I came across the aptly-named Pearpod recently during a trip to Frome to visit my dear friend Roz. We went out for dinner at the lovely Rye Bakery which is situated in an old church with high ceilings and a warm atmosphere. Next to our table was a magnificent woven structure which created a fabulous nest-like space to sit in. It turns out that the artist who created this is Ellen Mulcrone, a Frome-based artist who began building these structures on her art foundation degree at Falmouth.
The structure was commissioned by Rye Bakery as a space for mothers to breast feed their babies in public, hence its name, Breast Nest. As well as being used as a space for breast feeding, it has also been used for holding classes in such as ukulele-playing and story telling.
Ellen's pod-making stems from a desire to celebrate our introverted nature and feels that weaving creates space, allowing her thoughts to wander and her hands and body to dance as she sculpts. She is drawn to to the use of willow due to its flexibility, richness of colour and abundant qualities. She also creates this fabulous pear pod which can be hanging or free-standing, indoors or out.
For something smaller and more manageable, check out these beautiful copper placements inspired by traditional tea mats found in Japan. In these, Ellen wanted to capture the essence of delicacy in woven form and apply it to a modern material.
Check out Ellen's website to see more works as well as see images of her design process as well as a fabulous film of her creating her pieces in her studio.
