One of our very favorite visiting instructors is Anne Field. Anne has become a good friend and is a kindred spirit (to quote Anne of Green Gables!). Mariah and I went to New Zealand to visit her several years ago and saw a New Zealand we would otherwise never have seen, thanks to Anne. At any rate, following her teaching tour in the U.S. last summer, she was diagnosed with inoperable cancer of the stomach lining and liver. Fortunately, medication has been keeping it under control and even shrunk the cells, but it is preventing her from coming to the U.S. (no one will insure her). Because of recipricol insurances, she was able to travel to England to fulfill a workstudy she has been planning for quite some time. It was there I went to visit her and see her work where she was studying at the Ann Sutton Foundation in Arundel. Unfortunately, I did a lousy job of taking photos so I've included links to many of the places I visited (use the back button to return to this page). Photos are included where I have them!

The trip was fairly spur of the moment, at least as far as international travel goes! I went alone and enjoyed several days in London where I visited the Knit2Together art knitting exhibit at the Crafts Council, a weaving shop, several yarn/weaving shops, and the International Arts & Crafts exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum (which will be in Indianapolis from September through January, I highly recommend it). I was quite proud of myself for finding a hotel, navigating the transportation system, and enjoying being on my own.

The hotel I found was perfect – the James Hotel. Just blocks from Victoria Station and the owner, Sharon , was a knitter. How perfect! That's my teeny tiny room in the photos. Before I left London I did manage to walk by Buckingham Palace through the parks and down to the Westminster area before hopping the Tube to Harrods. That's a photo of Buckingham Palace with the Victoria Fountain and the famous London cabs (great garden, too). At left is a reminder of my knitting in the park -- I didn't have anyone to take a picture of me, so I took a photo of the bag on the bench to remind me how peaceful the park was!

Then I took the train to Arundul and Anne. Arundel is a peaceful little tourist town that is full of antique stores and churches. Overlooking the town is a medieval castle that is still occupied by the Duke and his family (as well as being open to tours). The River Arun leads to the sea, which is only about five miles away. It is a beautiful agricultural area. Rape (the grain from which Canola oil is extracted) was in full bloom – you almost needed sun glasses to look at it! It is the yellow on the horizon in the photo. This is a photo from the top of the Castle's Keep looking away from the sea.

Ann was there on a grant from the New Zealand Arts Council studying a Devoré technique. She wove using a combination of protein and non-protein based fibers, then used a chemical to remove portions of the weave to create a pattern. She made a banner for us using this technique that is currently hanging in our classroom (pictured below). We also bartered: a skein of our hand dyed wool for a wearable scarf (a portion of which is pictured at right). I think we both got a good deal!

The Ann Sutton Foundation is a very, very cool organization that provides university graduates a chance to further their weaving skills, especially as they relate to the commercial world. The typical fellow is a just-graduated student with a weaving degree that needs a portfolio and real world experience. The ASF provides just that. The next step after their two year fellowship is to a full time job in industry. One fellow was recently placed at Gucci, so you can see the level the foundation works at in quite high.

Anne and I were honored to spend an evening with Ann Sutton at her early 1800s home in Arundel (photo at left is a pastoral landscape from the edge of town). It and she were delightful. Imagine a home nearly two hundred years old with the kitchen painted several shades of bright green . . . and having it work perfectly! Ann is, perhaps, one of the most successful weavers of our time. She is well respected in industry, not being soley an “art” weaver. She understands manufacturing. Her private weaving studio was open, airy and inspiring. I wanted to play on the 24H AVL looms, run my fingers across the cones and cones of yarn and soak up all the knowledge in the room. Even in the evening, you could tell that the light in her work space was inspiring and perfect. That evening was definitely one of the highlights of my fiber career. Both Anne and Ann are incredibly intelligent, well spoken and opinionated women – it was a treat to listen to them talk and share in their conversation. Since I’ve returned I’ve been reading Ann’s books and am learning a lot. I especially enjoy the Structures of Weaving, which is, unfortunately, no longer in print.

Overlooking all of Arundel is the Arun Castle. It is medieval and quite large. Anne and I spent an afternoon there being tourists. It was a slow, rainy week day so we got special treatment from the docents/guards and got to get really close to some of the cool things – like the earliest known riding saddle. It was kind of eerie walking with the castle ghosts. One of the things I found interesting both at the castle and around the southern part of England was the use of flint in the architecture. It is used for fences, homes, businesses and, yes, even castles.

Anne and I also spent a weekend in Brighton – a beachside resort area in England ’s south east. We spend two days enjoying an art festival that included buskers, a home tour with different artists on display in each of the homes, a visit to the Royal Pavillion and great conversation. We stayed with Neil, a weaver who studied with Anne in 2004. It was super to have a local person to ask questions of about local customs, etc. and to take us around to local things, including a very cool art festival. At left are photos of Brighton Beach and Pier. As you can see, it was a bit brisk and rainy when we visited!

To read (no photos) a transcript of my trip diary (for the real knitty gritty), click here. I spent time each day at breakfast writing down my thoughts (the innkeeper in Arundel asked if I was writing a book). I’ve found over the years that if I don’t capture the experience right then and there, I’ll lose it. I don’t have many of these diaries (as a high school exchange student in the middle of a war in Greece , hiking the Appalachain Trail, etc.), but the ones I do have mean a lot to me.

 

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