The Handweavers' Studio

One of the purposes of my trip to London was to get supplies. As I come to the end of my first tapestry, I feel that if I don't get another onto the loom, I might never start another! 

When I lived in London, I lived in Walthamstow, which was then home to The Handweavers' Studio.  It has recently relocated to larger, lighter premises in Finsbury Park.  It's an absolute treasure trove for weavers.  There are shelves of beautifully coloured yarn, books, postcards, fibres, magazines and a gallery of contemporary hand woven fabrics.  At the back there is a light and airy teaching studio set up with looms.

"Is melon good for meloncholia?" Lynne Curran 2000

Krokbragd rug. Valerie Opher

My new yarn stash

I came away with more rayon as I love the range of colours and also the fineness of the yarn and the detail I have been able to achieve, especially in the building of curves.  I also picked up some precut cards for weaving, with a view to experimenting a bit with different fibres.  For my next tapestry (yes, I still have to finish the other one) I'd like to keep with the curves but create a more abstract piece.

This picture?

This picture in my studio is by my fantastically talented husband.  His website features his illustration work but he is an amazing painter and this piece called "Wales" is one of my most treasured possessions.  And you can see from the juxtaposition of our work what a strong visual influence he has on me.

                                   

I've been in my studio making slow and steady progress on my tapestry weaving.  In my "How, why, when" post I didn't deal with why I weave.  You have to be nuts to be a weaver, see Monty Don's excellent programme on weaving for evidence!  It's a slow, often tedious process but it is true that the amazing sense of creating cloth from spools of yarn is very rewarding.  And creating cloth that has a narrative, even better.

In response to featuring Scottish artists I was reminded of the work of George Birrell.  Again a strong sense of colour and pattern prevails.

Back to the loom .....not much left to weave now.

Blue to Red

Nottinghamshire has a rich history as the Dukeries and is packed with stately homes that have been renovated and remodelled as galleries and art workshops.  Among my favourites are Rufford, Thoresby, and Staunton Harold Ferrer's Centre (ok, that's Leicestershire).  One that I've been meaning to discover is the Harley Gallery near Worksop.

Tipped off by Maebh Warburton's blog about the current exhibition, "Follow a Thread", we combined our visit to Thoresby with a stop at the Harley Gallery.

                                     

Where Thoresby is stone, highlighted with blue paintwork, the Harley is highlighted with red.  It's a stunning gallery space.

The exhibition featured the work of six artist-makers from Edinburgh, each specialising in contemporary tapestry.  My favourites were Jo Barker and Linda Green.  Having started to weave tapestries (okay.....tapestry.....still on going)  the technical control and ability of Jo Barker is outstanding.  Her ability to paint with thread and keep the surface alive is beautiful.  Like a true textiles groupy I couldn't help sneaking a look at the back of the tapestry and loved the hanging threads and rich pallette.

Jo Barker tapestry

Jo Barker tapestry (detail)

Linda Green's work was inspiring in a different way.  I loved the way she's challenged notions of cloth and weave and created a mini-museum of samples that push the boundaries of fibre art.  These tiny pieces (10cm to 30cm tall) reminded me of anthropological finds from Africa or the Far East that could be musical instruments or jewellery. These pieces led  me to challenge my own assumptions about what a tapestry should be and what it should be constructed from.

Linda Green tapestry studies

I'm looking forward to returning to the Harley Gallery for the Slow Craft exhibition at Easter.

Keep on keeping on!

The tapestry is slowly creeping up the warp. I've reached a lovely section where I'm introducing new colours and starting to try and capture some of the painterly effects of the paperwork in thread. It's making my brain ache working with so many colours and I realize that sometimes I sit staring at the loom whilst my head tries to work out what my fingers need to do. I've nominated November as a weave-every-day month and keep ducking in to the studio for a 'power weave'. My plan to weave a piece each season is fast disappearing. One a year might be about right!

Tapestry

Based on the piece I've had accepted by the Thoresby gallery, I'm doing a tapestry weaving. I'm enjoying capturing the moment of the storm in the enduring medium of tapestry. I've extracted a section from the original artwork. Like the ariginal artwork, it has a muted pallette with stronger colours to add depth and intensity. It's woven on a frame loom with a cotton warp and rayon weft. I chose rayon, purely because I had access to a supply in a wide range of colours. The work is slowly growing. I get a really calm, meditative sense when I'm weaving, totally absorbed in the moment.