Artisans of Dartmoor - Book - Page 79
T H E W I L L O W W E AV E R
Combining her love of weaving and wildlife, Katherine Miles makes
sculptures and lampshades inspired by moorland creatures
K
atherine Miles has two ways of testing whether
her woven animals look convincing. “If I
find myself talking to them, then I know they’re
good,” she says, threading willow stems into
the haunches of a half-finished fallow deer. Her
second test is even more unusual: she deploys her
miniature dachshund and studies her reaction. “If
Olive barks at a sculpture and acts as if it’s real,
that’s when I know it looks truly authentic.” Only
when a piece has passed both tests does Katherine
release it for sale.
Dogs aren’t the only visitors to have strong
reactions when they see the menagerie of life-size
and outsize creatures that fill Katherine’s
Moretonhampstead studio. “Children get quite
wide-eyed when they first arrive. Seeing so many
different animals together, frozen in time, like a
still-life zoo, must really set off their imaginations.
Sometimes I tell them that the sculptures
come alive at night, once I’ve gone home, and
their jaws drop.”
Katherine took up weaving in 2009 after taking
a short basketry course and realising that the craft
calmed her anxiety. “As soon as I put my hands on
willow, I immediately relax. It’s like meditating,
but without trying and is far more effective than
any medication. Weaving is how I cope with life’s
difficulties. I’m so grateful to have discovered it.”
79
