Work In Progress

I have just begun working part-time again. As I don't have a rich husband, or wife either for that matter, I sometimes have to do this, not only in order to pay the bills, but more importantly, to keep my studio space going. 

This part-time work is not in the least bit art related, but it does have some relevance to my on-going long term goal and commitment to one day be able to use my weaving skills and looms to help a community group out there to have a voice, communal focus or small income sometime in the future. Weaving is a wonderful medium for bringing people together on all sorts of levels and has such a diverse heritage for so many different peoples and cultures.

I was recently advised that if I was wanting to get more sales of my tapestries, maybe  I should focus more on producing less provocative or political pieces, drop a bit of the edge to the work so to speak. 

My new series of works are no larger than 30x30cm. I better not give up the part-time work though, not with all these off-shore drilling permits and mining rights going on at the mo.

Commission for Funky Chicken

Funky Chicken Commission Book Cover
www.funkybooks.com.au

Chook on the loom

It's been ages since I posted onto my blog so here is a bit of what I've been up to over the last few months. This is my brothers boutique kids book which he self-published last year, and a pic of me half way through weaving the illustration on the cover of the book.

Funky Books donates a percentage of it's profits towards the children's charity Just 4 Kids Inc. and Chris and his partner Nadia have been putting loads of energy into trying to make kids lives a bit more Funky for them. They tour schools and libraries promoting funky-ness for kids.

Funky Chicken, off the loom and steam pressed.

The design was way away from themes I have dealt with before, and the wild weft was radical to weave  at times. I believe they are going to use this weaving as a prize for a school library competition as part of the books promotion. It was a pretty funky piece to weave, and I was releived to get it done in time for my trip over to Australia in June/July.

Detail of the weft in the tail and wing

I took it over with me rolled up and bought some high-grade canvas to stretch over the frame my dad and I had built for it.. Once stretched, primed and painted, the weaving was ironed and steamed, and an  acid-free iron-on backing was attached to the work to stabilize it for sewing onto the frame. The exposed canvas area has cotton chook prints sewn around the border. as does the title and signature.

Funky Chicken sewn onto canvas

 All in all, a crazy little guy to weave. Had heaps of fun with this piece. Set at 10 epi it took longer than I thought so my next piece is set at 6epi to speed things up a bit.

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

Tapestry Weaving/Mixed Media

Hand-woven Tapestry on Pen & Paper.

Integrating small works with other mediums to create a different format will probably never go down well with the tapestry purists out there. However there is always an sense of adventure in pushing ones artistic licence to take folk out of their comfort zones from time to time. These works have the double horror of being presented behind glass.

                                   

                                                        "Un-armed and Dangerous"

                                                    

      

                                                              "Ghia's New Skiivvy"

You can see more of my work at    http://www.facebook.com/warpedartanddesign

Function and Form

Below is a photo of the three cushions I made using re-cycled tapa, and shaped woven panels. Obvious inspiration for them came from traditional Papuan ceremonial masks. I have been unable to get much work done for several weeks now, which is so frustrating. However I am able to use my 3 end fingers, so have managed to spin clumsily in the mean while. Will attempt silk later today. 

3 Cushions
Constructed from a variety of materials and techniques.
Hand and machine stitching, hand-spun dog hair,
wool and silk. Hair-wrap technique.

Simplification through circumstance shall be my next learning curve I think. Remaining positive is helped by using this down time to re-assess where I want to go with my fibre/tapestry. Lots of ideas and combinations swirling around at the moment so when this cast is off in 3-4 weeks time I will be working with my physiotherapy person towards a practical solution for using my own actual art practice as therapy.  Really looking forward to a summer of serious play and high productivity. 

Polworth fleece and limb of limitations

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.

Shaped Tapestry Weavings

I have used shaped edges on my tapestries from time to time, usually along the beginning and end edges of the weaving, such as the weaving below, which was obviously woven side-ways.

Rapunzel Gets A Life

It was one of two weavings that had a dark nursery theme. They were both framed behind glass, mounted onto and surrounded by a generous sized matt-gold  board, with quite a heavy gold frame which gave them an even more surreal presence on the wall. 

In Search Of Nanook

Of course things get a little trickier when both ends of the weaving need to be shaped. Diane Ammar is a NZ tapestry weaver who has self-published at least two books on her particular technique for shaped weaving. Some are delightfully fine and intriguing works. This is the link to the American Tapestry Alliance site review. http://www.americantapestryalliance.org/Members/NLv31n4/NLv31n4p8.html

Window 2 -  Part of installation at Franklin Steel Gallery.