Ashford Artist of the Month – Aug 24
Imagine living and working, together with your husband, on a beautiful canalboat travelling the waterways of England and Germany. Michaela Cordes does not need to imagine it – it is her life. I am sure you will enjoy finding out more about Michaela’s magical lifestyle.
Kate
NAME: Michaela Cordes
BUSINESS NAME: Michaela Cordes Art
Q. Who are you, where are you from and what do you do?
A. I am Michaela Cordes, a self-employed weaver. I live and work on a canalboat in England but at the moment I am in my home country Germany.
Q. What was your background?
A. I used to be a stone carver and tutor for relaxing stone carving courses for over two decades. Because of a back injury I was not able to continue working with stone.
Q. How did you get started on your fibre artist journey?
A. After I needed to give up my stone carving passion it took a long time to find my new medium. I painted, created soft sculptures and started my spiritual journey. I studied ancient Celtic mythology and started my priestess training. Brighid, the Irish goddess and Saint is very much associated with healing and spinning and she inspired me to start my weaving/spinning journey.
I was always fascinated by pure sheep wool and I knitted my first jumper when I was 14 years of age. Weaving and spinning was always a dream but I never thought about it seriously until I saw an Ashford loom and spinning wheel in a window of a fibre shop in Norwich, England. It was love at first sight and I remember that I took the Ashford magazine with me and started to dream…
One Christmas my husband Marlon surprised me with my first Samplet loom.
Q. How did your journey evolve over time?
A. When we decided to move onto the Swan Goddess, our tiny floating home, it was clear that I needed to decide which art tools and materials I could take with me, I needed to decide because the space is so limited on board. I took my loom and my drop spindle and that was the best decision ever!
It was in the same year when Covid changed the world. My best friend Mary, seriously suffered from the disease and I thought I would lose her. I remember driving back from Anglesey/Wales to my home when I had a very strong call to create a handwoven prayer shawl for Mary. Whilst I wove the shawl out of pure sustainable local sheep wool I chanted and prayed to Brighid for my friend’s recovery. Mary told me later that from the moment she laid her prayer shawl over her shoulders her recovery started.
Since then, I have created customised prayer shawls for customers all over the world, they all carry personal stories of love, grief, loss, disease, deep spiritual meaning and healing. I have also started to create healing womb girdles decorating them with a little hand-carved stone sculpture.
Over time I have also made space on my boat for an Ashford Kiwi spinning wheel and a bigger RHL. I spin all of my wool into an art yarn and I am proud to know that all of my local shepardesses who supply my wool treat their sheep with love and respect. I also work with organic merino and plant fibres.
Q. What do you do with your creations/art/finished pieces?
A. I sell my creations and they are also often worn for ceremonies, rituals, healing sessions and even for weddings and handfastings.
Q. If you sell your work – where do you sell it?
A. I sell my work mainly on Instagram, my website and on Etsy
Q. How do you manage a balanced life as an artist?
A. My work is my passion, my purpose, my path. I find my balance in my spirituality, in nature, through cruising slowly on my narrowboat and when walking in the forests.
Q. Where do you draw your inspiration from?
A. I find my inspiration in nature, from mythology, from my spirituality, from the seasons, and from the stories of my customers.
Q. Do you have advice for people just starting out on their fibre journey?
A. Once you have learned the technical side of weaving and spinning don’t overthink your creations! Go with your intuition and enjoy the journey. Don’t copy from others, find yourself in the art of your creation. It is not just a way to create beautiful items it also can be a healing journey for yourself and others.
Q. Where will your fibre journey take you in the future?
A. I am very excited to soon design my own collection which will be inspired by the spirits of the magical forest and the enchantment of my homeland. I also want to experiment more with weaving in all the magic of nature.
At the moment I am also working on a new offering for my followers and customers: to keep the ancient craft of weaving and spinning alive I will offer a modern way of teaching weaving and spinning online. I hope to start this during the cosy autumn time.
