Boat 6

2009

" x "

£

The work I have produced for this series was inspired by a number of abandoned, decaying fishing boats I photographed on a beach in Brittany, France. Over the years, the wooden hulls have acquired many, many layers of paint. As time passed, the unceasingly destructive elements of sea and weather have been at work to reveal little jewel like patches of colour. Cracked paint is something of a cliche as an inspiration for textile art - it's no surprise to me though that it has such enduring appeal. Those colourful surfaces are simply irresistible!

I created most of the fabric of the hangings using a needlefelting machine. The stitching, intended to represent the cracks in the paint, was worked by hand using Lana, a wool and acrylic blend of thread made by Madeira. There is some simple machine stitching worked with Madeira rayon embroidery thread. The hangings consist mostly of hand dyed woollen fabrics with additions of hand dyed cotton scrim.

Take a look at the next piece of work in this series...