Catherine Slater Designs


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Manningham Mill Series Intangible Textures Series Wearable Art The Lyric Series The Mamari Series On The Backroads Going South: Roussillon Series The Moorland Series The Stone Collection		Each series stems from an element or experience in Catherine's life. Happiness comes unexpectedly, in fragments and glimpses, and when it does so it heightens the emotions and intensifies the senses. In each work she tries to recapture the light, the shapes and the colours that bring that burst of happiness and work with them to create a more lasting and tangible synthesis. The resolved pieces express emotional memories and pleasure.

Manningham Mills is one of England’s finest heritage buildings. Built in 1873 in the Venetian Style the mill has been at the heart of the British textile industry. The mill pioneered the development of mechanized woolcombing and was a major manufacturer of velvet and silk and was at the forefront of technical development of man-made fibres such as Terylene and Crimplene.

In this series the textile history of the building is literally woven into the designs that celebrate the scale and importance of this splendid building. In some cases the work includes snippets of fabric woven in the mill.

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I am intrigued by the notion of there being “textures” that we can see with eye and brain but that we can never experience through touch either because the act of touching would destroy the surface or because the “surface” is an illusion.

I follow the footpaths in all weathers in order to experience and then celebrate in fibres the “intangible textures” created when the landmass is backlit and the sky and foreground appear in great textural detail - but on a scale that can only be experienced by the eye and the brain.

In the 3D pieces I have tried to create a surface design that mimics what we see but that can then be touched and cradled and enjoyed.

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I produce unique handmade designs using mainly natural luxurious fibres and found objects.

I work with merino wool, silk, cashmere, alpaca, camel hair and soya bean fibre to make gossamer felt that is soft, warm and drapes beautifully.

The scarves and wraps look delicate but are much tougher than they look and are fully washable.

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The title for each piece comes from a song lyric that haunts me in some way. I like the link between the universality of our bodies and our emotions.

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Each series has a link to my life. The inspiration for this series was the happy holiday I had on the Greek island of Paxos. I spent a long time swimming and gazing underwater at the brightly coloured fish that darted around leaving flashes of colour and swirls of water in their wake.

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I was bowled over by the range of natural ochre pigment in the quarries at Roussillon in Provence, France. In this series I have tried to capture the range and depth of the colour and combine that with the shapes and textures of the buildings against the contrast of the summer sky.

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I love to walk out “on the tops” with a 360 degree long range view. As I turn around I can see different aspects. In this interactive series I can choose how to juxtapose the different elements, the colours and the textures to create my own view – and then change it whenever the mood takes me.

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A series of felted vessels inspired by the stones I inevitably collect on sea-side and countryside walks. I choose them for their patterns and then hold them, enjoying the shape, the texture and the weight as I walk along.

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© 2008 Catherine Slater Designs