CREATIVE FIBRE EXPERIENCE 2010

The Creative Fibre Experience 2010 exhibition runs in conjunction with The Craft & Quilt Fair at the Claudlands Event Centre in Hamilton from the 9th-12th September.

This is a highly competitive, selected show of quality weavings and other fibre art works from members of The N.Z. Spinners, Weavers & Woolcraft Society.

To Glass or Not To Glass- That is the question.

Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker - The Crown Wants a Piece Of it All

Tapestry weaving is arguably the most obvious technique that readily lends itself to being shown as fine art. I recently discussed exhibiting practices and the presentation of  tapestry weavings with another tapestry weaver. We queried whether our work should always be shown in a way that allowed the tactile element of the work to over-ride all other considerations. Does unprotected framing remain the best way to present contemporary, smaller, non-functional works?

Should the most important element of the work even be the weaving?

From a traditional and purists point of view, tapestry weavings should not be shown behind glass. In many circles and obviously at the judged national exhibition level,  there is a continued expectation that tapestry weavings should be presented in a manner that best connects veiwers to the the fibre/craft element of the work. 

I have always struggled with this as a hard and fast rule especially if conveying the message of the piece is more important to me than the fact that I happened to chose tapestry weaving as the medium to convey that message.

As a hand-woven tapestry work that is made special by "Please  Do Not Touch" signs, does the weaver take the initiative to present the work from behind glass, in a manner that  acheives the same result.
Is it a matter of educating veiwers/judges to accept the work as it is intended to be viewed as a whole by its creator or should the creators still be striving to educate viewers of their fibre art through the traditional and accepted manner of presenting the work open to the elements and inquisitive fingers?

At the end of our discussion we rightly or wrongly concluded that the craft artist would probably argue in favour of the status quo, i.e that to present a tapestry weaving behind glass deminishes the work. Whereas  the artist/weaver would probably be more inclined to want the piece protected and presented to the viewer framed behind glass if that was how the piece worked best in relation to their intended artistic statement or concept.

TRAVELLING SUITCASE - Dates & Galleries

TITIRANGI    9 September - 3 October 2010 

TCAC Upstairs Gallery, Level 1, Lopdell House, 418 Titirangi Road, Titirangi, Auckland 

TAURANGA    12-26 October 2010 

Creative Tauranga Community Gallery, 112 Willow Street, Tauranga 

KERIKERI    7-21 November 2010 

Origin Art and Craft, 128 Kerikeri Road, Kerikeri 

WHANGAREI    28 November - 10 December 2010 

Reyburn House, Reyburn House Lane, Town Basin, Whangarei 

PALMERSTON NORTH    17-31 December 2010 

Van Uffelen Gallery, 88-90 Princes Street, Palmerston North 

ELTHAM    7 January - 4 February 2011 

The Village Gallery, 166 High Street, Eltham

Recent portrait work

Close up showing detail

The photo on the right is a close-up image of a portrait being woven on the loom. This close encounter with the weaving as you progress is quite intense and engrossing. When sitting up close to the work as you weave, your sense of perspective is constantly being altered and challenged. It is only when you take a step back from the loom that you appreciate the image as a whole. 

Because of this altered perspective, it is important to have a smaller image of the portrait design handy to remind you of the bigger picture you are creating.

Detail of work in progress.

Close-up of work on the loom. Note the built up areas of weaving already done where the hair and jersey portions of the portrait have been started. In this photo you can clearly see the warp threads that are yet to be woven onto.  The cartoon can be seen behind the work, which is used as a guide in the weaving process. 

Stepping back from the work on the loom, allows you to see the woven built-up area as a whole. A small photo is pinned to the loom above the working area and used as a constant point of reference to ensure the work in progress is as true to the original design as possible. In this photo you can also see the cartoon guide pinned up behind the un-filled warp threads. With my portraits these cartoons are simply an enlarged copy of the original photograph.

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.

Update for TSE "Within the Square" Tapestry weavings by members of The N.Z. Tapestry Network

The Travelling Suitcase Exhibition is now travelling the country and having visited Christchurh and Dunedin, is off to Gore from 10th July to 8th August. Other dates and provinces are as listed below....

Titirangi: 9 Sept to 3 Oct

Tauranga: 12-26 Oct

Keri Keri: 7-21 Nov

Whangarei: 28 Nov to 31 Dec

Eltham 7 Jan to 4 Feb 2011

Tapestry shows "Summit Inertia" 20x20cm

Woven at 10epi with cottons, wool and rayons.

If you are travelling to Auckland to see the exhibition and would like to spend a day in the studio with me or if you just want to drop in for a visit, you can call the studio on 09 235 2699, Tuesday to Friday between 9am-4pm. For details on how to join the Tapestry Network simply send me an e.mail. The address is... warpedartanddesign@gmail.com  and I will let you know the details.