Design notes from Niela
Wearable art
The Byre collection is a reinterpretation, in contemporary knitwear, of work by Scottish artist Karlyn Sutherland.
The eponymous byre is a historic stone-built cattle barn at Latheronwheel, Caithness, in the far north of mainland Scotland. Karlyn mapped the pattern of light falling into the building, recording the changes at different times of day—each particular shape appears only once a year.
Karlyn recorded how light falls into the byre
From these drawings onsite (literally—her drawings are on the walls, beams, floor and supporting pillars), Karlyn made glass panels to echo the shapes made by light. These were installed within the byre.
Glass panels made in the shapes of falling light
My collection of knitwear is a response in textile to Karlyn's work. The 'pattern' of the Byre collection is taken from the preliminary drawings and installation, but the shapes of the light cast in glass also influenced my designs for garment shapes.
