Crafting with local materials fosters a deep connection to the landscape, its history, and its communities in which they were made. Using wool from sheep that graze and maintain parts of the west Jutland heathlands, artisan and weaver Marianne Noer works with this local material to connect with the intangible cultural heritage rooted in the landscape. With ancient techniques like weaving, ropemaking, and plant dyeing, Noer explores how the act of creation can foster a tactile knowledge by attuning to the inherent qualities of these materials.
In collaboration with Lystbækgaard farm in Ulfborg, western Jutland, Denmark, a centre for traditional shepherding and moorland crafts, the project Where Are All the Sheep examines the historical context and the aesthetic and functional properties of wool. The process begins with the shearing and sorting of wool, followed by local wool-spinners hand-spinning it into yarn. The yarn is then transformed into ropes by a rope maker, reviving the traditional craft of creating soft, tactile ropes from sheep’s wool. The ropes are woven together to form a carpet.
The woven carpet is made from ropes crafted using the wool of six Spælsau sheep – three brown and three white. One rope is plant-dyed with birch leaves, creating a yellow stripe that runs through the weave.
Where Are All The Sheep, L 85 x H 3 x W 52 cm
Shearing process at Lystbækgaard
Plant-dyeing the wool with birch leaves
Collaborating with rope maker Steen Franch
The project Wool: To Build With a Fibre investigates the properties of wool in combination with other materials, focusing on its aesthetic and its functional qualities. The outcome is a curated library of 56 samples, each showcasing wool as the primary component. By employing techniques such as felting, bio-composites, nuno felting, and papermaking, the project demonstrates the versatility and potential of this natural fibre.
The upper row displays three samples of raw wool, while the lower row shows the same wool after carding.
Here the upper row features wool felted using three different techniques, while the lower row highlights lanolin extracted in three distinct ways. Lanolin is a natural wax secreted by sheep’s wool that provides water-repellent and protective qualities.
Nuno felting.
Paper pulp combined with wool, shaped using heat-press techniques.
Paper pulp combined with wool. The wool and paper fibres remain almost unmerged.
Paper pulp combined with wool: thick paper, where the wool acts as a strengthening fibre.
Paper pulp combined with wool: thin paper, where black wool creates a marble effect
An archive of 56 material samples.
Controlled mosaic burning of heather at Præstbjerg to regenerate plants and soil. Led by the shepherds at Lystbækgaard in early spring 2020 (filmed by Marianne Noer)