In Conclusion

Together we discovered the wonderful artistry of cloth making, the gestures, the rituals, the sounds and the importance of all the different and varied steps involved. My Berber collaborators say “we discovered rituals of our own Berber culture we did not even know about - these infused our mind and added layers of creativity to our imagination and we started to write music, lyrics and songs out of these inspiring and fascinating processes playing with all the rhythms and sounds which took us to a fantastic place”.

It was so interesting for me to share my work so intimately with non-textile artists - they were less interested in technique and outcomes and instead fascinated by processes, sounds and movement. I realised the deep knowledge I have that should be shared and look forward to seeing what direction we take this in, potentially a performance with music, poetry and making. I no longer see my cloth making as simply the making of a fabric but layered with other creative activities: word - in poetry, song in melody and rhythm through gesture in shape and movement. I was astonished to find when listening to the music we had created together that I had become part of the band!

Thank you to Arts Council England for the DYCP (Develop your Creative Practice) award and to my collaborators Iness Mezel and Nora Abdoun for their generosity in sharing their creativity and especially for their infectious joie de vivre!