Te Taiao - The Natural World

Projects exploring our relationship with the natural world, and articulated in novel woven cloth.

The Ways of Water 2025

Part of a group show The Soil Addresses Us As One curated by Steven Junil Park, within a wider exhibition Close Knit at Te Ara Atea, Rolleston curated by Erin Lee. The Soil Addresses Us As One tells the story of Gina Russell’s vision and mahi as Growing Textiles NZ to grow European linen flax and botanical colourants applying regenerative and organic farming methods.

A comprehensive work arising from the Field Works project, Ways of Water consists of 3 complex supplementary warp pile weaves, woven with organic linen, undyed and with botanical colourants. Each represents a manifestation of water in the cycle of growing and preparing linen flax; Rain, Linen - 100 Days, and Dew. Linen dyed with indigo grown by Growing Textiles NZ is draped below the works; water utilised with care throughout fibre growing and processing, returning through healthy soil to restore the whenua. Hover on images for more information.

Field Works 2019 and ongoing

The thinking and research for Field Works began in 2019, while walking with my daughter in Slovenia across alpine meadows. I observed an incredible diversity of plants and insects, and the contentedness of the grazing animals and of the farmers working small plots amidst the meadows. I wanted to learn more about regenerative farming, and the choices we can make to live more gently on the land.

Like weaving, regenerative farming is systematic and as much about planning as the work. Each work within Field Works employs a different weave structure as metaphor to articulate a particular regenerative farming method or practice, and so requires a unique loom set up.

I source cellulosic yarns spun from undyed and, where possible, certified organic fibres. Where colour is brought into the works, it is botanically sourced and yarns are dyed with careful use of water and energy.

Wayfarer - Cloth and Coat 2023

Codesign with Associate Professor Deb Cumming, Toi Rauwharangi (College of Creative Arts), Massey University.

Corriedale warp, merino cross weft, grown and processed within Aotearoa New Zealand. Undyed and dyed with gorse gathered locally.

Night Sail to Rakiura 2021

Double cloth cushion. Undyed wool yarns

Observing the stars when on night watch, sailing from Otepoti Dunedin to Rakiura Stewart Island

Take Me With You - BDes Honours research and studio project, 2014

This collection is the outcome of a deep enquiry into my attachment to hills in wild and rural landscapes. The familiar concave and undulating forms are a metaphor for the comfort and sense of belonging I experience in such places. Take Me With You offers a contemporary aesthetic to strong, naturally coloured wools and showcases wool’s unique characteristics including warmth, strength, versatility and integrity.

Primary research included model making, drawing, photography and experiential research. Reading works by philosophers and humanist geographers offered touchstones linking to my own experience of being in such places.

Research Statement: Embodying comfort: an exploration of textile processes using wool to create forms that convey belonging and wellbeing.

I undertook extensive sampling focussing on loom weaving, felting and natural dye processes to articulate my research findings. Design elements explored to evoke comfort and belonging were Form (three-dimensional undulating and concave forms), Abstraction (comfort and belonging can be found in many places with these forms), Scale (comfort in gestures large and small), repetition (referencing the comfort of making and of pattern) and Sustainability (utilising sustainable materials and processes).