Tender Shadows
Roshni Senapati
This body of work honors the makers in my family, particularly my mother and draws inspiration from the long tradition of handloom weaving and textiles of India.
I wanted to make a body of work that linked my love of hand woven textiles with my clay practice. Rather than focus on colour, texture or pattern of the textiles, I looked instead to their weaving. This led me to two important elements central to the hand loom – spindles and hand held shuttles, and these gave me a point of reference for the two distinctly different forms I have made for the exhibition.
Dhooree (meaning spindle in Hindi) is the name I have given to the tall forms. Hand built using thin slabs of porcelain clay, the vessels are ‘dyed’ by repeated dipping in a vat to build up layers of colour.
This is a collection of small vessels made in the palm of my hand. Referenced on weaving shuttles, these vessels are made from left over scraps of rolled clay. Cupping a small slab of clay in the palm of my hand, the vessels are formed by the gentle pressure of my thumb and fingers. These gestural bowls are not intended to be any particular form, although many look like shells, seed pods or leaves. I am really interested in the response of the clay to the way in which it is held.
All vessels have looped and knotted threads. These silk threads are drawn from old saris, sewing fabric remnants and embroidery threads collected by my mother over a life time of hand making. They offer a direct touchpoint between her work and mine and continues the cycle of making, giving new life to something used and old.
Liz Sofield
“Stitching in patterns of light
memories in the shadows.
Hoping they will find their
way back to you.
Memories are what make us unique. “
Immersed in a creative textile environment from day one, my Nana was a tailoress and she taught my Mother, who taught my sisters and me to sew, knit and crochet. Formal studies in Textile Design and Interior Design in Wellington and Auckland were therefore a very natural step.
During a short spell in a remote, mining town in Western Australia, I found that quality art supplies were not readily available, so I turned to the textile making skills of my childhood to create artworks using paper and thread.
It was when my son Liam was obsessed with making paper planes, I would sit for hours folding with him and my daughter Rosabella. By this playing I became fascinated with origami and began applying my origami skills to my hand stitching and then later to my ceramics, folding and imprinting clay producing fine white porcelain dishes that mirrored my delicate stitches.
Never imagining that I would work in clay, as it is not been a medium that I was familiar with. Three years ago, a chance conversation with a friend, resulted in us going to hand building and wheel throwing classes at our local pottery society. Not having any expectations of outcome; it was freeing to play and explore a new medium. I wanted to continue and incorporate this into my arts practice.
Ongoing exploration of marrying textile and clay techniques, I discovered dipping fibre/fabric into slip. My crochet porcelain vessels treasure my memories of childhood and give thanks to my Mum, who’s memory is affected by the onset of dementia. I don’t want to dwell on the sadness of this, but to celebrate the skills and the passion for creating that my Mum has passed down to me.
