Coiling is a Slow Meditative Process

Take Two Art offered an online course with Lissa Hunter. Lissa is a well known coiling artist in the States who has taken coiling way past the basic process of making a basket into an altered art form. She is the producer of the 100 spoons exhibition shown above. In addition to that she has promoted the changing of the coiled surface by applying various surface techniques including collaged papers, paint and looping.

The process is slow and meticulous. Akin to weaving it anchors the maker in the present as the winding of the inner coil proceeds slowly to extend its form to a 3 D item.

I used a seagrass core which was probably a bit thin and a bit soft but the result was still OK. To shape the coil place the wound core slightly outside the previous row. To go straight have the coil exactly on top of the previous row and to move inward (like the neck of a bottle), place the coil slightly to the inside of the core. It will take several rows of coil to alter the shape as this needs to be done in a gradual manner. I found about 8-10 coils of the polyester waxed thread I was using around the seagrass and then I need to stich into the previous row. I tried to keep my stich downs neat and in line but there was some variances as I shaped the form.

This form will be the bottom of a reliquary that will have a lift off top.