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.