About

Kia ora. I am Isla, an artist living in Aotearoa New Zealand. Raised by the Baltic Sea and adopted by the Southern Ocean, I feel deeply at home in the natural world.

Currently I co-create with muka*, the inner fibre of harakeke. My intuitive process starts with individual plants I regard as personalities.

Each of my artworks is rooted in the natural world. Natural fibres, plants and elements from the land are my medium. Growing, gathering and processing these living things with attention, respect and love are at the heart of my practice.

I have a passion for the twirling act of hand spinning. When I spin I feel connected to something bigger than me. I’m in the flow - free to play with ideas and techniques. The resulting innovative yarns are the building blocks of my multilayered fibre pieces.

It is important to me to take time for my explorations. Time to engage with every moment - to observe, feel, listen... to come home to the world via my senses. Time to feel the connection with Papatūānuku / Mother Earth and all beings coming from her. 

I like to call this slow process time-receiving versus time-consuming.

It is a journey into magical realms and the unknown. It’s the reason why I feel driven to create art.

I’m particularly interested in Māori and Polynesian wisdom, the similarities between indigenous practices all over the world and how they relate to my own Baltic Sea heritage.

This is an ongoing exploration of connection to place, the nature of interbeing*, and where we belong beyond human society.

...

Te Harakeke, Te Korari

Ngā taonga whakarere iho

O te rangi. O te whenua. O ngā Tupuna

Homai he oranga mō mātou

Tihei mauri ora

...

Harakeke

the treasure passed down to us

by the sky, the land, the ancestors

gives us health

for our life force

...

(traditional Māori karakia / prayer)

Bio

I was born on Rügen - an island in the Baltic Sea - and raised in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) - a socialist country which no longer exists.

I studied Interior Design and Communication Design in Germany, and lived and worked in Berlin, Italy, Ireland and Aotearoa New Zealand.

In 2011 I learned spinning in Ireland, which sent my artwork in a new direction towards natural fibre creations.

Since 2012 I live in Aotearoa New Zealand. Here I find an abundance of inspiration, integrating native plants and natural elements into my work. After living in the awe-inspiring presence of Taranaki Maunga (Mount Taranaki), I now continue my journey in Te Tai Tokerau / The Far North.

* muka is the inner fibre of harakeke. Harakeke is also known as Phormium tenax or New Zealand Flax.

* interbeing is a word coined by Thich Nhat Hanh, meaning nothing can exist without everything else in the cosmos.