The Woollen Spoon: Uni, Textiles & My Happy Place...

I believe it’s about time that I mentioned a bit about my work. In my first post I briefly touched on the fact that I was at University for four years studying Textile Crafts, during which time I reflected quite a bit on my life and work as a person and as an artist.

I began University with a notion to use anything and everything in my work as I had previously been spoilt at college having been given the chance to work a bit too freely with materials. So when starting university I was a bit surprised when they asked us to choose one specific specialism from; embroidery, knit, weave or print.

Now having only discovered the wonderful world of felting I was a bit disappointed that I couldn’t specialise in that, and if I did want to do it I had to incorporate it with one of the other four specialism’s causing more work for myself, which was the last thing I wanted.

In the end up I selected print as my specialist area as I felt I could express myself and apply my skills more freely with a medium that wasn’t so limited and structured. I believed that there wasn’t a lot I could accomplish with weave and knit as it was a very slow process for someone who gets a buzz from fast on the spot art. I love having a vision or a sudden flash of inspiration and being able to create it in as little time as possible.
This is one of the reasons I found it hard to listen to the tutors when they were advising us to plan, plan, research, research before making. I always thought it took the fun out of art and I still do :) The only time I actually benefited from this advice was during my final year exhibition (aka the degree show), if it wasn’t for all the planning ahead it would have been a disaster. And I suppose in the end that’s what they were preparing us for.

Luckily for me my degree show did not turn out to be a disaster, it actually went quite well and I would have to say it was one of my proudest achievements. The relief when finally getting everything up and handed in was unexplainable, such a weight was lifted off my shoulders with a great feeling of accomplishment.

The theme for my Final Major Project was ‘Shoreline’, the reason I choose this was because I wanted to work on something that reflected me as a person and as a creative thinker...
‘Shoreline’ was based a rocky shore not far from where I live on the coast of N.Ireland, I often went there to think and reflect. There was something about the colours and ambience that I loved and it made me feel at peace.

When I moved away from home to embark on university life I was saddened by the fact that I could not wonder into the wild or look upon the rolls of scenery and I became slightly homesick. It made me aware of how much I took the natural beauty of home for granted and I wanted to express these emotions and connections through my work.

These are some photography finals I used for inspiration and my portfolio

To capture the colours, textures and forms of the shore in the way I wanted to portray them I decided to use a technique called heat setting. By using this technique I could physically create what I saw as well as giving myself a challenge, I was quite new to the technique and had never worked on such a large scale before.

Here’s some samples produced while experimenting with shapes, dyes and materials. I apologise for some of the bad picture quality.

I also had some of my samples photograghed by photographer Andrew Farrington

for the degree show catalogue and postcards.

After sampling and researching for weeks I finally could begin the process of creating the final installation. I had to shape, dye, steam and set two 8ft long lengths of silk satin and two 8ft long lengths of silk organza, which was not an easy process.

To get the movement I wanted I stitched through the fabric to create ripples and curves and tied in large rocks and pebels for the shapes and textures.


I then hand dyed the fabric using eye droppers and large seringes, messy but fun :) I also sprinkled salt on certain areas which reacts with the dye and creates a speckled effect on the fabric.

Then after leaving to dry over night the whole thing gets tied up and put into a large steamer to set the dye. Its then washed of all excess dyes...

...and positioned on a tray to dry in a massive oven, ending the heat setting process.

It took me 3-4 months to plan, experiment and produce my final installation. If I had more time and space I would have made it 5 times bigger spreading all along the floor :)… maybe some day!!