Deborah Gray

Textile artist using and inspired by natural materials and environment. Handspinning, natural dyeing, felting, botanical printing, knitting and stitching. Workshops.

Q&A

Artist Statement

I am a textile artist based in Oban, on the West Coast of Scotland. I work mainly
with wool using hand spinning, natural dyeing and knitting techniques. Recent work examines the links between land(scape), the
natural materials (fibre, plants) which grow there, and the work created from those materials which reflects elements of the land(scape). I use knitting as a way to share experiences and inspiration from daily life, for example in a series of Knitted Postcards as well as in larger works. As the pandemic shrank our worlds the focus of the work shifted closer to home – shells and seaweeds on the beach just across the road, flowers in my garden and the ferries passing my window when I was forbidden to travel. I have been Artist-in-Residence at The Icelandic Textile Centre, Blönduós, NorthWest Iceland in 2018, 2019 and 2021. I am Lead Practitioner for the Eco Creative Cluster dye garden project at The Rockfield Centre, Oban, developing a dye garden and programme of natural dyeing workshops while building a network of local and international practitioners focusing on the use of natural dyes and related practices. I am a collaborator in Wool in the North, a project
seeking to address the waste of wool around the North Atlantic by developing sustainable wool-based tourism and other initiatives. I have taught hand spinning, natural dyeing and knitting techniques for 40+ years.

What craft do you work with?

I work across several textile disciplines – hand spinning, knitting, natural dyeing, botanical print, stitching. And more… I have been working with textiles for over 40 years, as a knitter I wanted to create my own yarns and colours from the raw materials and became fascinated with the transformational processes involved.

What inspires you to work with this craft?

I am excited by the way local environment influences the raw materials (fibre, dyeplants) that grow there. Using slow hands-on processes to transform raw materials into wearable and/or conceptual art. The tactility of fibre married with the alchemy
of natural dyeing.

How do you start your creative process?

I start by identifying the innate characteristics of the raw materials as they relate to the source environment and consider how best to
work with them to highlight the individuality of the materials. Freelance
projects and commissions start of course with thinking about how to make the
brief ‘mine’ while meeting the requirements of the commissioner. Actually I
start by making a pot of tea.

How would you best describe your workspace and what tools could you not do without?

I share my light and airy seafront studio, Artspace Oban, with four other artists working in
different media, giving space for creative exchange and support. My most important tools are my hands, but of course I have an array of fibre preparation tools, spindles, spinning wheels, dyepots, knitting needles etc.

Are there new techniques you would like to try?

I am planning new projects that will allow me to learn more about spinning and weaving with foraged plant fibres, and dyeing with fungi.

What have you learnt or the best advice you have received that you would like to share with fellow crafters?

I have learned a great deal while teaching hand spinning, natural dyeing and knitting techniques around Scotland and overseas. Working alongside and collaborating with other artists and makers on Residencies has also been a valuable source of learning. My dream is to open a Residency space in my home town to offer others that experience.