I am in Spain, in sweltering heat and light with my family, trying to do a bit of work in between… Willow has sent me photos of the model she made based on sketches , to see how the frame will look around the structure. I will use this to try out ideas on the dressing of the space and the colour palette. She also sent me some of the thoughts she has written over the years, one which resonates in particular –
'SIMPLICITY does not mean without detail. Simplicity means even more attention is paid to how things feel, how they really are, so that a simple gesture can summon up a whole experience'.
I wanted to put here an updated description of the project that I wrote the other day:
'Crafting Space invites visitors to Origin to engage in the hands-on weaving of a 3.6 m high x 2.8 m wide circular structure.
Visitors may choose from questions posted within the space which will ask them to consider the meaning and value of making, buying and collecting in a new and intriguing context . They will then write their response on a length of translucent ribbon and weave this into the structure.
The intention is to transform visitors perception of what it means to be engaged in craft.
Based on the dimensions of the perfect circle, the project offers a point of reflection and connection, weaving together diverse members of the public and capturing a moment in time in a unique and delicate way.
The weaving of one of the 3,000 ribbons required to cover the structure will give individual visitors the opportunity to transform the bare bones of an existing piece of craft into a stunning object of collective creativity.
Crafting Space makes use of textiles , architecture and written text –'architexture’ – to offer a social, poetic experience to visitors that is intended to unify and inspire.'
i like this term 'architexture', it captures the hybrid medium I am working with more and more. It comes from an essay called 'Drawing Threads from Sight to Site' by Victoria Mitchell, published in 'Textile – the Journal of Cloth and Culture' edited by Janis Jefferies and Diana Wood Conroy (published by Berg). Janis is my mentor on my R+D this year and I am slowly discovering her writings with relish.
