Moira Searle
UK
www.moirasearle.net
Instagram: @uniquehandcraftedclothing
During the first lockdown last March I decided to draw from my families Victorian christening gown. This led to experiments in felt and finally to making 3 shawls and a coat. In the pieces I made, I wanted to express the reconnection I was making with my past relatives and the passing of time that still connected us through the christening gown.
Artwork 1
Summer Coat
Working from my family’s Victorian christening gown I wanted to convey the sense of passing time and the fragility of life and to express the reconnection I felt with my family through making this piece, the silk boucle yarn interweaving between the different fibres to create a visual expression of reaching out and back through time. The different fibres represent various family members, all reconnected in this piece.
Materials and Techniques.
Merino wool, silk fibres, tulle, silk yarn, alpaca, Italian silk waste, habotai silk, silk gauze, loopy yarn, handmade ceramic buttons.
Artwork size in CM: Width…115cm……Length……98cm
Artwork 2
Shawl 1
As with the coat I wanted to explore ways to express reconnecting with my family, both present and past. Generations from my great grandfather through to my great nephews and nieces have been christened in this gown. Making this shawl, I wanted to convey the passing of time through the holes in the work, the reconnecting of past with present and the fragility of life especially at birth.
Materials and Techniques
Pine needle technique, felted merino wool, with silk handkerchiefs, silk noil, Italian silk waste, silk boucle yarn
Artwork size in CM: Width 41cm…… Length…163cm
Artwork 3
Shawl 2
In this piece, I continue to explore the sense of reconnection through the lace and beauty of the christening gown itself which has physically enfolded the generations of my family who have worn it.
Materials and Techniques
Nuno felted merino wool on silk gauze with manipulated tulle, habotai silk, distressed habotai silk, silk gauze, Italian silk waste
Artwork size in CM: Width…57cm……….……… Length…197cm
