Harvest time! Thanks to Angharad, Charlotte and Gavin for helping with the harvest, it was beautiful Derbyshire Indian Summer Afternoon. The flax is currently drying in my studio ready to be processed next year.
Angharad and I recently presented a paper titled Woven Within the Surface: Interconnected explorations of fine art linen canvas at the Intersections conference at Loughborough University in London. It was great and very insightful lots of linen love out there. Here’s a link to download the full paper
Weaving Process
Concurrent to growing the flax crop, the process of
collaborating on woven linen canvas design and production began at Angharad’s studio in Primary, Nottingham (April 2017). Using
commercially available and vintage hand spun linen threads, small samples of
woven fabrics have been developed, from elementary plain-woven linens,
herringbone, satin, and sateen structures to introduce basic processes
and terminology, to more complex patterned and textured fabrics.
Lost in Flax Flowers
Gavin got up at 5am one morning to capture the field in full bloom. It was mesmerizing, with the elements constantly changing what we were looking at and experiencing, Here’s a short film of one of many clips we took. This time the music is by myself.
Flax Growth
And grow it did! we sowed the crop at the beginning of April and it was in full bloom at the beginning of July. Flax obviously like the field, it’s soil and location, we did put a rabbit proof fence around it to stop any critters taking interest in it.
Preparing to sow
Another short film of myself and Angharad McLaren preparing the land ready to sow.
Music by a drysalter
Visual similarities
There have been lots of interesting visual similarities in the different processes and materials we have been using. I couldn’t resist overlaying a linen warp with the furrows of the field.
Working with our hands
The value of labour has been something that has come to the fore during the start of the project. This short video shows Angharad McLaren sowing the flax seeds in the field and also preparing a warp.
Music by a drysalter
Angharad McLaren’s weave studio in Primary, Nottingham
Before we start weaving with what we hope will be some usable linen thread, that we will have produced, I need to learn the basics of the weaving process! Thankfully I’ve got an expert collaborator and mentor in Angharad McLaren. We made a small warp to start practicing on using off the shelf linen threads as well a vintage hand-spun one I found on E-bay. If anyone knows about complex weave structures and pattern it’s Angharad! http://www.angharadmclaren.co.uk/
Peter Matthews
A good friend of mine Peter Matthews also came by to help with preparing the ground. We had a camp fire evening meal in the nearby woods. Pete is an artist whose work is made in and around the oceans. He and and his work have been a big inspiration for this project, I guess I want to somehow reach a depth of connection to my environment that I think Pete gets, although his has an immediacy to it that my slow methodical process won’t have. Check out his work http://petermatthews.org/gallery
Christopher John Thornhill
All collaborators have done their share of digging!!
Christopher John Thornhill
Chris is one of the collaborators on the project, he’s a writer, poet and musician. He’s going to help document the process through his beautiful text pieces, this is his first one! Chris also makes music under the moniker of a drysalter.
More Digging
We probably should have put some tarp down the previous year to cover the land, it would have made the digging over process much easier. I suppose there’s always next year!
The first in a series of short films that explores the physical processes involved in the project and its relationship to the landscape and matter.
Digging!
The collaboration with Angharad McLaren started at the digging stage, Bramble Gavin Repton’s fine hound also helped.