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Alice Fox: Wild Fibres Workshops

19 July 2023

Saturday 3 June: 11am – 3:30pm  Fully Booked
Wednesday 19 July: 11am – 3:30pm Fully Booked

Two separate workshops £12 each / £9 concession

An introduction to gathering and processing plant-based fibres that grow wild, aiming to open our eyes to the usable fibres that are commonly available to us. Alice Fox will be offering two separate workshops. In the first, on Saturday 3 June, Alice will teach how to use nettles to make cordage, while during the second workshop on Wednesday 19 July, we will start to use other plants to make variations of natural fibre cordage.

We will first gather nettle stems from the land at Kestle Barton before learning how to extract and process fibre, twisting it into cordage that can then be used for making small structures such as soft basketry, or weaving. There will be samples of other wild fibres and we will talk about times to gather, process and store a range of plants. Much of the workshop will be spent outside, whatever the weather, so please bring suitable clothing.

Join us for just one, or both, of these workshops. Limited spaces available please contact the gallery to book your place: 01326 231811 or email at info@kestlebarton.co.uk

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Alice Fox

My process-led practice is based on personal engagement with landscape and has sustainability at its heart. I am fascinated by the detail of organic things and my work celebrates and carries an essence of what I experience in the natural world. My background in physical geography and nature conservation underpins my artistic practice.

I work with natural fibres and gathered materials, employing natural dyes, stitch, weave and soft basketry techniques. These elements come together in different combinations to create grouped surfaces and structures. Found items form the focus of my response to a landscape, forming tangible links to the places they were gathered from. I take an experimental approach to these found objects: by engaging with the materials that I find, manipulating them and experimenting, I learn about their properties, boundaries and possibilities. This exploration becomes a collaboration between object and artist. My allotment plot forms the focus of my work, providing an abundant source of materials. Read more about Plot 105 in Projects.

I studied Contemporary Surface Design & Textiles at Bradford School of Arts & Media and completed an MA in Creative Practice at Leeds Arts University. I work from the allotment and my studio in Saltaire, West Yorkshire, UK. I exhibit, lecture and teach workshops nationally and internationally.

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