Sarah Ward | Modern Weaving

Sarah Ward Podleszny is the creator of UK-based hand-weaving studio Lark & Bower. The studio creates unique handwoven pieces often using recycled materials, a direct contrast to the damaging and wasteful fast fashion and textiles production industry.

‘Hand-weaving is an often forgotten art, and one which deserves to be appreciated without necessarily being part of a functional or ‘throw away’ item.

As an ancient craft, weaving is deeply connected to what it is to be a human. Like music, weaving developed in many parts of the world simultaneously, long before civilisations had communication with one another – an idea often forgotten in our new digital and industrial world.“

Most of Sarah’s weaving career since 2010 has been spent producing seasonal collections of hand-woven swatches. Made to last a lifetime and beyond.

How did your technique evolve?

For me, this technique of off-loom weaving developed during the first pandemic lockdown in 2020 when I had no access to my loom (or my studio in general!). I’m so used to weaving at the loom every day, playing with yarn, and colour, and texture, and although I got on with other things, I found that I really missed weaving and making things with my hands, and that weaving wasn’t just a job for me but a way of life.

I started to use pieces of cardboard and any yarn I had laying around the house to make small studies of my favourite woven structures; twill, dogtooth, herringbone, hopsack, waffle.

This soon evolved from a cardboard base to a wooden one, and many other objects too, like slate, roof tiles, rocks. It became a daily meditation, a therapy keeping me going through that strange and uncertain period.

Weaving with needle and thread really gets you to grips with woven structure in a way that doesn’t happen in such clear focus at the loom, you really get to understand the interlacing of the threads that make up many of the clothes we wear.

I started to see the off-loom woven studies as a celebration of woven structure as an art form in its own right, and wanted to highlight the work and craftsmanship that goes into traditional cloth making, especially now, in this digital and industrial age of mass production and fast fashion.

There is something so poignant about creating pieces of hand weaving where you can see every intentional stitch. The mathematical skill involved in producing woven textiles is often underestimated because of our modern relationship with mass manufactured textiles.

We take for granted how our fabrics are produced but with Sarah’s work, the intricacies of the stitches are clear to be seen and easy to appreciate.

Where do you think your creativity is taking you?

Off-loom weaving has continued to provide me with blissful moments of calm each day and this is something that I can now share with others through the workshops I teach, both online and in person.

I feel endlessly inspired by the work of my students, especially children, who are much freer in their work, reminding me to ‘let go’ of the need to keep things neat. Weaving on rocks is a great example of this, as the shape of the rock often dictates the weave; sometimes you aren’t in control of the outcome, which is a good life lesson!

As I continue to weave off-loom I feel more and more drawn to using waste in my work, rather than buying anything new. All of the yarn I use (both in my own work and in the workshops I teach) is waste yarn discarded by the UK textile industry.

Mills accumulate a lot of waste in the form of ‘end-cones’ every single day – that’s the last couple of inches of yarn left on a cone, which they are unable to use in their machinery.

A lot of it ends up in landfill but there are specialist waste yarn suppliers that take job lots of it from the mills, and sell it on to small studios like me. 

I’m also often using waste for the bases; objects like roof tiles, slate, eroded bricks and building rubble are great for weaving around, proving also that art doesn’t have to be expensive. 

I am finding that the more I weave off-loom, the more connections I am making with wellbeing and mental health. I’ve often wondered what compels me to do this every day, and why I find that I need it so much.

This train of thought is a work in progress, but there is something there, and I don’t think I am alone. I recently gave a talk to a weavers guild group, and when I asked why they weave, or why they spin, they all said ‘I find it calming’, ‘It’s my therapy’, ‘It relaxes me’.

It feels good to be making with our hands and I wonder if that is something that human beings need, perhaps it’s in our nature.

Weaving as a mindful act and weaving to reduce and reuse waste couldn’t be more in line with the future that the textile industry needs. The throw-away items we believe have no use, are transformed in Sarahs studio and by her students into beautiful works of art.

I absolutely believe, as Sarah says, that humans need slow work and to work with our hands. It connects us to the earth and reminds us of our ability to create and transform our raw materials into something beautiful, something that has never existed before.

What other artists inspire you?

I’m often inspired by painters – I love the minimalistic work of Agnes Martin. Her subtle use of colour is calming and as a weaver, I find the regimented grids and the orderly lines satisfying.

I also love contemporary painter Anna Mac for her palette and use of colour theory in her work. Also, British artist Alfie Caine paints incredibly detailed and surreal interiors that remind me of computer games, which I love!

Textile wise, Sheila Hicks is a big influence, and I love the Ikat works of Victoria Manganiello and Jessie Bloom.

What is your favourite tool to use in your practice?

For off-loom weaving, I cannot go without my ‘bent-tip’ flat weaving needle! It’s called a Bodkin needle. Often, a sharp needle will go straight through a yarn instead of over and under it. I can’t recommend it enough!

I also make hand woven selvedge denim from scratch, using my large wooden floor loom. I dye the warp threads with natural indigo and have recently received funding from the Theo Moorman Trust for Weavers to buy a ‘Hank-to-Cone’ winding machine.

It allows me to wind skeins of yarn, which I can then dye, and wind back onto cones ready for warping. It’s fabulous.

Can you share one creative tip with our readers?

My advice to any maker is to focus on what inspires you. Make work that excites you, not what you think will ‘sell’.

Often, trying too hard to make work that will sell can drain the creativity out of us. It is hard to make a living doing what you love, and sometimes you have to have your finger in a lot of pies to make ends meet.

One thing that I have learnt over the years is the importance of sharing. It is easy to feel protective of your work especially when there is so much competition but there can be many gains from sharing skills and knowledge with others, as makers are often facing the same challenges you’ll also get to ‘share the load’, and support each other.

Social media is a great way to reach audiences easily and build community. What I love about our blog is that we can bring makers together to learn from each other, even if they live in completely different parts of the world. To have the courage to share, and become involved with others sharing the same values in their work, can be completely transfromative.

Thank you so much to Sarah for interviewing with us, the wisdom to slow down and look around at the materials already available to us feels like a rebellion against a world pushing us to speed up and consume more.

If you like what you see and would like to give hand weaving a go yourself, Sarah offers online workshops. You can find out more on her website and on her Instagram.

Until next time!