Eleanor Louise Scott

In my graduate collection ‘Distorted Doilies’, I have explored the interpretation of bobbin lace, a woven fibre technique that has been part of everyday domestic life for women. Through observational drawings and direct exposures in print with lace doilies that have been collected, going hand in hand with my current making. With a series of embossings that capture the cutouts of vessels, creating an artefact to go alongside the finished work that is lost when the forms are raised.

My practice predominantly focuses on raising in Fine, and Britannia silver that has been saw pierced to create intricate lace motifs and raised. This process alters the structure of the vessel and reflects distorted doilies and lace lost in time, due to mass production and the loss of teaching in bobbin lace.

Looking at the outcomes, tools and objects used to create lace, I aim to inform my audience through my works about this endangered craft. I have always found lace and woven textile fibres fascinating, exploring how they can be translated into metal and observing the negative space that is created in lace. While exploring this collection, I have had the opportunity to collaborate with the Newhailes Museum, examining their archive of lace doilies that have directly informed my work.

Using traditional silversmithing techniques, I combine the softness of fabric and lace with the strength and stability of metal through silver.