Julia’s ceramic studio lampshade
It was a privilege to be asked to make two willow shades for this gorgeous pottery studio after meeting Julia on a sewing workshop. I’ve always wanted to be able to weave elegant, neat lampshades with gorgeous coloured willow rods. Before I went to meet Julia in her utterly dreamy studio space, a renovated stone building on the shore, that was what I had in mind that I would create for her.
But spending time together in the space I wanted to weave something that would complement the age of this beautifully renovated stone building. I wanted to create something more rugged and rustic than I usually aim for.
Julia wanted a lot of space in the weaving to allow light in the space, and she showed me a garlic basket she’d bought from a local basket maker that she was using as a lampshade in the studio. It looked perfect there and gave me so much inspiration, leading me to use chunky willow rods for weaving this shade. I used my croft grown Dicky Meadows for the uprights and wale, and Brittany Green from Barfad for the weaving.
When Julia asked for space in the shades, I initially thought about doing some Irish weave or even trying fitching. I also considered weaving in some beautiful Daphnoides catkins for a moment, as I was so thrilled with how pretty this variety is, and I’ve grown some for the first time.
But after chatting with Julia, I realised there was no need to overcomplicate this. The more I thought about it, I didn’t want complicated weaving patterns, fancy colours or super neat trimming. I had a good flick through Joe Hogans ‘Basketmaking in Ireland’ book before I started weaving for inspiration, and this postcard from Climavore that I’d kept in there fell out. I decided to try and roughly recreate the shape of the creel in the photograph, to reflect the history of the area, the people who lived here before us, and the importance of willow and weaving to their lives.
In her pottery studio with some coffee and the stove on, and the most gorgeous lab curled up happily snoozing, we chatted about our creative journeys, how we ended up on the west coast (both of us being from the East) and about how perfectionism can affect our creativity.
I wanted to make these shades for her to hang in her studio while she and others work, with the idea that what we make doesn’t need to be flawless. It doesn’t need to be free of any kinks or cracks. I want to see the struggle and journey in hand-made things that are real and raw and human. Where the rods were scarred by bramble thorns as they were growing, I kept them in, to reflect the story of the material growing in this harsh environment, with its acidic soil and salt-laden winds.
I’m hoping to get more of my baskets available from local shops this year, and to be more in the real world than the virtual one. I brought this lampshade along to the Women of Art Exhibition at Skye Bridge Studios which is on until the 27th of March, with the themes of connection, inspiration and empowerment. I had a really lovely day there with friends painting, listening to beautiful stories from brave local women and stuffing my face with delicious food.
The lampshade was only there for one day, as I wanted to get it to Julia and see it in the space, but I have some other baskets still there including one that is for sale.
Massive thanks to Julia for trusting me with this x
