Drowned, Drained, Swamped & Bogged Down:
Initiating A Creative Exploration Of Mythterious Scottish Marshes & Wetlands
DEVELOPMENT: WILLOW WORKSHOP
I spent a day with willow artist Natalie McLay learning about the artistic potential of this traditional natural resource.
I made a hare - a sacred and mystical animal to the Celts - a symbol of abundance, prosperity and good fortune. Hares were believed to have connections to the otherworld and therefore were treated with great respect.
In other centuries, the prospect of encountering a hare would have filled travellers with dread - the hare was feared as a shape-shifting witch or a fairy that snatches dead children. Why the change I wondered?
I was very grateful for Natalie’s patient guidance and expertise. She is regularly commissioned to make large animal sculptures by hand using traditional methods and techniques - each artwork is unique in appearance and character. Her willow is sourced from the Somerset Levels - famous for its wetland areas it has continued to produce some of the finest willow around for over 200 years. Fast-growing willow is harvested during the winter months so provides an important ecological habitat for wildlife during the summer.
The colour, length and thickness of willow rods selected influence the sculpture. The rods require continual soaking for between four and ten days before they are pliable enough to begin creating the animal.
After creating a basic frame, I was shown a free-weaving technique to build up the hare in 3D. I intentionally chose to keep a “messy” open structure so that light could be seen through it - I wanted my hare to look a bit like a scribble, for later digital manipulations.
