Alison Fair Bixler
Herbs and Flax
Seileasdair Artist's statementI was born in England, studied in the US and now live in Scotland in the beautiful Dumfries and Galloway countryside. My degrees are in textiles - BFA from the University of Georgia in weaving (structure) and MA from California State University in dyeing (colour). From urban Los Angeles I moved to rural Maine where I learnt to harvest colour from local wild flowers and trees. It was at that point that I started to inlay fine linen with naturally dyed silk. Once based in Scotland I extracted dyes from the hedgerows and trees of the Borders/ A commission from the Bank of Scotland initiated a series of miniature kimonos - a form which I continue to explore. I like to investigate the potential relationship in textiles between structure and colour: in weaving with naturally dyed silk and linen, with natural coloured Shetland wool in less loom-based techniques. Colour and image are often inspired by the fields and tides of the Solway coast near where I live. Weaving, felt-making and natural dyeing can be therapeutic and I like to use them in work with people with learning difficulties and dementia in residential and day care settings. I also teach workshops and evening classes. |
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