Elinor Sykes - MA/MSc Textiles
Hold Still (and Notice): Finding flow and beauty in garden waste.
Studying for an MA has been a year of reflecting, playing, destroying, making, appreciating skill, futures thinking, listening, visiting, reading, seeing, watching and noticing. It has allowed me to truly hold still (and notice) myself, find my flow, and come to an understanding about why, how, what I make and who I make for.
Inspired by regenerative design practices within architecture, writing on witchcraft’s connection to the natural world and my own speculative futures thinking I experimented by creating pieces using the materials I already had around me. This led me to using garden waste, feeling that it would have the lightest touch on the Earth and endeavour to cause the least harm to human and non-human. I began to wonder, if we can grow the materials for buildings, why not grow the materials for jewellery making?
For this collection I have used textiles and jewellery making techniques to create carefully considered artefacts from materials with magical details.
Holding still (and noticing the details) is how I find the beauty in the materials I use.
Through my jewellery pieces, I encourage you to do the same.
I have created a series of necklaces using waste plant stems and flowers.
I found that with each necklace I made, my touch got lighter.
In the end, it felt as if the necklaces were made by the plants themselves…
