Tapestry With Pulled Warp: Inspiration, Technique, and the Creative Process

For a very long time, I have been intrigued by the sculptural possibilities of pulled-warp tapestries.  Susan Iverson’s new book, Tapestry With Pulled Warp: Inspiration, Technique, and the Creative Process, makes me want to carve out some time to sample and to explore.  This book combines clear written instructions with lots of technical images, beginning with how to set up the loom for weaving samples, the materials and tools needed for making patterns and the spacers for inserting into the warp while weaving.

For those of us who tend to work intuitively, heed this statement!

“Always make a pattern for your pulled warp tapestries. This technique can be counterintuitive, so you want to make sure that what you are planning will actually work. The pattern will define all the areas that are to be woven and those that remain unwoven….Your imagination, while wonderful, does not replace a pattern.”  pp 20, 22

Step-by-step images and instructions provide a clear guide for weaving each sample of flat curves and angles. Once woven and cut from the loom, the moment arrives for pulling of the warps. Again, there is a strategy that requires planning the sequence for doing so.

pulled warp tapestry process, photo credit: Edward Parsons (image provided by Schifferbooks)

  Subsequent chapters cover how to approach planning for three-dimensional forms, such as loops, flaps, ridges and ripples, plus three-dimensional curves and spirals.  Here it is essential to make a maquette, in addition to the pattern.

  Throughout these chapters, Susan Iverson poses “What If’’ questions, pushing the weaver to consider more and more possibilities for creating variations of shapes through pulled warp. She also shares numerous tips, pitfalls, strategies—all of which are essential to successfully being able to master this approach to tapestry weaving and design.

Fleeting (detail) photo credit: Taylor Dabney © Susan Iverson (image provided by Schifferbooks)

The section on “Finishing Solutions” covers how to deal with both the warp and weft ends, as well as mounting solutions for hanging on the wall. Again, there are lots of images showing both the back and front of tapestries.

I especially love the section on “Deciding When to Use Pulled Warp (An Artist’s Journey),” where Susan Iverson takes us through the evolution of her works, her thought process and decisions around “why I used pulled warp for certain ideas and not others.  Some ideas, generally the more narrative ones, demand to be flat on the wall, while others want to push into space and enhance their physical presence.” (p.108).

This book balances the practical with the vision and creative thought behind when to use pulled warp in tapestries; a must-have guide for anyone wanting to explore the how, why, and when behind creating pulled-warp tapestries.

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Pulled Warp Tapestries: Inspiration, Technique, and the Creative Process is available for pre-order through Schiffer Books, and will be released on February 28, 2024.

Waterline: An International Collaborative Project Led by Joan Baxter

Rivers significant in our lives; rivers flowing through multiple regions and countries, through geologic memory and human cultures that have come and gone; water as the life force that continues to undergird our existence, with its swift currents, reflections, and ripple patterns.  The Waterline collaborative project speaks of all of this and more.

“Participants created designs based on a river personal to them.  All the designs needed to adhere to certain criteria, agreed together beforehand, that allowed the individual pieces to hang together to tell the story. The tapestries are either rectangular or square and are of varying sizes and proportions. Anywhere within each piece, a straight and level silvery gold line of a similar width, representing the surface and flow of the water, is the most important shared element.  Each participant was given the same material to use for the waterline.”—Joan Baxter

Waterline sampling process. Photo Credit: Anna Wetherell

Meeting through zoom, fifteen tapestry weavers from Canada, the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Netherlands came together through eight online meetings September 2021 – March 2022, screen sharing Power Point slides of designs and progress, working with each other and with Joan privately. The resulting tapestries connect well with each other, while simultaneously articulating unique stories around the flow of specific rivers.

Thematic in many of the tapestries is the confluence of where rivers meet each other or where fresh water meets ocean salt water.

© 2022 Jenny Heard “Tideline” 14” x 12” (36 x 30 cm) photo credit: Jenny Heard

Jenny Heard’s “Tideline:” The Snohomish River, a tidal river, flows from the mountains of Washington state, USA and meets the Pacific Ocean in Puget Sound. Here is where fresh water meets salt water at its mouth.

