As an artist, inspiration can come from many places. The landscape surrounding you, wildlife spotted on a hike or even from cleaning out your studio!
I like to do a big clean out before I start a new project and often I’m struck by the amount of waste a textile artist can accumulate. I try and keep even the tiniest scrap of fabric and thread in the hope that I can incorporate it into a new art work somewhere along the way.
My latest project has done just that.
A keen birdwatcher I wanted to create a habitat using studio and household waste as my inspiration.
I take many long walks through my locality taking photos and sketching wildlife on the way. I like to pay attention to the colors of the hedgerows and textures of mosses ferns and branches at different times of the years. Along with the behaviors of the birds and wildlife .
At this time of year you can spot many abandoned nests along the hedgerows. Its amazing how they’re so tightly woven together and lined with different natural materials to maker them the perfect environment for new life.
I took inspiration from this and using scraps of fabric, wool roving from Irish sheep, old threads and string I stitched together my own little nest. The thrush itself was also appliqued before I reorganized my thread palette and embroidered his details.
I wanted to add another layer of recycled materials to the artwork so after finding a sheet of handmade paper I had made from scraps I decided to stitch the entire piece onto this. I added branches by sculpting old paper, card and even toilet rolls to create more twigs and leaves.
I titled the finished piece ‘Nesting’ its 43cm x 30cm unframed and available to purchase.
You can see more images and videos on how it was made over on my Instagram feed too.