similar shapes that I use in my jewellery to explore colour and pattern.

These experimental samples include iron wire, handmade paper, cotton, linen, muslin, hand stitch and burning to create holes and more natural colouration from the deep brown of the burnt edge.

In using copper in my jewellery I try to exploit the natural colouration from heat and exposure to the air, incorporating the warm peach tones, through to deep reds that copper takes on over time.

I can't resist playing with repeated shapes.

Textile responses

This week I've been exploring different constructed textile processes to capture texture. Weave is so time consuming but there's something nice about the pace, it's quiet and calming.

I particularly enjoy working in neutral yarns to focus entirely on texture. But knit and crochet are processes I always come back to simply because of the freedom and potential they offer.

I usually work with around 5 knitting needles at once, leaving stitches hanging on double ended needles, the way you do when creating cables. In this way I can create wonky rows and clusters of stitch by knitting back and forth mid-row.

The loops are made by using very large needles in and amongst smaller ones.

I get my favourite yarns from a lovely lady who runs Habu Textiles. She is based in New York and Kyoto and visits the UK occasionally for things like the Knitting and Stitching Show. I stock up on carefully selected unusual fibres like 'fique', from the pineapple family, kibiso silk and paper moire. 

They are so beautifully packaged it's almost a shame to use them, so I only use small strands to capture the effect I want. 

Texture

I was fortunate to be able to spend the time between Christmas and New Year in Mudeford, Dorset this year and took an early morning walk on the beach. It was frosty and bright, the colours and textures of seaweed and driftwood washed up by recent gales were heightened by long shadows from the low sun. Rich pickings, so many inspirational shapes and patterns, can't wait to get making.

I'm guessing these are types of seaweed,  really rubbery textures with gorgeous repeated patterns. 

These are some of my initial drawings. I love to draw, I find it deeply meditative and nourishing. One of my many New Year's Resolutions is to make the time to do it more.

sketchbooks

Sketchbooks are a huge passion of mine, especially handmade books. I always have at least 5 on the go, following themes which I always come back to as sources for inspiration. This summer I decided to make some very teeny concertina books, measuring only 7cm x 5cm and I took them almost everywhere I went.

This one sprung to life on the beach in Nice; so many pebbles, warmed by the sun, hot to the touch, I just couldn't resist.

Back in the UK, a train journey had me drawing lichen. 24 pages of it, simple repeated shapes, patterns and textures. Shapes I already use in my jewellery.

So many gorgeous pebbles, I wanted to record the soft colours. My collected favourites were all marked with a white ring, a seam of white quartz within them. 

I love to draw, and these are some of my bigger sketchbooks, I never consider them finished, more of an ongoing accompaniment to my 3D pieces. Each one has a theme, sources of shape, pattern and texture that I use as reference in the pieces I create in metal and textiles.

My photos are from innumerable visits to the coast, as well as the basement of Manchester Museum. Gorgeous fossilised corals.

I learnt how to make sketchbooks at an inspiring workshop with Lucy May Schofield, a professional bookbinder with mesmerising passion for her craft. The course was based at Hotbed Press in Manchester, a fantastic workspace for printmakers, where registered members can use a selection of resources in open access studios. They run regular courses in all kinds of paper based techniques, its a great place, full of enticing printing presses and drawers full of moveable type and their expert guidance makes it really accessible.