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Helen
Neale - Textile Artist
My work begins from a love of light and colour that I have had
all my conscious life. The instant excitement of dyeing is tempered
by the slower crafts of spinning and knitting. Although the
time put into spinning can never be reflected in the price of
the finished piece, the uniqueness of the yarn is an important
part of the design. The very scarcity of each batch of yarn
is a challenge. Gradually I am beginning to find other ways
of using my skills and gaining new ones and I enjoy the journey
without a planned ending. I enjoy combining traditional techniques
with original design to produce beautiful garments and other
textile pieces.
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Spinning is a very ancient craft and extremely pleasant to
do; the use of natural fibres, the range of choices to be
made about the nature of the yarn to be created and the excitement
of planning a garment from fibre to wearer are all attractive.
Furthermore it is a skill that can be practised at different
levels and still produce pleasing results. I have been knitting
for most of my life but now I knit to create unique garments
from my own designs, often inspired by my artwork based on
natural forms – such as tree-bark and water.
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Dyeing is exciting
and rewarding whether I work with natural dyes or commercial
ones. It is a mix of chemistry and cooking and I get a real
buzz out of obtaining colours planned or unplanned.
I choose to make work for sale as this gives me a freedom to
experiment with designing for the unknown buyer. I am very lucky
to belong to the Craft Co-operative at Harding House in Lincoln
which gives me a security and confidence not enjoyed by other
makers. I also enjoy the contact with makers working in other
fields.
I now belong to two textile groups,- Dodeka and Art through
Textiles – both of which give me the opportunity to expand
my work in different ways, and enjoy the friendship and support
of other textile artists.
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