Referencing Tales, Myths & Legends

Fairy tales & legends connect the past and present. I feel I can relate to the closeted life of Rapunzeland, that sense of entrapment and the oppressing obligation of having to live according to societal rules. And the traditional story of Nanook will always be over-shadowed by lines from Frank Zappa. 

In Search of Nanook

Woven at 11 e.p.i. on a cotton warp, using hemp, cotton, wool and rayon. These two weavings were woven as a twin-set pair. These two works are reminiscent of my 1960's childhood, where fact and fantasy were forever blurred. Reality and authoritative norms were full of contradictions. In my smallness, joining lifes dots together seemed an impossible task.

Rapunzel Gets a Life

My Thoughts on 20x20 cm Tapestry Open Challenge Exhibitions.

The 20x20cm format for tapestry weaving is great for weavers who have not been practicing tapestry technique for long. Although the size allows for enough detail to be incorporated into the design for experienced weavers, 20x20 is small enough for new tapestry artists to experiment with and complete a work within a manageable time frame. 

Simply creating a square that actually is 20x20 once it is woven, cut from the loom and finished off can be a major challenge in itself as a beginner. If it weren't for the good old 20x20, some of us may never have got as far into tapestry weaving as we have.

Original oil on board over wood-cut print.
This is the painting I based my first ever 20x20 on. 

                     The format leaves the warp set open for each weavers individual comfort, logistics and interpretation. 

                  Experienced weavers tend to submit finer work, beginners present more chunky simplistic pieces as a rule.

Generally these 20x20 exhibitions are open to all levels of weaving experience, and so always reflect this unique culture of sharing and trust in the concept as a professional and legitimate form of encouragement for new artists presenting their first few attempts at tapestry design. 

My first ever 20x20. Woven in 1997 for the
NZ Traveling Suitcase Exhibition. It was the 3rd
tapestry design I had attempted  to weave.
E.p.i. looks set at about 6 per inch.

As a new weaver there is pride and an enormous sense of achievement in seeing your experience of participation coming to fruition as art on the wall beside the work of tapestry artists you admire. It is an empowering and encouraging experience.

More about Me

                                            

Michelle from Threefold Designs and Crafts For Misfits has been interviewing tapestry artists that she has come across through her own interest in weaving tapestry. She is currently a student working towards the Australian Diploma in Tapestry Weaving. A very capable and interesting fibre-artist in her own right, she recently asked me to reply to some questions related to tapestry weaving. To catch my interview and that of two other tapestry weavers, click on the link to her site below.

http://threefolddesigns.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/stephenie-collin-tapestry-artist-q.html

The Selection Process

Black & white photo.

The selection process for portrait design is reasonably straight forward. The original photos are sorted through to determine which one has captured that special quality that best describes the essence of the sitter.

The photo is then adjusted to give the aesthetic that the client would want to live with within the context of other interior design requirements. No matter how good the image or how well mastered the weaving is, if it fails to represent the interior space it will  be hung in, then the whole exercise will have been futile from a design perspective.

Finished weaving.

There is always a change in detail and intensity when the image moves from one medium to another as seen here when comparing the photo top left, and the woven portrait at right.

The size of the weaving is usually associated with cost, however it is best to predermine what the client is prepared to pay before the photo is adjusted. At that stage the image can be striped back further to simplify the image and thus require less weaving time. Other cost reduction considerations could be the cropping of the image. One should never under-estimate how much of the person is held in the image of say just the eyes or a partial profile.

Postcards From The Mother Ship.

This weaving and the clay works above were based on a road trip I made through Tokoroa in 1997. I had seen this area of man-made forest growing ever since I was a child.

With the forestry cleared up to the roadside only a few metres either side of State Highway 1, and the clear-felling finally revealing the contours of the land, it all seemed very violent.

The visual effect was raw and profound. The steep hills were completely stripped bare to finally reveal the starkness of emaciated land.

It is little wonder the people of Coromandel are so precious about their natural heritage.

It appears there is renewed interest in providing government support for mining this area.

Some time during the mid/late nineties a Keith Haring Exhibition was shown in Wellington if I remember rightly. His simplicity of line and movement was incredibly inspiring for me.

Social comment in an abstract or sparse art work, subtle or otherwise, has the ability to show time and place in a multi layered type of way. This weaving from Inquision/Supperstition is one of a pair.

I have been interested in working collaboratively with someone on a larger mural-type weaving for quite a while now. If there are any community mined artists out there with roots in the street art movement and who have a mature and focused desire to work on a joint project involving tapestry weaving, get in touch.