Through research and material exploration, I have looked to Ireland’s past and our long history of being resourceful and creative, to inform the processes driving my work. As an educator, I feel it is important that we know the provenance of how we have made textiles in the past. Throughout my design process I have been able to create a body of work and resources that will allow me to bring these ways of working into my education practice. By using natural, locally sourced materials and hand processes, I have created an almost entirely handmade collection of felted fabrics. I have combined hand processed Irish wool with handmade linen knitting and crochet, all naturally dyed to represent the soft colours and characteristics of the Irish landscape. The allure of our Irish terrain and how beautifully it’s portrayed through art and photography, past and present, inspired its representation in my work.
Mount Anville Secondary School, Dublin 14. Synge Street CBS, Dublin 8. St. Joseph's Secondary School, Rush, Co. Dublin.
1 - Final Sample Collection, created to take advantage of the interaction between felt and light
2 - Large sample of blue linen knit felted between a variety of wools
3 - Close up of the fabric qualities created with knit and felt
4 - Straw felted between natural white wool
5 - Close up of crochet and yarn felted between strips of mixed breed grey wool
6 - Sample showing flaps of felt with pink tips that can be lifted from the main fabric
7 - Close up showing the combination of natural white and black wools with flax
8 - Interaction of fabric with artificial light
9 - Close up of wool felted through a piece of knit and held against artificial light
10 - Fabric sample in natural light