Storyteller

Storyteller; 224x120x41cm.

Nepalese nettle yarn, hand gathered and spun by a women’s collective rebuilding their village through self-sufficiency; Alpaca yarn grown by Jura and Archie of Auld Mill Alpacas near Alves; Silk and Ramie blend yarn, Saltwater Rose London; Heritage 2ply and lace weight Shetland wool yarns, Jameson &Smith Shetland Wool Brokers; Inherited 1970’s J C Rennie Shetland pure wool yarn; Copper circuit wire, damaged goods Maplin closing down sale; DMC Broder Machine 50 weight cotton, France; 2ply straw thread, handmade in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire; split soft rushes, Cloddymoss , Brodie, Isle of Lewis; cygnet feathers, 2017/18 breeding season Brodie pond; duckweed, Brodie pond; Walnut fermentation dye, single tree Elgin; Yarrow dye, Darklass Road, Dyke; Acorn dye, Culbin forest and Sanquar pond, Forres; Whin flower fermentation dye, Loanhead to Kintessack bridle path; Heather flower dye, Culbin forest; Eucalyptus dye, two trees Elgin and Nairn; Madder dye, stone ground Iranian powder; Natural dyed local sourced wool, Spindrift Colours, Shetland;  waste silk cocoons, Blood, O-Positive, artists own.

Wooden traditional stretcher, crofter built, Cullyvoe, Shetland with forty years active usage.

All corded on the sewing machine, four thousand + meters of yarn has been knitted, unravelled and knitted again at and enroute to Loanhead, Elgin, Nairn, Stornoway, Glasgow on car, bus and ferry.

As a child, I was taught to knit by my mother. A skill forever associated with comfort and security. During many house moves in my childhood, the rhythm of her knitting was there in the background, This piece is a reflection on how memories knit together both physically and emotionally with place, protection and displacement. The third jumper I have ever made.

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Degree show 2018 Moray School of Art, UHI