“The point where the incoming tide collides with the outflowing river, the tide line, is my favorite place. It is full of energy, moving and changing directions unpredictably.  Along the tide line, the dancing water is darker and sparkles. Its greens and blues vary on either side of the tide line, yet it is all the same mix of water. I have learned that it is wise to paddle forcefully [when kayaking] through this turbulent area, whether going against or with the current.” —Jenny Heard

© 2022 Janet Moore “Confluence,” 20.5”x27” (52 cm x 69 cm). photo credit: Janet Moore

Janet Moore’s Confluence: The Mississippi and Missouri rivers meet near St. Louis, Missouri, USA. “These rivers have varied color waters and move as ribbons of color twining around each other, and finally weaving a greater body between them….The confluence marks the spot where histories have played out, explorations have begun…” —Janet Moore

© 2022 Christine Paine “Two Rivers (Stour and Avon) Meet the Tide” 20” x 20” (50 x 50 cm); photo credit: Christine Paine

Christine Paine’s “Two Rivers (Stour and Avon) meet the Tide:” In Dorset, UK the Stour and Avon rivers meet the tidal harbor at Christchurch. “The mixing of the sea and river water creates a unique habitat for wildlife…The headland’s Iron Age double dykes show that people settled here, fishing and trading around 700 BC.”

Rivers that have supported civilizations, cultures, human endeavors over the centuries:

© 2022 Minna Rothman “Deeper Roots,” 66 cm x 33 cm (26” x 13”) Photo credit: Minna Rothman

Minna Rothman’s “Deeper Roots:”  The River Danube starts in the Black forest and ends in the Black sea, flowing through ten countries.  Humans have settled along its banks and navigated its waters since the Neolithic period.

            “My city of origin, Belgrade, is located on the banks of the confluence of the river Sava, whose flow merges with the Danube... A few river islands are notable at the confluence, covered with a dense growth of deciduous trees. The rapid waterflow of the Danube slows down around the islands, making water swimmable and almost still.”

© 2022 Anna Wetherell “Waterline of the Rawthey” 50 cm x 40 cm (20” x 16”). Photo Credit: Joanne Withers Photography

Anna Wetherell’s “Waterline of the Rawthey:” The Rawthey is a local river that connects with The Clough flowing down from Garsdale. “The Dee joins in from Dentdale just downstream of the town, and several streams, or ‘becks’ add to the mix all the way along before the combined waters join the Lune a few miles below Sedbergh…

It’s a river with history. The Quaker movement started in this area, with one of the country’s oldest meeting houses nearby….We have distinct variations in geology in the surrounding hills, those hills that envelope us when we look up from the river. And we have mills, some now derelict, most re-purposed, such as Farfield Mill,” [the first venue for the Waterline exhibition]. —Anna Wetherell

Waterline exhibit at Garlioch Museum, photo credit: Anna Wetherell

Tapestries left to right: Yonat Michaelov’s “Water in Scorched Land;” Angela Forte’s “The Weir on the River Tolka, Dublin; Jenny Heard’s “Tideline;” Minna Rothman’s “Deeper Roots;” Katrine West’s “Duddingston.”

Waterline is currently on exhibit July 7 - August 26, 2023 at Gairloch Museum in Gairloch, Ross-shire, Scotland, IV21 2BH. Go see this in person, if you possibly can. The hybrid opening talk took place on July 7th, followed by 1 and 2 day workshops on: Weave the View and Weaving Water.  The final workshop on Landscapes of the Heart, will be led by Joan Baxter and is for intermediate and advanced level weavers. This workshop will take place the last week of the exhibition, August 21 – 25, at Gairloch Museum.

The Waterline exhibition is one that many would love to see, but do not have the means to travel to the UK.  The catalog gives a good feel for the collaborative process, the depth of thought and passion that went into the project. Each weaver describes the river she chose and her connection to it. Through this project came a heightened awareness of connections to each other, to the earth and its rivers, to generations who came before us as well as to the current fragility of our planet.  The Waterline project is the power of collaboration at its best, when a project takes on a life force of its own, plunging the depths of our commonality and our existence, simultaneously crossing into the realm of the universal, the profound, and the personal.

