Where to start...Saltaire & 'habitat'
My starting point is a project brief with the theme of 'Habitat', defined as 'the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism’. The project outcome is to be a piece of work to exhibit outdoors at Saltaire Arts Trail in May 2023. Where possible the work is to include consideration of sustainable practices and materials, low impact approaches and using available materials in a creative way.
Nothing immediately springs to mind. Word association turns up some creative ideas for the group but my starting word of 'water' didn't get me anywhere - it was inspired by the canal and river (and rain) of Saltaire on a grey January morning.
Photographs from the site visit reflect the colours of day - greys, beiges, muted greens. Limited signs of life or spring. Even the honey-coloured stone of the buildings fails to glow in the rainy morning.
Some things catch my eye: the staircases in the mill, the textures of the cobbles and stone walls, the repetitive patterns of the windows in the mill, the regularity of the street layout and the railings dotted around the town. So this is where I start.
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| Mossy wall, Saltaire |
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| Railings, Saltaire |
To introduce some colour, I looked at the classic colour palette from the period that Saltaire was built around the 1860s - classic Victorian muted greens, blues, reds, pinks and ochres.
Line drawings of the mill windows, traced from the paper bag from the shop in the mill became reminiscent of Swedish Krokbragd weaving with interlocking rectangles and jumping forward I could picture cushions or other products in the fabric.
The patterns of the streets started to suggest printed patterns and I looked into a number of artists that work with maps and ideas of place. However, none of the ideas captured in my sketchbook really spoke of 'habitat'. I decided a further visit to Saltaire was needed to find inspiration.I also tried to step away from thinking about an end product and to focus on investigation to stimulate ideas.
Sketchbook images, Saltaire maps
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