The Boat quilt I made for The Voyagers was the first textile piece I’ve ever really done and the folded boats, though, in my head, more easily doable came out much better than I thought. Through the whole project I was worried that the idea would be more beautiful than the installation. My other worry was whether anyone would actually take part; in the end about 90 people did.
I wanted to try and explore the idea of shared making, to some extent relinquishing control so that the making process was meaningful for participants and their individuality was present in the final piece.
I did learn too that I need a good team around me to help install and that lots of hand sewing is excruciating so if I do a hand stitched piece again I must give myself more time.
I went to the last talk in a series of lectures on the bronze age boat find and one thing struck me in particular in relation to my piece and the linking of personal histories to the historical objects in the museum. It is possible that something like a tsunami event divided Britain from the continent and this would have created refugees, some going to France and some staying in Britain. Families would inevitably have been split. The suggestion is that what drove boat travel to the continent would not just have been trade but a wish to see members of one’s family, now on the other side of the water.
So now I am back in the studio drawing but also thinking of the next collaborative project I might do.
