About me

My name is Cally Booker and I live and weave in Dundee on the east coast of Scotland.

I have been an east coast girl all my life. My family come from east and north-east Scotland, but I grew up in East Anglia, on the edge of the fens.

To this day I thrive under big, open skies. I am drawn to places at the edge, where land and water meet… river banks, cliff-top paths, urban waterfronts… and feel a strong connection to the landscape and history of the east coast of Scotland.

Signposts to The North lift my spirit.

My approach to weaving

In my work I am continually drawn to explore lines and boundaries, positives and negatives, using multi-layered structures which hide and reveal. I think best with analogue tools in my hands: a pencil, a length of yarn, a smooth wooden shuttle. But digital design tools have their place as well. They allow me to explore different kinds of data as a source of design inspiration, to build up the complex structures which are an endless source of fascination for me, to experiment boldly before I commit an idea to yarn. And then come the slow processes of hand-dyeing and hand-weaving, where I can follow through on my ideas – or overturn them completely. The materials in the hand have the final say.

Making connections

I am passionate about making things by hand and share my love of weaving through The Weaving Space, a programme of online workshops and self-study resources for weavers. I have served on the editorial committee for the Journal for Weavers, Spinners & Dyers as weaving features editor and as committee chair, and I am a Past President of Complex Weavers. I am a member of the Society of Designer Craftsmen and a professional member of Visual Arts Scotland.

Past exhibitions

For current exhibitions and events see this page.