“In the end, what we have made together is so much more than the sum of its parts.” Joan Baxter

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To order a catalog, email Anna Wetherell. It is also available for purchase in person at Gairloch Museum.

Read more about the Waterline project at: https://nearlywildweaving.wordpress.com/waterline/

All photos used with permission. No AI (artificial intelligence) involved or allowed.

Waterline at Farfield Mill, Photo Credit: Joanne Withers Photography

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Transformation in Fiber Art

©️Kathy Spoering The Duet

Sponsored by the Chattahoochee Handweavers Guild of Atlanta, Georgia, this Biennial of Textiles is the longest, continuous juried show in the Southeast. Tommye McClure Scanlin was the juror for this year's exhibit that focused on the theme of Transformation.  

“Transformation...In the period leading up to Transformation, we have experienced a global pandemic, isolation, and unexpected changes to how we work, live, and socialize. This drastic shift has brought out a resilience, which has led us to find new approaches to creating works of art, including how we source materials, produce fiber arts, and innovate using techniques and skills. Everyone’s path through the pandemic is personal and unique. Transformation celebrates your journey and how changes in your creative process have resulted from your experiences.” —from the Call for Entries

©️ Laurie C. Steger “Clouds of August 1945” Complex Weavers Award

©️ Suzie Balinger “New Growth” 3rd Place Award

The resulting exhibition was one of many works that fascinated me, and made me pause to examine them more closely, sometimes from only a few inches away: sculpted pine needle baskets, the Jacquard woven tryptich, entitled “Clouds of August 1945.” A mixed media piece, “Tornado,” by  Lena Meszaros incorporated surface design and stitching on a clear, plastic sheet that had been painted and quilted to create the feel of the velocity and turbulence of a tornado that has touched down.

©️ Lena Meszaros “Tornado” Second Place Award

©️Mary Mattimoe “Redirect” Pro-Chemical Award  

The exhibition space, itself, incorporated the natural world outside, with floor-to-ceiling windows along one side letting in natural light and the textures of nearby shrubs. In between the windows, the walls displayed more intimate works, such as Mary Mattimoe’s “Redirect,” smaller tapestries by  Molly Elkind “Ash Wednesday,” by Jeane Vogel “Missing” and “Fourth Wave,” and by Kristin Kelley-Muñez “The Meandering Path.”

©️ Jeane Vogel Missing

©️Jeane Vogel Fourth Wave

©️2022 Molly Elkind, Ash Wednesday; 24” x 24” including hanging threads, Main weaving 7.5” x 21” Materials: Hemp and linen warp; paper weft, cotton stitching; ashes and matte medium

©️Kristin Kelley-Muñoz Meandering Path

©️Kathy Spoering The Tapestry Arch

Landscapes of the desert Southwest juxtapose with views out the gallery windows of the lush outdoor foliage: Kathy Spoering’s “Tapestry Arch” and Nancy Dugger’s “At Home in the Grand Canyon.”

©️Nancy Dugger At Home in the Grand Canyon, ATA Award for Excellence in Tapestry

This exhibit also included a total of 9 awards, selected by juror, Tommye McClure Scanlin:

Pro-Chemical to Mary Mattimoe for “Redirect” Georgia Cotton Commission Best of Show with cotton to Beth Ross Johnson for “BoroBoroOri 2” Student Award to Rachel Wittels for “Conversation With Jess: January 2022 – March 2022” HGA Award to Cynthia Martinez for “Chair With Tutu” ATA Award for Excellence in Tapestry to Nancy Dugger for “At Home in the Grand Canyon” Third place to Suzie Balinger for “New Growth” Second place to Lena Meszaros for “Tornado” First place to Elizabeth Buckley for “Cosmic Heart Beat.”

In addition, a People’s Choice Award will be announced at the end of the exhibit.

