Louise Amelia Phelps
Bio
I work with hand spinning, natural dyeing and weaving. I create tiny woven bowls from plant dyed silks and plant fibres, their diameters are around 5.5cm.
The folklore and medicinal properties of the plants as well as when and where they are gathered are woven into the story of each bowl. I have a collection of bowls dyed with the 9 sacred trees of the British Isles. I also combine my threads into wearable items, a series of twisted braids. Each one has a story with names such as ‘The Huntress’, ‘Ancient Learning’, ‘Rhiannon’, ‘Winter Solstice’ and ‘The Trees Travel with You’... among many more.
I use only what I can find myself walking in my local area. I enjoy finding the colour possibilities wherever I walk there are so many lining the pavements and filling the parks. It is important to help people find connection with, then love for all that grows around them. In 2021, I will be volunteering with a local charity to create a dye garden, help create positive relationships and harvesting practices with those recovering from mental health issues.
With dyeing many processes need a night. I work with the day and with the night. I set vessels to be ready for morning and set the threads to dream within them; soaking, seeping, conversing, until I join them there. The stars shine on the surface. We all began as this, a glint of white light of star, of flint struck on flint, magnesium bright. The crashing of stones into stones that the earth remembers, seared by starlight.
Instagram: @louiseamelia13
Facebook: @louiseameliaphelps
Email: sacredlandwalking@gmail.com
