Eleanor Sofia Walker BA (Hons) Textiles in Practice
I’m Eleanor, a curious handweaver & textile artist. For me, weaving is a never-ending journey where craft, storytelling and the senses come together. I like to explore each of these through what I create, hoping to bring a small pocket of comfort and beauty to everyday life.
Mindful Spring Blanket:
A handwoven, fine merino wool blanket that focusses on mindfulness and wellbeing. Made by weaving five long panels and stitching them together by hand, it draws on the concept of 'hands on, minds off' and slow textiles.
Being stuck inside for a lot of my final year of university over winter, I longed for the breezy, sunshine-filled mornings of spring. So, I channelled this into my weaving to create a blanket that used colours which emulated my feelings around hopefulness and happiness. The blanket is as a reminder of the times and seasons to come - of spring and summer, growth, and warmth.
Symbiosis Stories:
Did you know that there are small hermit crabs, that take sea anemones with them on their shells, everywhere they go?
The crabs do this for protection, and the anemone gets to travel to new feeding grounds. This is mutualistic symbiosis, when two living organisms benefit from each other by both giving and taking.
To me, this is a small and lovely window into that utopian ‘perfect world’ of circular economy and equality. It’s inspiring to see and to learn about, so I created this handwoven sensory book, telling the stories of five different symbiotic relationships on Earth.
Created entirely of natural materials, hand sewn together with and stuffed with a soft, silk noil tops padding. It belongs in a bookcase to be read like any other book, offering more than a purely visual experience.