©️Rachel Wittels for “Conversation With Jess: January 2022 – March 2022” Student Award

©️Beth Ross Johnson “BoroBoroOri 2” Georgia Cotton Commission Best of Show with Cotton

©️Cynthia Martinez “Chair With Tutu” HGA Award   

For me, the theme of transformation entails a shift in perspective, seeing in a new way which in turn impacts my sense of place and where I belong in the world. I challenged myself to use tapestry techniques from the French tapestry traditions to create the illusion of multiple layers of transparency; to create an abstracted articulation of viewing the electro-magnetic waves of the Aurora Borealis as if seen from above the earth. I initially worked for two months designing this tapestry in late 2019, and then I began weaving this tapestry a few months before the March 2020 Covid-19 lockdown when all of my in-person teaching gigs for the upcoming 18 months were cancelled. I spent the next 6 months learning the technology for moving my teaching online. Over the next two years, I struggled with finding the balance between teaching and time at the loom. November 2022, after three years with lots of gaps away from the loom, I finished weaving “Cosmic Heart Beat.”

©️2022 Elizabeth J Buckley Cosmic Heart Beat 61” x 61” wool, perle cotton, hand-dyed silk. First Place Award

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All images use with permission of the artists.

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Movement in Tapestry: Silvia Heyden 1927 - 2015

Over the course of 50 years, Silvia Heyden created a total of 800 tapestries in her body of work.

800 tapestries. Think about it and what that means in terms of a lifetime of hours and days spent designing, making sketches, exploring the textile nature of tapestry, and the countless strands of thread woven in each work; the stream of thoughts surrounding the connection with each tapestry growing into being on the loom.

The newly published book, Movement in Tapestry: Silvia Heyden, offers us a glimpse into her studio practice through excerpts from her writings and extensive documentation of her process. We can read her words, view her drawings, and examine large photos of her tapestries.  We can also study her diagrams of different woven structures that she developed of eccentric weaves, in addition to the basic, woven motifs that she utilized as foundation to many of her tapestries.

development of Gridone tapestry, 83”x189,” 2003 © Movement in Tapestry: Silvia Heyden page 1 **

final drawings of Gridone tapestry, 2003 © Movement in Tapestry: Silvia Heyden p. 2 **

In 2014, at the urging of her daughter, Françoise, Silvia Heyden began writing this book, establishing the initial four chapters and the placement of most of the large images within each chapter. Following Silvia Heyden’s death in 2015, Françoise enlisted additional collaborators:   Stephanie Hoppe, Silvia’s friend and colleague, who wrote the third chapter, “Along the Eno,” Jeremiah Austin and Sabina Stucky (Silvia’s niece) as graphic designers, Loupe Digital that scanned the slides of Silvia’s work, and Massie Minor for additional photography. Silvia’s son, Daniel wrote the Introduction and three other chapters. The result is a beautifully designed book that articulates the legacy of Silvia Heyden, her journey of exploration and discovery in tapestry. Each chapter encompasses what could be individual courses of study.

The Foreword by Dr. T’ai Smith, (author of Bauhaus Weaving Theory: From Feminine Craft to Mode of Design) establishes the context of Silvia Heyden’s work in the world of art movements and contemporary textiles. Heyden was a student at the School of Applied Art in Zürich, with instructors Johannes Itten (formerly of the Bauhaus) and Elsi Giauque, (formerly a student of Dadaist Sophie Taeuber-Arp). Upon graduation in 1952, Silvia Heyden dedicated her artistic practice to “rediscover the truly woven, and revitalize weaving as a distinct art form.” (p.2)

Fjord, 60” x 60,” 1988 © Movement Tapestry: Silvia Heyden, page 17. **

The Introduction focuses on Silvia Heyden’s premise that “weaving involves a different kind of design,” and a “dialogue between means and meaning” (pp.2,3).  Heyden began with the relationship of positive and negative space, otherwise known as figure and ground. This grew out of a deeper exploration of Itten’s approaches to design including the use of contrasts, “the seven color contrasts of hue, of value (light-dark), of temperature (cold-warm), of complementarity (opposites), of simultaneity, of saturation, and contrasts of extension (size).”  The concepts of opposition also extended to the completed object and its surrounding viewing space; the material and immaterial where “The Material provides utility; the Immaterial leads to the Essence of things.” (pp.7-8).

