Alison Dickens



My work is mainly contemporary but calls on a rich and varied craft tradition. I am drawn to sculptural forms, which for me echo the high curves and low curves of spare open landscapes: the Yorkshire Dales and Wolds, Norfolk and Suffolk coasts, estuaries and tidal mudflats; and the forms and patterns made by water, wind and wave.
My willow vessels are made using the rope-wale (or rope coil) weave, which involves adding a new rod at every stroke and weaving with a bundle of willow. The technique is slow and time-consuming and uses a lot of willow; but I love the sense of movement it creates and feel it best evokes the landscape forms and forces that guide me.