E.P.I. EXPLAINED

Ends per inch or e.p.i. are used to indicate the number of warps (vertical threads) that the tapestry weaving is woven onto for every inch you measure across the completed work.
For example the rug you can see being woven on the loom here is set at approximately 5 e.p.i. This means that for every inch across the entire horizontal row of the warp threads there are 5 vertical threads. This is referred to as a low warp.

It also means that creating vertical lines in this particular rug design should be avoided as much as possible. The low number of e.p.i. will always dictate the limitations of the end design.

E.P.I. CONTINUED....

Woven on a much finer warp thread at approximately 10 e.p.i. allows for more detail to be incorporated into a design. Being woven at 10 ends-per-inch still makes it a reasonably low warp count and the jump from vertical warp-to-warp threads is clearly noticeable where the line of the cheek on the face meets the main background. If the warp had been set at 20 e.p.i. this would be far less obvious, however the hours of work involved completing it would be much increased.

I love this weaving …Beyond The Wall Of Melancholy

Every now and again you produce a piece of work that you feel is as close to what you were trying to create as you wanted. For me this is definitely one of those pieces. By having such a strong visual impact, it manages to strike a chord with viewers, and got a half page review in the FEATURE PLUS section of the Timaru Herald when it was exhibited at the Aigantighe Gallery while promoting the 2009 National Creative Fibre Exhibition in April last year. It is often this type of unexpected hands-on support from people who are unfamiliar with me or my work that feed the artist within….. Soul food is good too.

* If you would like to help feed the artist without, the piece remains unsold and represents approximately 40 hours work. Offers that support the principles of N.Z. Fair Trade can be sent to me via my blogspot E-mail address.

"Chester" What you see is what you get.

Another one from the archives... This weaving has been woven facing this way up, or across the weaving as you are veiwing it. The strength of the horizontal lines in the design dominate the weaving. There aren't that many verticals, and the few obvious ones are manageable enough to weave without having too much affect on the resulting image. Despite the clean lines of his shirt, he looks a little strung out and devious, and although this has absoblutely nothing to do with the weaving process it is never the less still worth noting. Compare the flow lines of the hair in this weaving with the one below, and you are now able to view tapestry weaving with a more technical eye for details.

Although this is an early work that is reasonably basic in its design and construction, I still find weavings like this unashamedly simple and compelling.

Which Way is Up?

This archival weaving is a good example of how the design dictates the direction of the weaving process. This piece, and the weaving "Moehau" below, were woven sideways so to speak. If you look at the images with this in mind it is easy to see that vertical lines in a design need to be carefully planned, and that these vertical lines will ultimately determine whether the piece will be woven on the loom vertically or horizontally.

TEXTURE & SURFACE

I have always preferred to use a selection of yarns in the weavings I produce, and for me the mixing of these different wools, cottons and rayons in particular give the weaving a less flattened and more interesting appearance. When trying to present 2-dimensional fibre art as fine art, I like to enhance the texture of the surface, especially as my weavings tend to be pictorial and the images in them easily identifiable.

The use of texture range is important in the weaving if the veiwer is likely to critique it in the same context as a 2-dimensional painting, As much as that, having all those cones of scrappy odds & ends feeds the magpie in me, and gives an excuse for all the space-wasters in my studio storage area to exist.

Travelling Suitcase Exhibition 2010

I have been contributing work for the Travelling Suitcase Exhibition since 1998. This is a non-selected exhibition of 20 x 20 cm. tapestry weavings produced by N.Z. weavers, and is open to anyone who is a member of The N.Z. Tapestry Network.

The Exhibition spends a year travelling the country from venue to venue in both the North and South Islands. It is well supported by some of New Zealands leading weavers and I highly recommend viewing the exhibition if it has a venue near you. Here is a sneak preview of one of the two weavings I have been working on for this years show. I will put the dates and venues of this years T.S.E. up in one of my next posts.

Welcome.....

Welcome to the new WARPED ART & DESIGN blog site. I will be posting updates of what I am working on, as well as letting you know of other events and activities that may be of interest to you. Some of this may be as grass roots as what's going on within my own local Spinners & Weavers, through to events and exhibitions that may be of interest to you.

It is my intent to make better use of my studio this year and to get some basic workshops up and running on a semi-regular basis. I will list workshops as they become available.

Although weaving is the focus of my own work, there are many young women in particular who are wanting to learn more about the very basics of fibre construction. Feel free to make contact with me if you think your group or organisation may be interested in learning the basics and more when it comes to weaving, spinning, or knitting.

Work on the loom

Finished portrait

Work on loom

This woven portrait "Evad" won the Creative Fibre - Gisler Architects Award for Excellence in Artistic Design, when it was exhibited at the Creative Fibre Experience 2009 in Hamilton last year.
Working with what appears to be a predominantly black and white colour palette is a challenge for all fibre artists, and this piece was no exception. It measures approximately 1.3 metres by 900 cm. and took about 90-100 hours to complete; from the first stage of photo adjustment for the weavable design through to its final readiness for hanging.




Portrait Weaving in the making... Note the original photo above the weaving. This is used by the weaver as constant point of cross referencing while the work is being woven on the loom.