Crescendo in Mixed Threads, 36” x 45,” 2011 © Movement in Tapestry: Silvia Heyden page 14 **

Elements of Movement chapter looks at the use of motif:

“A motif is a weaving element that is not only repeated additively, but that can in fact evolve into an entire composition.”  —Silvia Heyden, p 54

Silvia Heyden shifted away from use of the full scale cartoon, to building a design starting with a structurally sound woven motif that would become the basis for how the weaving process itself could then take over and suggest what comes next. She explored triangles, half-rounds, and then discovered combining both of these motifs contributed to a sense of movement. From here, she explored the use of diagonal and rounded eccentric wefts, which then lead her to working these in opposing directions.

Mare Egeo, 42” x 41,” 1994 © Movement in Tapestry: Silvia Heyden, page 20. **

Along the Eno chapter is about the river as another source of inspiration, with its constant movement, directional flow that Silvia Heyden sought to describe in a weaverly way. She started incorporating blocks of stripes, using a limited palette, and often working with eccentric wefts.  The resulting distortion of the warps when off tension added another component, forcing the tapestry cloth to move and create an overall shape that further emphasized movement of water.  She then started incorporating the fractal quality of water into her designs, to convey the quality of energy and turbulence, as well as the play of light.

Blue Script, 50’ x 60,” 1989 © Movement in Tapestry: Silvia Heyden page 24 **

Music and Tapestry chapter is about Silvia Heyden’s relationship with music and its influence on her approach to tapestry:

“For every tapestry, I choose a chord in three colors that resonate together, which for me sounds like a chord in music. In the course of weaving I’ll add other colors to make it look the way a minor or major key would sound in music.” –Silvia Heyden, p. 115

Silvia Heyden played the violin and later took up piano. She intentionally created tapestries in a manner similar to musical compositions, with the use of repetition of patterns, theme and variations, linear progressions, and opposing fast/slow tempos.  She also incorporated improvisation, dissonance with resolution, back and forth movements.

 The Appendix contains reprints from her published articles beginning in 1972 with her first retrospective exhibition catalogue, in addition to articles written about her work, published interviews, and ending with her 2009 article, “On the 90th Anniversary of the Bauhaus Movement: How the Bauhaus tradition has continued to inspire me over decades of tapestry weaving.”  This is followed by a chronological visual index of many of her 800 tapestries.

Crossed Rhythms, 36” x 40,” 2000 © Movement in Tapestry: Silvia Heyden, page 19 **

Movement in Tapestry: Silvia Heyden not only provides an extensive documentation and analysis of Silvia Heyden’s work and studio practice, it more importantly places her as a ground-breaking artist of historical significance in the contemporary textile arts genre. This book is a must have not only for browsing through the images of her tapestries, but also for furthering the understanding of designing based on the language of the loom. This book insures that Silvia Heyden’s tapestries, ideas and sense of aesthetic will continue to influence future generations of artists.

Girando, 60” x 55,” 2003 ©Movement in Tapestry: Silvia Heyden, page 22 **

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**All images used with permission, including the pages from the book,

Movement in Tapestry:  Silvia Heyden 1927-2015 Published in Canada, limited edition, 2022 11” x 11.5,” 212 pages Cost: $70.00 (USD) plus shipping. To purchase, contact Daniel Heyden. You will need to mail via USPS a check for payment.

Or through Groove Productions: https://thegrooveproductions.com/a-new-book-by-silvia-heyden/

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Remembering Linda Wallace

“I am an artist and a feminist. As an artist, I try to step back in order to find a slightly different angle, a different perspective. In presenting these vantage points I am not so much presenting definitive answers as I am asking questions and proposing alternatives. As I stretch the boundaries of my own knowledge and understanding, I communicate, through my art, my observations and thoughts. These concepts are filtered through the medium of woven tapestry, drawing on both its narrative power and its cultural and social potency. ”

— Linda Wallace, from her talk 11/ 30/2007 at the Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle, Washington, at the opening "Tapestry on the Edge"

I first met Linda Wallace summer of 1996 at the HGA (Handweavers Guild of America) Convergence that was held in Portland, Oregon. We were both in the pre-conference workshop taught by Jean Pierre Larochette, Yael Lurie, Archie Brennan, and Susan Martin Maffei where they compared and contrasted their distinct approaches to tapestry. All workshop participants had the opportunity to weave from the front, without cartoon, on copper pipe looms already warped for use, and from the back with a cartoon on upright treadled looms also warped in advance. During the course of those days, Linda and I engaged in an ongoing conversation about tapestry-making, the direction of our artistic journeys, what compelled us to work in this medium and how all of this fit into other aspects of our lives. This was the beginning of a long friendship with Linda Wallace, where I got to know her as a woman of large vision and concerns, courage and grit, as well as her humor, artistic brilliance and her vivacious presence.

