April 2016

Looking back on a series of analog photos taken by Angelica Elliot during the graduation project of 2016, when I was making my first big slitrya - “Lockrop/Längtan”. I love these photos and their real analog feel - how the colors come through and the grain that suits the motif so well. Like a still life documentary, Angelica captured what would become the beginning of my future practice; the “budding” of my love for the rya technique. It also shows the environment provided by Handarbetets Vänner: a small but rich space where so much of my knowledge started. Enjoy!

The full rainbow of colors after a successful dye day! The yarn is 100% Swedish rya sheep from Ekenäs farm in southwestern Sweden. Sadly they no longer produce this sturdy, shiny and amazing yarn.

Testing the tension of my warp during the beam-on.

Me and then-classmate, now-colleague Siri Pettersson helping out with someone else’s beam-on.

Slitrya - background and history in English

My co-author and colleague Arianna Funk has written a piece about the Swedish Slitrya, a form of rya woven softer and more blanket-like than the sturdier and tightly woven floor rug. I made my first slitrya for my graduation project in 2016 and have since continued to explore and develop this technique further. Arianna’s using two of my pieces as examples in her article and you can read it online here.

Process: "Sage" 2019

Pictures from the process of making “Sage” , April 2019. All photos by Miriam Parkman.

Indigofera x Miriam Parkman

A short reel made by me and Creattalent for my takeover of the Indigofera Instagram account in October 2020. It shows a normal morning waking up in my apartment, having breakfast, getting dressed, going to the studio and starting to work. I'm wearing the full range of garments from the High Coast collection and that piece I'm working on in the loom is the "Beach Glass Dazzler pillow case. 2" soon available on my new web shop!

Inspiration: Better Home & Gardens Decorating book, 1961

Wooden walls with big glass windows, framing the outside greenery. Stone floors extending that outside feeling, yet staying warm and comfortable inside amongst sofas and armchairs, side tables and a big floor rya. For years I've had this picture saved in all my inspirational folders, printed out in my sketchbooks, put up on my studio wall. To me, it's the vision of a dream home, where materials and elements meet. Wood versus glass, textile versus stone. The turquoise-, green- and blue color scheme pops softly but brightly against the browns, again blending so sweetly with the natural landscape outside. The floor rya as a center piece, soft and warm for everyone's feet, encouraging and uplifting for everyone's eyes. It's as comfortable as it is beautiful, inspiring and creative. 

To me, this picture isn't only a vision of how I'd like my future home to look like, but also a true inspiration to my work - a context of where and how a textile can be placed, functioned and incorporated. The colors are so well matched, the whole picture itself could be turned into a new rya! Especially since the analog photo technique adds grain and texture - making it somewhat pixelated - seeing the knots in this picture isn't hard. Analog color photos also have a "filter" or a "shine" of their own - it's mattifying some parts and high-lighting others, making the colors opaque and translucent at the same time. At least, that's how I see it. 

TRÅD Fanzine 2020-10-28

Interview by textile- and fashion journalist Jennie Dahlén for Swedish fanzine TRÅD, published fall 2020. Read the full story here (only in Swedish).

Photos by Roger Olsson.

Hemslöjd

Interview and cover for Swedish craft- and design magazine Hemslöjd, January (first issue) 2020.

Foto: Ylva Sundgren