Bending the line–with cane

Another look at my drawings of the murmuring bird ballet in the skies at sunset and this time relating the marks to swirling lines made by curves of cane. I recently did a morning workshop with willow sculptor Angela Morley (www.wildgardens.co.uk). This started me to thinking about using cane to achieve controllable, continuous spiralling lines. The best supplier of this in just a few miles from me – Musgrove Willows in Westonzoyland. Just what I needed. The cane comes in varying lengths up to about 2/3 metres long and is a natural colour – but dyeable!

I played with various ways of re-creating the swirling lines.

But then decided I needed to change the colour. So I dyed some of it a charcoal colour - cold water fibre reactive dyes. I soaked the cane for 24 hours then made tight bundles. This will make it easier to fit into the dye bucket and also ‘perm’ a smaller curl into the lengths. Here they are drying in my studio as I’d hit a rainy day outside.

 

When all was dry, the string was cut and I was ready to make my ‘structures’. I used a long strip and a shorter strip and temporarily secured both ends together with wire.

 

Each ‘structure’ is about 25 x 25 x 25. Time will tell as to whether the form can ‘hold’ or sag. I like the way each one takes a different form even though they have been made in the same way.  I think it depends on which part of the loop I’ve suspended it from.

I like the way it looks from different directions and shows me that this is just right to translate my drawings.

Now to playing with how to decorate the cane in some way. A bit of ‘embroidery’ fun. Hope to post this soon.