Bruce shorewalk 1

A New Venture in Textiles.
After many years of interest in abstract forms and art that evolves rather than is designed, I had an unusual chance to try some abstract textiles.
A friend gave me a peg loom to try out, and I was soon ripping up duvet covers to make thick cotton rugs. Not very artistic, but fun and useful. A chance meeting provided me with large quantities of reclaimed coloured wool from weaving looms, so I tried weaving coloured wool on the peg loom.
The initial effects were interesting, but limited by the warp & weft structure of the material. Having found ways of blending and swapping the colours, I am experimenting with creating space and form within and from outside the textile material.
The inspiration behind this work is to try and recreate the feelings I get when I walk along the local coastline looking at the sky, rocks, waves and pebbles, by creating a combination of shapes and colours that remind me of those feelings. As the work is woven, it grows along it’s length, and is difficult to design, rather it has to be continuously added to. A sense of discipline is needed to keep control of the space and colour areas, while an overall concept is needed to guide the creativity.
While the work is being woven, it looks very stichy, and a bit flat and uninspiring. The final process is to felt the material, usually by chucking it in a washing machine. This softens the lines and blends the colours, so helping express the original feeling of the beach experience. The rugs are thick and nice to touch and walk on, as well as for hanging on walls.