 Linda Wallace, of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, worked in the media of tapestry, surface design and graphite drawing, synthesizing her life experiences and her intellectual curiosity into her artwork. She initially trained as a nurse and worked in multiple disciplines, including as a charge nurse for Canadian Blood Services.  She and her husband, Tom, traveled through Europe and North America, living for long periods aboard a 41’ sailboat.  As entrepreneur and business woman, she worked in the Canadian High Arctic Islands. During her “off time” she knitted, spun, dyed, stitched.  In her 40’s she embraced her dream of being an artist, first by pursuing a BFA degree from Alberta College of Art in Canada.  

Linda Wallace’s initial body of work focused on issues of female infertility, examining the lives of historical women in Europe who died without heirs to carry on their genetic line, and what that failure would have meant to them, in terms of the socioeconomic female role required of them to provide the next generation of males.

Linda Wallace, For the Tears of Queen Anne, 47” x 32” (120 x 82 cm), wool and cotton, ©️1996.

Linda Wallace Margaret of Austria: Without Issue, 48” x 34” (115 x 84 cm), wool and cotton, ©️1999 Permanent collection of Cambridge Galleries

As she continued exploring issues of female infertility, she began engaging more deeply with bioethics around research in reproductive technological intervention: robotics, stem cells, and cloning. The tapestry, Conundrum was her response to “issues surrounding the control and medicalization of women’s reproductive life.” (artist statement)

Linda Wallace Conundrum, 48” x 36” (122 x 92 cm), ©️2001

During 2004 through 2007, Linda Wallace’s work showed at selected scientific conferences, where she often was the only artist present. In 2004, her solo exhibition was in conjunction with the 13th Annual “Boundaries in Question Conference: Feminists Face the Future: New Perspectives on Biotechnology and Bioethics” at the University of California, Berkeley. There, she

found a group who were deeply involved with similar issues. While I was in awe of their eloquence and the depth of their knowledge, they were excited to see a visual interpretation of ideas they were accustomed to reading about…To my absolute delight, I didn’t have to explain most of the symbolism or the concepts I was trying to convey. They just looked at my work and ‘got it.’

-- Linda Wallace, “Thinking Outside the Box,” Tapestry Topics, Summer 2004

In Cambridge in the United Kingdom, her 2007 solo exhibition, “Homage to Aubrey: Tapestry and Drawings,” was in conjunction with SENS3 (Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence) conference held at Queen’s College. Her work for this exhibiition grew from a small graphite drawing, in response to hearing biogerontologist, Aubrey de Grey, speak in 2005 about extended longevity through postponing, repairing, and manipulating cellular damage.

Linda Wallace Promethean Dreams , 21” x 16.5” (54 x 42cm), cotton seine twine warp, weft of wool, silk, linen, rayon, metallic thread. ©️2005. Collection of the late Wendy Robbins, advocate for equality and women’s rights in Canada.

The compost tapestries grew out of the “Finding Home” postcard exchange that was organized by Dorothy Clews and Linda Wallace. Twenty-six weavers, split evenly between Canada and Australia, paired off and wove two postcard tapestries, sending them in the mail to their overseas partners. Linda had instructed Dorothy to dispose of her first woven postcard because it was “embarrassingly awful” upon arrival of its replacement. Dorothy in turn sent Linda one of her tapestry rejects. The ensuing discussion between them around what to do with tapestry rejects lead to the idea of intentionally composting tapestries in their two distinct environments: “the rich, loamy soil of Vancouver Island rain forest and the salty, sandy earth of Queensland, Australia.” —from: “Doors, Pathways, Journeys, Seeds,” Tapestry Topics, Summer 2006.

