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Alice Fox’s Allotment Plot 105: A Visit to the Artists’s Garden and Studio

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At first sight, there’s nothing extraordinary about Alice Fox’s allotment in West Yorkshire, England. In fact, her garden community neighbors are “mostly oblivious” to the magic she weaves there. The addition of a flax crop may have been a novelty when she first rented the plot, but the size and layout of the land, sheds, and greenhouse seem pretty standard—until you look closer.

Peek through the window of the main shed and your eyes will be drawn to a wonderful organized jumble of plant pots, trays, tools, jars of homemade botanical inks, sketches, scribbles, samples, fragments of ceramics, wire, plastic, and other unearthed objects, as well as an ever-changing assortment of plant fibers in various stages of drying and hand-processing. This is where Fox’s uniquely beautiful and thought-provoking textile art begins to take form.

Alice took on Plot 105 in Autumn 2017 when she started her practice-based master’s program to explore ways to achieve greater self-sufficiency in her art. Although she’d had a share in an allotment previously, with a young family, she never really had the time to give to it: “The only way I could justify it was to make it part of my work,” she says.

In 2020, Alice self-published the story of her relationship with her allotment Plot 105 and how her engagement with the site has unfolded since taking it on. Today, her book sits in a shed, alongside the encyclopedia of gardening left by the previous tenant. Looking back, she acknowledges that her year of research “marked a fundamental shift in how I source my materials. It allowed me to grow as a gardener, giving a particular focus. It provides a space to be amongst nature, get my hands in the soil, and think while working there.”

We met Alice in West Yorkshire this summer to learn more about her allotment, her garden, and home studio, and the evolution of her sustainable creative practice that’s deeply embedded in land and place. Let’s dig deeper:

Photography courtesy of Alice Fox. Featured image (above) by Carolyn Mendelsohn.

In keeping with Alice’s local approach and quest for self-sufficiency, Plot 105 is a working garden providing fresh home-grown, seasonal produce. Few changes have been made to the overall structure of the plot, except for planting a couple of trees and some fruit bushes. Most of the growing beds are used for vegetables, and there are about 12 fruit trees, taking up approximately one quarter of the space. Photograph by Carolyn Mendelsohn.
Above: In keeping with Alice’s local approach and quest for self-sufficiency, Plot 105 is a working garden providing fresh home-grown, seasonal produce. Few changes have been made to the overall structure of the plot, except for planting a couple of trees and some fruit bushes. Most of the growing beds are used for vegetables, and there are about 12 fruit trees, taking up approximately one quarter of the space. Photograph by Carolyn Mendelsohn.
Alice introduced a flax crop in 2017 and, since then, has learned a lot about this wonderful plant through growing and processing. Recently, she applied her knowledge to projects in new places, such as Kestle Barton in Cornwall. This experience culminated in her flax-focused exhibit Flaxen, shown at Northern Ireland Linen Biennale. Photograph by Carolyn Mendelsohn.
Above: Alice introduced a flax crop in 2017 and, since then, has learned a lot about this wonderful plant through growing and processing. Recently, she applied her knowledge to projects in new places, such as Kestle Barton in Cornwall. This experience culminated in her flax-focused exhibit Flaxen, shown at Northern Ireland Linen Biennale. Photograph by Carolyn Mendelsohn.

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