Page 38 - The Digital Cloth - Issue 5

Heather Walters

Over recent years, Walters has become increasingly interested in her own natural
connections to the land and sky around her. In developing works for this exhibition, this
has been the focus.
The land gives life. In several of these pieces the use of natural, undyed Nordic linen in

a double weave structure conveys the imagery and impression of trees and grasses, in
our increasingly hot and dry summers. The fine linen, with areas of interwoven pockets
and with unwoven layered thread, shows the delicate balance and inter-reliance of the
land as it both nurtures the seeds waiting to germinate with the rains, and feeds and
supports the roots of plants and trees through their life cycle.
Sunsets abound in Walters’ daily views, as both the rich and gentle nuanced colours
move across the wide western skies at the end of each day. Using mixed fibres to depict
a sunset palette, in combination with free-form and three-dimensional weaving, the
artist’s hands were free to move as the colours move across the sky during the

ever-changing sunsets in different seasons.
Walters’ preference is to use mostly natural fibres in her work. Linen, silk, cotton and
wool each provide natural and versatile mediums for hand weaving.