Sketches from Iceland — Amy Guion Clay

Any attempts to compete with the grandiosity of this landscape was futile at best, so I focused on making simple charcoal and acrylic sketches - influenced by the rich earthy colors of this varied environment. At each residency, I first take a few days to get a sense of the place and see what most captures my attention. Here in Iceland, it’s most obviously the landscape.

But I’m a sucker for all things fiber/textile, and nothing is more plentiful in Iceland than the local Lopi wool. There’s a whole section of the local supermarket that sells every color of Lopi wool for knitting than you could ever want. The thick Icelandic sweaters are ubiquitous and not just a cultural uniform, but highly practical. It is said that you can wear these sweaters in the rain and remain dry and warm.

So I bought an armful of skeins in gorgeous heathery colors that reflected the natural environment. Not sure what I would do, I started to knit, braid and crochet crude swatches. When I then unravelled them, the crimped and twisted lines of the textured yarn created the most interesting lines, as if the yarns were making the drawings for me.

This was the core of the work I did in Iceland, and completely unexpected as usual!