weekly weaves: improvising

Monday, 2 December 2013

repetition is the mother of invention

Dailymade #131120

Over two years into posting one dailymade a day and with nearly 800 of these under my belt, the thought that I am starting to repeat myself has crossed my mind a few times. Recent work however has put this worry to rest.

Dailymade #131119

A couple of weeks ago I started reusing sisal twine which I have an abundance of in the studio. The plan was to make doilies with the coarse twine, but what happened between start of the process (always the same sequence of 6 stitches looped into a circle) and the finish (when my 10m bundle was used up) resulted in a different outcome every time. The instruction I set for myself inevitably seem to lead to freeform making and the range of objects you see illustrated above and below.

Dailymade #131122

Sure, I could have been stricter with myself and stuck to an exact pattern, but I decided instead to a keep soft focus on what I intended to make and 'riff' with the material. As a result repeating the same simple tying and knotting manoeuvres lead to much innovation and discovery. So, worrying about posting the same old dailymades, I don’t see it happening any time soon...

Dailymade #131121

Saturday, 5 January 2013

horns of (little and) plenty

stripped and split sycamore
dailymade #120705

Going round in circles comes really naturally when I’m making. This is not altogether surprising as I commonly use basketry techniques for producing my dailymades. Reviewing a year's work I now realise just how many of these are circular, conical and horn shaped.

plaited paper
dailymade #121021

My aim is to make sculptures rather than baskets though. These constructions rarely have bases, or handles, and are often made from ephemeral materials. I'm interested in assembling and manipulating materials through the process of weaving. Tying the ends of flexible lengths of materials together is a usual starting point and the final shape, largely determined by the nature of the materials themselves, is achieved by working these through improvised or repeated actions. Striking the right balance between the two actions is how the potential in the work is revealed, often in mysterious and surprising ways.

plaited paper
dailymade #121214

With repetition comes certainty and the accidental ends up controlled. When a pattern emerges, this is my cue to stop weaving; the suggestion of a pattern is enough. Repeatedly ‘looping the loop’ is unnecessary because at this stage the open-ended spirals of these woven cornucopias are already full of promise, tempting you to look closer.