HELLO!  I'm SONIA BIDWELL,

ABHRAS means Woolwork in the Gaelic language, and wool and textile art is what I do.

Where others may work in the medium of paint or metal or plastic, I use the possibilities inherent in textile thread and fabric to create works of art.

My chief inspiration just now is from the poetry and legends of North West Europe, especially that written in the Gaelic, Norse and Old Scots tongue.   Working from these I create multi-textured pieces full of colour and symbolism.   Superimposed on a background of woolen textile material will be objects (both found and chosen) that have a direct or symbolic link with the matter of the poem.   Together, the background and the objects form a unity that can be viewed both as a carefully composed abstract commentary on the author's work and as a deliberate sequence of relevant objects, each offereing a small illustration of some aspect of the poem.

Woven into my Orkney pieces, based on the work of George Mackay Brown, you will find pieces of wood, shell or bone from the beaches of Orkney.   In my work based on Skye crofting legends are things that have come from working or abandoned crofts.   So each piece carries within it a genuine link to the landscape from which the poems arose.

Outside current or forthcoming exhibitions you can find me at my small studio in Altas, just South of Lairg, in Sutherland, but I am always within reach by phone or email, and always willing to indulge my other activity of giving illustrated talks on the poetry and legends that inspire my work

Sonia Bidwell

1 Altas, Lairg, Sutherland. IV27 4EU

Email: johnbidwell48@btinternet.com             "The Letter"