We spoke to artist Caro Pattle about her creative practice and the inspirations behind the work featured in our current exhibition Collapsed Ecologies on site at the Australian Tapestry Workshop until June 2024.

How did you get into making art?

I was always drawn to creative pursuits, and I studied Fine Arts straight out of high school, with a focus on drawing and visual communication. It took me a while to find my niche and interests though, and I also completed Bachelor degrees in Literature and Textile Design along the way.
My studio practice really kicked off after I graduated at the end of 2019. Heading straight into Covid-19 lockdowns was unexpected, however it allowed me the space and time to experiment in my studio and really push my practice. Since then, I’m grateful to have found a lot of opportunities to exhibit and share my work so early in my career.

Who or what inspires you to create?

I’m mostly inspired by the idea of what an object can be. I always try to create work that has its own magnetism, whether it has a tactility that invites touch, or perhaps a surface which gleams or confuses the eye. I’m endlessly fascinated by the potential of material; how both its physical form and meaning are mutable and ever-changing. Conceptually, my work draws on the notion of a ‘blurriness’ between humans and the world we inhabit; between the organic and synthetic, or the natural and fabricated.

What does your practice involve – what techniques do you use in your work?

I like to adapt my techniques to the concept and materials, so my process naturally involves a lot of experimentation, although I tend to be drawn to quite time-intensive techniques such as coil weaving and knotting.
For Hide for a Lamb, yarn was individually threaded through the lambskin and then knotted on the reverse side. I then used a carding-brush, which is usually used to align woollen fibres in the spinning process. Here, the carding-brush actually works in reverse to untwist the yarn, fluffing the fibres to create a fur pile.

What does a day in the studio look like?

Depending on the size and portability of a piece, I often work in different spots throughout the day, including my studio and the garden. My processes are often very time intensive, so I listen to podcasts and audio books, usually on topics that are related to my practice. While I will do long studio days, from around 9am through to bedtime, I try to work in small blocks to avoid injury from repetitive motions, with breaks to go for walks, eat, read, or even nap. I also recently started to learn how to drum so I also take breaks on the drum kit I’ve set up in the middle of my studio. It’s definitely an unusual schedule, and not for everyone..

How does your work in this exhibition relate to your practice and where it is heading?

I’ve been wanting to make this piece for a while, so I was very happy to be invited to contribute to Collapsed Ecologies as it seemed a perfect fit for the work which spoke to process and material. The techniques I’ve used for Hide for a Lamb are new to my practice and it took a lot of experimentation to achieve the thick fleecy pelt I had envisioned. Many of my sculptural works tend to be one colour as they’re so focussed on texture, and it felt freeing to work with a larger palette of fibre and hue for this work. My practice focuses on the poetic potential of material, and I’m always seeking to expand this through the exploration of new mediums and techniques, as with Hide for a Lamb. Conceptually, the work speaks to my fascination with using a craft lens to playfully muddle divisions between the organic and fabricated.

‘Collapsed Ecologies’ is open to the public to view 10am-5pm, Thursday – Saturday until 7 June 2024

View the ‘Collapsed Ecologies’ exhibition page here.