This led Linda Wallace to using decomposed works to create the Infertility Series: “Im/Plantation Tapestries: Diminishment of Hope.” The six pieces in this series were created over three years, woven in late 2005 using a linen warp and weft of linen and wools: natural hard twist, bleached merino, and earth- tones. She buried all of them on December 21, 2005.

After digging each piece up in monthly intervals, came the cleansing of each tapestry remnant, then using cotton thread to couch each of the woven remains onto a family heirloom Irish linen backing that she had torn into strips. She also abraded this Irish linen with sandpaper and stones. Then Linda Wallace handstitched the Irish linen onto stretched Belgian linen (painter’s ground) for the final mounting.

Linda Wallace Diminishment of Hope 2—NonGravid30April , original tapestry dimensions 5” x 7,” mounted 20” x 16” x 1.5” (51" x 41 x4 cm) ©️2006. Photo credit: Terry Zlot

The titles refer to the date each of the decayed tapestry remnants were removed from the earth. The work was originally intended to continue my exploration of female infertility by demonstrating the futility of care and attention to the planting site if the seed itself is infertile. Each piece is more decayed than the previous one. The series developed complexity over time, as I cared for my dying father. Preciousness. Control. Grief. Letting go. Preservation. —Linda Wallace, artist statement

Linda Wallace Diminshment of Hope 6—NonGravid28August original tapestry dimensions 5” x 7,” mounted 20” x 16” x 1.5” (51" x 41 x4 cm) ©️2009. Photo credit: Terry Zlot

Process:  Linda Wallace often worked concurrently on several tapestries, rotating among them each day.  Themes of infertility expanded into birth, death, and time as a medium. The weight of cultural burdens. Beauty and longing. The future of humanity. While her weft generally was primarily of wool, she did not hesitate to incorporate silk, cotton, linen, rayon and metallic threads. She also sketched regularly, where the seed of an idea would later expand into tapestry.

Linda Wallace Re/Genesis, 4" x 18" (10 x 46 cm) ©️2008. Woven as part of the Land Exhibition, Canberra, Australia. 

Linda Wallace Evolve 15” x 12” (38 x 30 cm) The grey area in the center and the middle of the bottom section are woven with stainless steel 'yarn.' ©️2010.

Linda Wallace Dis/Connect, 48” x 32” (122 x 81 cm), Cotton seine twine warp, weft of wool, cotton, linen, silk, metallic yarn. ©️ 2012. Photo credit: Ted Clarke

Bird Series

The first prophetic bird appeared without planning, landing on my warp as I explored new techniques on a sample loom. “Hanging by a Thread” was created using that first bird image, followed immediately by the imagery and thoughts in “Threadbare.”  Since then, a growing flock of avian tapestries have been emerging from my studio while small, slightly odd-looking birds appear in my sketch book.  Perhaps they’re a manifestation of a Jungian synchronicity.  Perhaps they’re nothing more than the tangible evidence of a playful subconscious.  They absolutely demand to be woven.  --Linda Wallace, artist statement

Linda Wallace ended up weaving many birds over the years.  Shown here are the first two, exhibited in the 3-2-1 group show, “Dialogues: Tapestry and Human/Nature,” curated by Elizabeth Buckley in conjunction with HGA Convergence 2010, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Linda Wallace Hanging By a Thread, detail. 20” x 16” x 2.5” (51 x41 x 6 cm), cotton seine twine warp; weft of wool, linen, silk, cotton, copper. Backing fabrics of domestic and Belgian Linen. ©️2008. Photo credit: Terry Zlot

Linda Wallace Threadbare, detail. 20” x 16” x 2.5” (51 x41 x 6 cm), cotton seine twine warp; weft of wool, linen, silk, cotton, copper. Backing fabrics of domestic and Belgian Linen. ©️2009. Photo credit: Terry Zlot

3-2-1 Artists, “Dialogues: Tapestry and Human/Nature” reception: Elaine Duncan, Katherine Perkins, Lany Eila, Elizabeth Buckley, Linda Wallace, (Dorothy Clews in absentia)

