In this project I explore the consequences of inventing traditions and the empowering effects of textile making. By looking at Swedish textile history, Finnish coffee packages, a 91 year old woman and a 31 year old aspiring textile artist I come to the conclusion that trying to control history trough traditions can have dire consequences and I am left wanting a more inclusive approach.

A full working day I spent measuring the minerals and oxides for glaze tests; 31g of feldspar, 11g of chalk, 32g of kaolin, 7g of dolomite, 13g of quartz, 10g of zirconium silicate. In total 32 tests. That means adding 32 different grams of oxides or stains to the mix of minerals written above. Labelling each batch with a specific code to separate them. The following day I spent filtering each test through 100 mesh and dipping 64 clay tests.  Out of these 64 tests I liked 4.  As a crafter I am used to having to do things more than once to find what I am searching for and my master project has been no different. I have let my attraction to colors, shadows, forms and in-between shapes guide me through these two years and this is where i ended up - with framed utilitarian objects in the shape of a cake.  Written here is a text about process, everyday and memory. My relation to the materials I work in and a reflection about using objects in a ritualistic way. I am writing this text from third- perspective, it has given me enough distance to myself and my practice (and process) to easier be critical and more direct regarding my subjects within my master project. The novel perspective gives the reader a chance to easily get closer to situations from a crafters point of view - how the plaster feels when mixing it with water and frustration towards norms around utilitarian objects. My project is named It’s a piece of cake and the series of utilitarian objects I made for my master project I call Tårtan (cake).

Most people might not reflect upon textiles as anything more than the soft material in our clothes. As a crafts practitioner, I gain knowledge of woven materials that go beyond that. The knowledge of weaving and materials is developing the ideas that form the concept of this project. From the tacit knowledge, derived from years of practically working with textile materials, an intellectual understanding of materials and the worlds they construct is growing. In this project, I decipher my own ideas of the woven structure in order to invite others to experience the universe within textiles. I look at the weave as a structure, built up by small particles in forms of threads. If seeing the weave from a distance, each repeated pattern can in turn be perceived as the smallest element. By seeing woven materials from more than one perspective, I believe that the understanding of the construction itself can develop. As this understanding grows, so does the ability to judge the quality of the material. In this line of thought, the tools used to reflect upon what materials are, how they are made and what they signify, becomes greater. To visualise the knowledge I have of the textile structures I make, I work with a waffle weave structure, together with a dyeing technique called Ikat. I also draw connections between the woven structure and that of a map – as a tool that humans use to understand their surroundings. The use of perspectives and scale is another tool that is used to widen our perception of the world around us. In order to create an experience of the universe within textiles and to invite others into that world, I draw parallels between the miniature scale of the woven material and larger, architectural structures. The final outcome of this project is a textile installation, consisting of three weavings that together form a larger construction. The construction is open for people to enter and experience. Inside the construction a smaller woven piece is presented as a map over the woven world. This weaving initially contains the same information as the large structure, but on a much smaller scale. / <p>Image no. 16 has been removed due to copyright reasons. A link to the image can be found in the <em>List of References</em></p>

Die umfassende ökologische Krise erfordert es, den Lebenszyklus von Artefakten und Prozessen bereits im Entwurf zu integrieren. Design spielt deshalb eine zentrale Rolle in der anstehenden Transformation der Gesellschaft und Produktionssysteme (Irwin, 2015). Design vermag Umweltauswirkungen zu senken und vereinfacht die Umsetzung von Kreislaufstrategien. (Desing et al., 2021) Zirkuläre Designmethoden schließen Aspekte wie Reparierbarkeit, Wiederverwertung sowie alternativ angelegte Nutzungskonzepte mit ein. Sie sind inzwischen in vielen Curricula integriert.