I have been making and exhibiting fibre art for nearly five decades, and very early on someone advised me to always get photos taken of my art for the record. As cameras become smaller in size the resolution in pixels became greater, and today a tiny camera is a vital component of our smart phones. Sometimes, “looking back” over my work feels like something of an archeological dig, speaking digitally.

A couple of days ago I was looking though an external hard drive that has lots of old stuff saved on it, and lots were listed as ‘old pics #’ I opened these and found some very old pics indeed, many of them of our young family in the 70’s and early 80s. There were some early works, too – and then this sample came up. There’s no detail but it feels like something I think I might have done, and certainly something I could have thought of doing. It has several features that I really like, and if I made this, I forgot to follow up the potential of the dark threads that seem laid or possibly machined beneath the surface. The little squares, though, seem to be tied down, and I don’t remember doing that. The outer edges of layers of sheer fabrics are torn I think, which also casts some doubt in my mind. Never mind, if someone comes forward to claim it as theirs, I’ll give way on it.

I never throw samples away, and it’s not in my samples bag here. So there’s an additional complication – if it is mine I must have made it in Perth Western Australia and left it there in my sewing room stuff, which is still safely in storage, so I can’t check that theory.

This next one is unmistakably mine, but date and whereabouts are uncertain. I think it must be in a cupboard here in Montevideo, probably because I remember being vaguely disappointed with its impact, and never felt it needed to be entered somewhere, so it sank from view.

From the colours and style I’m placing it in 2013. One day when I have the urge to tidy out certain cupboards, it will probably emerge from hiding, and then I’ll measure it properly. The date’s probably on it beside my signature. Back then we had been travelling and I was in a lot of trouble healthwise which led to hip replacement surgery. So there was quite a long period in 2012-14 in which I made little or no art, and I now realise I didn’t tidy the record after my recovery. I now quite like it, and will mount a search soon, perhaps in the quiet over Easter, because from the proportions and without knowing the actual measurements, it could have been sized to hang on the wall in our dining area, like these two:

I’ve rotated these about half-yearly for some time, but now feel we need something new and different.