Week Sixteen: Natural Fibres & Reflective Thoughts

This week I have been catching up on the Natural Colour Making for Artists course by Plants & Colour, ready to start two new courses this month in Lake Pigments, and Printing & Painting on Textiles. I will also be starting to complete my Award in Social and Therapeutic Horticulture so it has been crucial to take some time to plan ahead for the coming months. At times this period of creative development can be overwhelmingly exciting as there is so much to learn. I don't want to wish this time away but it fills me with wonder where this learning will take me in the future and at times I can feel a little bit impatient by the time it takes me to absorb new information and apply it creatively to my practice. This week my natural fibres for spinning, weaving and embroidery have arrived and so I am starting to feel ready to start experimenting with what I have learnt about natural colour. I am realising the importance of connection with others and have enrolled onto two study groups with Plant & Colour so that I can be inspired and learn from my peers.

Natural Fibres

I'm thinking a lot about how I got here. Why natural colour? Why plants and art? Whilst my interest had initially come from a period of processing grief through connection with nature, I have come to realise that this project is so much more than that. It is my interests in botany, geology, chemistry, history, storytelling and craft that is informing a new creative practice. I am so grateful for this opportunity to learn and develop, and I can see that this will continue beyond the end of this year. I am now considering growing flax at my allotment, using seeds that I had collected from my time at Crafts in the Woods at the Heartwood Social Farming Centre. I am thinking about how this could be processed and woven into a cloth that could be printed or embroidered onto. I am thinking about how I can document the development of the allotment through photography and film, using plants that I have grown to tone and process images. I am thinking about new friends that will be made in my peers and how this might open up opportunities for further collaboration and development. My time for hibernation over the festive period has come to an end and I am looking forward to what the Spring and Summer may bring.

Week Fifteen: Winter Forage

This week is the end of hibernation over the festive period. Today I went for a forage along the Erewash and Cranfleet Canals to see what the winter season offers. It was interesting to see how the plant life had changed since my last forage in the autumn. Whilst the trees felt bare, there were still haw berries and rosehips in abundance. I collected catkins, alder cones and twigs with lichen - a handful of each stuffed into my pockets.

Catkins, Alder Cones, Rosehips, Haw Berries & Lichen

I've been thinking a lot about craft over the last couple of weeks and feel that this is an area that I really need to lean into. Some areas of craft that interest me include the red list of endangered crafts, the use of nature-based materials in wild crafts, and the use of craft within art therapy. My loom and drop spindles have arrived and I am looking forward to learning how to spin plant fibres into yarn that I can naturally dye and weave into tapestries. I want to learn more about textile crafts and the social history of women and am looking forward to joining a textiles group in my local neighbourhood.

Sunday Walk

As a lot of my learning during this period of development has been online so far, I am trying to find the balance with time to connect with nature and complete practical tasks. This first period of my development has been very much about learning, absorbing, preparing for the months ahead. I'm thinking more about the things that I would like to achieve within this period of development. For the first time ever within my creative career I am becoming interested in producing artworks that could be exhibited in museums and galleries. This is something I hadn't anticipated to happen as so much of my work in the past has been on the social elements of learning and community projects. But this feels like a new challenge and an opportunity to show what I am capable of.

Week Fourteen: Planning for the Year Ahead

This week has been very much about stopping, spending time with loved ones, and taking stock of where I'm at within my DYCP journey. Whilst the Christmas tree lights are twinkling I am spending some time planning for the year ahead. Whilst in one hand I am trying to break things down into small chunks so that I don't become overwhelmed, in the other hand I am still bursting with ideas of things that I want to explore and I am allowing room for this project to evolve in the way that it needs. I've been finding it hard to think about anything other than clearing the allotment but am putting my trust in the process that every step will bring with it new ideas and challenges to overcome. I'll be starting work on the allotment from the first weekend in January and will be dedicating one day a week to this aspect of the project.

Planning for 2026

I'm also feeling incredibly inspired by craft and shall be joining a textiles group in the New Year to explore drop spindle spinning with plant based fibres, weaving and bobbin lace making. I'm thinking about how craft can connect us to heritage, whether that is our own family histories or the sense of a place. I'm thinking about craft that connects to the land and I am exploring ideas to grow plants for natural fibres that can then be spun into yarn, woven into cloth and dyed with natural colour. I'm thinking about the ways in which my grandparents have inspired me - from growing vegetables in their garden to making their own clothes. From stories of my grandmother growing up on a farm and being out in the fields in the moonlight, to her bobbin lace still pinned to a cushion almost frozen in time. The more steps that I take within this project, the more comfortable and at ease I am feeling within myself. That my interest lies in this intersection between art, design and craft, and the connection that it has to storytelling, education, history, health and the land.