“Ceannbhán Móna” – Bog Cotton

Ethical Making

Heritage

Storytelling

Sustainable

Traditional

This piece was hand-woven using 9 shafts on an ARM Touch60 loom. The warp and weft of these pieces are made from an organic cotton sourced from Venne Colton, a dutch company specialising in organic and sustainable, certified fibres (certified by the GOTS). Authentic Irish bog cotton was hand foraged from the Island of Inisbofin and woven into the piece mimicking the bog cotton in the landscape. This piece has a small part of the island woven into the material, celebrating the heritage and culture of Ireland.

Material

Fiber

Craft

Textiles

General Technique

Constructing
Surface modifying

Specific Technique

The original optical design was complete on illustrator and then brought into photoshop to create a repeat print of the block. The design was then exposed and developed onto a silk screen and prepared for the printing process. I then sourced a phosphorescent based pigment that appears clear in natural light but changes colour to a glowing green in the dark when exposed and charged by UV light. I mixed this pigment with clear binder in order to keep the fabric looking plain white during the day. This was then screen printed onto the material and let dry and set. I fixed the design onto the material with a thin layer if sprayed bees wax to improve the durability. During natural light the materials appears plain white until charged with UV light in the dark, revealing the hidden designs and patters in a glowing green.

Properties & Qualities

Application

Sample Making Art

Qualities

Textured

Colour

White Violet Green

Sample Information

Date of creation

October 2022.

Dimensions

Width 24” Height 6”

Weight

1675g

Culture & Context

This piece is inspired by the hills and fields of Inisbofin and the bog cotton blowing in the wind. After a day spent exploring Inisbofin with the brilliant tour guide and islander Tommy, enough bog cotton was foraged to make a handful of these woven pieces of art. These pieces were also influenced by the sheep of the island and their vision and how they see the landscape of the wild west. Sheep having monocular, panoramic vision inspired these pieces to be longer and shorter. Weaving two 12 inch pieces to create a 24 inch width these bog cotton pieces interpret the wide vision of sheep. With authentic Irish bog cotton woven into the pieces, it is like a piece of Ireland intertwined into the art connecting us and celebrating our heritage and culture.

Recipe Details

Foraging the bog cotton and cleaning it.
Making a gradient warp with a width of 12’’ using a blend of two green organic cotton yarns.
I hand wove the samples at a length of 6” plus some waste on either end in order to
mount to the canvas. Carefully placing the bog cotton into the warp and weft.
This was done twice to create a double two piece width of 24”.
Samples were then stitched around edges to secure.
Then mounted onto the canvas ready to be framed by a local framers in Celbridge.

Credits

Craft Maker

Amy Kerr (AK Textiles)

Library Contributor

National College of Art & Design Ireland

Photographer

Amy Kerr

Practitioner

Amy Kerr

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