2015 Barbara Lawler

Barbara Lawler

Birmingham, England

Ravelry - Newform

The Colour of Water

The title of the 2015 challenge conjured up visions of a deep, blue ocean, pristine, white sands and palm trees. Dream on, the reality of living in the centre of England turned out to be rather different. I found a body of water called Edgbaston Reservoir, just 15 minutes away from my home and this was the starting point for my challenge piece The Colour of Water.

There wasn’t any white sand, in fact there wasn’t a beach due to nearly constant rain (called weather bombs). There were trees, but sadly not of the palm variety and most of these seem to be growing in or have fallen into the water. It was grey, grey, grey and the wind nearly knocked you off your feet. “That’s why it is used for sailing!” DH observed helpfully, as my piece nearly toppled into the water. I remember thinking at the time does this make my piece just a drop in the ocean.

Technical details and photos can be found here

2014 Barbara Lawler

 Barbara Lawler

Ravelery username - Newform

Middle-earth Milly from Moseley Bog

 Moseley Bog is part of my local landscape that inspired Tolkien to create Middle-earth. In 1982 it provided the inspiration for my final degree show. This was the start of my freeform passion and so it seemed appropriate to use it as my design inspiration, some 32 years later, for this challenge.

Milly magically started to appear when her eyes emerged, imitating the wounds left on a tree when a branch has been removed. She continued to grow into her character with the addition of her branches, bark and ivy decoration. In retrospect, the extensive use of freeform cables that provided her richly textured surface seems to be an evolution of my project for the UK Freeformers Christmas Challenge (2013).

Milly was not just created for this challenge, she is more than that. She both represents and has her roots in my freeform journey of over 32 years.

Project Page (containing additional notes and original photographs.)

2013 Barbara Lawler

Barbara Lawler

The inspiration for my Mother Earth bag is the 120 year old Oak tree at the end of my garden.

The land originally belonged to the local church and there are 7 Oak trees surrounding my property. Most English Oak trees of this age have a preservation order on them but these seemed to have escaped. Tree preservation orders give local authorities the power to protect trees. It means the tree can't be cut down or pruned without consent from the council.

One side of my bag shows Mother Earth above ground and my impression of what the landscape may have looked 120 years ago. It was farmland and although we are only 4 miles from the city centre of Birmingham (England), it would have been very much thought of as the countryside in those days. The reverse shows Mother Earth below ground and here I imagined all the layers, roots, fossils etc. that would have accumulated over the years. The bag(46cms x 40cms) is lined and has a magnetic fastener.