In this blog post, we delve into the artistic journey of Beth Williams, a creative whose artistic path has evolved from a personal quest for self-expression to a pioneering exploration of living textiles and sustainability. Most recently, using hair x wool twine and felted hair mats from Green Salon Collective! In the interview that follows, Beth shares her experiences, challenges, and exciting new directions in her work, offering a unique perspective on the intersection of creativity, sustainability, and personal growth.
You can follow Beth's journey on Instagram here.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your art journey?
I have always been very creative. When I was younger I really struggled to connect with others and understand the world around me. Art gave me the language I needed to communicate better, and a way to figure out the things I struggled with. When I was deciding what I wanted my future to look like I knew I had to be true to myself and pursue what I loved and had provided me with so much comfort. Fashion and textiles was the path I landed up choosing. We all wear clothes, at least the vast majority of us do, so it’s a language we all understand.
How did your practice develop into what it is today, exploring living textiles and sustainability?
My initial dream was to go into high end fashion, which led me to studying fashion at Central Saint Martins. I loved the work I was doing but throughout my degree I grew increasingly frustrated with the industry itself. As a disabled person I struggled with toxic work environment and expectations of the the industry. I loved what I did but trying to keep up was making me sicker, and I knew it would only get worse once I graduated and was looking for jobs. At the same time I always struggled with huge environmental impact the industry has. I have so much respect for creatives who try and change things from the inside, but I knew it wasn’t for me.
I had no idea where what I wanted to do next so I decided to purse a Master degree to figure it out, and on a whim applied to the Royal College of Art. I used my time there to build a practice that could accommodate for my disabilities and push for change. I stripped my practice back and to build it up again starting with the fibre textiles are made from. Whilst I was researching different fibres, one thing that immediately stood out to me was the historical use of wool in agriculture. I started playing with growing plants on fibre, and living textiles practice began.
From there it just spiralled, and I quickly fell in love. Watching my textiles grow made me realise non human life evolves and grows at its own pace, and their lives are still successful; they have their own place in the eco system. It made me realise I could have my own place in the industry, and work in a way that accommodated for my disabilities and still be successful.
What materials have you used in the past, and how did working with hair come about?
I am a complete nerd when it comes to materials. I loving explore the capabilities of new materials, especially unusual ones. Everything I use in my practice meets my own personal sustainability goals. They either have to be completely compostable, recyclable or a waste product. But within those goals I’ve been able to work with so many amazing materials. From scrap metal from high voltage cables, to kitchen waste, to dog hair, to algae based bio materials, to all different kinds on living plants and fungi. If you can think of it I’ve probably played with it at some point!
I began looking at hair as a material when I was looking for inspiration for a piece I wanted to create from flax. Its quite a “hairy” bast fibre, and despite being plant based I wondered if I could take some inspiration from how hair functions as a fibre. This led me to deep diving into the use of human hair in textiles from Victorian hair work to the Ancestral Puebloans who made functional items from human hair. At the same time the lovely team from the Green Salon Collective reached out to me and asked if I’d like to create some pieces with their hair mats and hair yarn. It was fate! I jumped at the chance to explore a new material. I knew using hair in textiles would really challenge people, and even make some uncomfortable, but why not show them you can make something beautiful out of such a underutilised waste stream?
What were your initial feelings around working with, touching, and using hair in your practice?
I was really excited to start playing with the hair the Green Salon Collective sent to me. I had a few reservations on working with other peoples hair, I think that came more from societal attitudes. Those went out the window as soon as I got my hands on it I was pretty blown away and my mind started to run wild with ideas. It was totally unlike anything I had used before. I had worked with dog hair, but even the difference between that was massive.
I love the challenges of working with something new and couldn’t wait to show other how cool of a material it was!
How have you found using hair as a material? Have there been any challenges? How does it compare to other materials that you’ve used?
It has been really fun to use, and very versatile. I was easily able to fabricate with it and even got to try some new ideas that I wasn’t able to achieve with other materials. Thanks to the structure hair has I was able to create motifs that held their shapes with a knitted living I-cord, which is something I’ve failed at with more conventional yarns. The hair mats were also really easy to use, and I was able to adapt my living felt techniques to them.
The biggest challenge is that the textiles samples began shedding hair! I’ve never had to deal with that before. I wanted to keep as much of the hair in the textile samples as possible so it wouldn’t go into the waste stream. Luckily it was a pretty easy to mitigate by using plants with strong root systems to bind the looser hairs into the textiles, and create a good base to stop them falling out when moved or draped.
I was shocked at how well the hair supported the growth of the plants. Usually when I introduce a new material to my living textile practice I have to sample repeatedly to find the right combination of seed and technique that allows the plants to grow. But, with the hair all the samples from the first round where incredibly successful.
Many of the plants growing to a maturity that often takes several rounds of development to create. I can only imagine just how well my more developed pieces will grow! The hair provided a fantastic base for all the seeds tried, it allowed for good air flow and drainage with little intervention, which can be hard to achieve.
What are your next steps in terms of using hair in your work?
Right now I am planning my first living hair garment with the Green Salon Collective’s amazing materials! I can’t wait to challenge people expectations of what materials can be used to make clothes, and show something made with hair can be just as beautiful as a piece made without. It has proved to be a fantastic, versatile, sustainable material which slots in perfectly to my practice.
I also plan to introduce it into my other biomaterial experiments, which I am very excited for. It have been an absolute privilege to explore the history and possibilities as hair as a material. I’m sure I’m still at the start of this journey.
