A slow start to 2021, cold dark mornings occasionally enlivened with a magic dusting of frost, or snow. There are applications that I need to write and projects that I need to plan but there is also a need to organise family life as we start another term of home schooling and zoom meetings. We all need a space to work and a space to live. All the aphorisms of a new year seem muted as we need to keep safe and try to get on with our lives.
Walking in the snow, local parks – January 2nd 2021
New work is progressing as I explore landscape in more abstract forms, starting with small pieces that will help me create larger compositions. I aim to produce a large number of these small pieces, learning all the time about how to pair hand stitch with machine, and which stitch format works best for bold or delicate marks. They are like puzzles that I solve, moving pieces of fabric around and adding layers of thread until the balance feels right. The satisfaction of achieving this balance helps to override the constant anxiety running through life at this moment. It is good to focus my thoughts on the places that inspire me, remembering what it is like to be out on the hills or at the edge of the sea.
Journey Mapping Series – available in my Folksy.com shop
When the light gets too poor to stitch I have a new mound of inspiring books to mine for ideas and understanding. Reading ‘The Salt Path’ by Raynor Winn has made me want to pull on my walking boots and head for the hills. Not possible at the moment but I can travel through my stitches. ‘Birds Britannica’ and ‘Flora Britannica’ are full of stories and folklore that encourage more ideas for context and ‘The Lost Spells’ is just a beautiful book to get lost in. When its grey and dark outside cozying up with a book and a large mug of tea is delicious, especially when there is Parkin to munch on too.
So for now, I shall pull on my boots to explore local green spaces; I’ve seen the first snowdrops or snow piercers pushing through the leaf mould and frost, soon there will be crocuses and ammonites too. A brisk walk, a mug of scalding hot tea and then on to the work bench, sketchbooks to fill and an exhibition to plan. Bring it on 2021, bring it on.
Donna Cheshire Textiles 