tangled threads
This rich seam of work was a cathartic response to confusion; it explored ways to untangle and repair.
Creative exercises led, by way of ripping and unravelling, to old-fashioned darning-cards wrapped in thin coloured wools for mending clothes.
The darning cards became a symbol for repair, care and attention with the motif repeated through most of the artworks. The humble darning elevated from card to hand-cut, burnished, smoke-fired and polished treasures wrapped in glorious coloured threads.
The tactile, patinated and carefully wrapped ceramic yarn cards are then arranged to tell a story of optimism, hope and gratitude.
In 2023 I decided that the darning card shape was too literal. It had served its purpose of representing repair and respect, but finding a more simple, primordal shape with less textile and more smoke firing patina became important.
This lovely shape appeared, easier to cut, burnish and wrap - and much less likely to break at the corners! The larger ratio of smoke markings to textile wrapping meant a shift in emphasis which works well for me.
I call them ‘bones’ but only because I can’t think of another name for them!