🌊 Project Play 1/100
A Textile Seascape Inspired by Alison Whateley
I have decided to start something new that I am calling Project Play.
For a long time, I have collected inspiring art books, online courses, and creative resources with every intention of exploring them "one day." Like many creatives, I often find myself jumping straight into projects with high expectations, sometimes forgetting that play, experimentation, and learning are just as important as the finished artwork.
Project Play is my way of changing that.
The idea is simple: I am giving myself permission to explore, experiment, and follow my curiosity wherever it leads. Some projects will come from books, others from online courses, workshops, or simply techniques I would like to try. There isn't a strict plan—I want this challenge to be flexible enough to let inspiration guide me.
My hope is that these playful creative sessions will help me loosen up, quiet my inner critic, and get into a creative flow before I move on to my own original mixed media work. Rather than feeling like practice, I see these projects as creative warm-ups that teach me new techniques, colour combinations, textures, and ways of seeing.
Alongside Project Play, I am continuing to develop my own mixed media pieces, which I will be sharing separately as they evolve. The two journeys will run in parallel—one focused on exploration and learning, the other on creating original artwork inspired by everything I discover along the way.
🌊 Project Play #1 – Textile Landscapes
For my first Play session, I chose a project from Textile Landscapes by Alison Whateley.
I was immediately drawn to one of her simple seascape projects and decided to recreate it using materials I already had at home. I repurposed several blue tank tops that my son had outgrown and, using different tonal values of blue, as Alison suggests in her book, I built up the first layer of the sea.
I temporarily fixed the fabric pieces in place before stitching them using clear polyester thread on the top with white thread in the bobbin. From there, I began adding layers to create depth and texture. A delicate layer of organza softened the water beautifully, while pieces of bleached mulberry bark suggested the movement and foam of the waves.
For the sky, I added a layer of net fabric, and to create coastal grasses, I used wide ribbons with some of the horizontal threads carefully frayed away, leaving the vertical strands to mimic tall grasses swaying in the breeze.
Finally, I added a few embellishments—a handful of beads and a small shell—to complete the composition.
I thoroughly enjoyed making this piece. It was incredibly satisfying to focus on the process rather than the outcome, and I came away having learned several new textile techniques that I am sure will find their way into my own artwork in the future.
If you are interested in textile art, I can wholeheartedly recommend Textile Landscapes by Alison Whateley. It is full of accessible projects and thoughtful guidance, and Alison is wonderfully generous in sharing her knowledge and techniques.
I also filmed the entire creative process, so if you would like to see how this little seascape came together, you can watch the video on my Instagram, YouTube channel, and Facebook page.