The last time I saw Linda Wallace was in January of 2015, where we met for a tapestry weekend in the New York City area. We spent an entire day at the “Renaissance Tapestry” exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In keeping with the era, each of these narrative tapestries told multiple stories surrounded by complex borders, exquisitely woven with encyclopedic understanding of tapestry techniques. No photography was allowed. We pointed out and discussed things we wanted to remember as we gazed and absorbed these gigantic works, where eye level was about one third up from the bottom. We marveled at extraordinary renderings at 24 epi of feet in sandals, smoke from fire, borders of fruits and cherubs, brocade cloth garments, hands and arms reaching, use of perspective in architecture…

The following day Linda and I attended the opening reception of Contemporary International Tapestry at the Hunterdon Art Museum, where we both were invited artists in the exhibition.  

Linda Wallace, opening reception for “Contemporary International Tapestry” exhibition, Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, New Jersey. January 2015. Photo credit: Lisa Heilman

Living with a brain tumor pressing on her optic nerve

The first brain surgery was in 2006, and most of the tumor could be removed, but not all. Linda Wallace recovered retaining her sight and ability to continue making art. By 2012, the tumor had enlarged to such an extent to require a second surgery. This, combined with the radiation and ensuing infection, made her recovery and rehabilitation process long and arduous. Linda lost her ability to weave tapestry. “Over one/under one made no sense.” Without expectations, she began playing at the loom, making simple, rectangular shapes in high contrast of values and color. The more she explored this, the more she could expand from squares to rectangles, and eventually into regular patterns. Thus, she rediscovered how to weave and The Journey Back tapestry was born.

Linda Wallace The Journey Back 44” x 33” (112 x 84 cm), cotton seine twine warp, weft of wool, linen, cotton, silk. ©️2015. Photo credit: Terry Zlot

The tapestry, July 18: Period of Confusion, “describes visually what it felt like, when I lost my ability to speak, and lost consciousness - and the ongoing damage from that event (not tia, not stroke, not seizure). The wobbliness, the difficulty understanding how a. should follow b. and, .... the struggles. It truly was a challenge to try and put this into a visual format!!” —Linda Wallace, artist statement

Linda Wallace July 18: Period of Confusion, 6.5” ( 16 cm) square, ©️2016. Woven for ATA's Tapestry Unlimited exhibition. Part of the Vancouver Island TAPIS challenge: “On the Edge.”

The tapestry, “One is for Sorrow,” appeared, unbidden, during a workshop with Joan Baxter, in 2015, and came off the loom (in 2017). The last bird. All alone he faces the end of everything he's known. Frightened, he prepares to fly then realizes there is nowhere safe left for him to shelter… Linda Wallace, artist statement

Linda Wallace One is For Sorrow, 30” x Irregular width: 24” at maximum. (76 x 61 cm), cotton seine twine warp sett at 10 epi; weft of wool, linen, rayon, silk, and cotton, with synthetic sewing thread. ©️ 2017. Photo credit: Terry Zlot.

Many members of the American Tapestry Alliance remember Linda Wallace from the years she served on its board, including as co-director 2006 – 2008. Her reach was ever-expanding, like ripples in water, including family, friends and colleagues, especially in the global tapestry community. Linda Wallace leaves behind a body of artwork that will continue to speak, touch, and inspire.

“Some artists create work in our medium in ways that move my soul. Their tapestries are the ones I stand in front of, trying to comprehend the meaning, trying to puzzle out ‘how’ they were created. Those are the artists I will take a workshop with. I believe all artists are a bit magical. We take the basic tools and materials inherent to our medium, and create something no one else could ever make…. The pursuit of magic is what I do. ”

— Linda Wallace, “Looking for Magic,” Tapestry Topics, Volume 44, No. 2, Summer 2018

Linda Wallace Requiem, 10” x 10” (25 x 25 cm), ©️2018 Private Collection.

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Gratitude to Linda Wallace’s sister, Laura Hargrave, for permission to publish this tribute and for the use of images of Linda Wallace’s work. Gratitude to Elaine Duncan for use of her photo of Linda.

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Where to find more about Linda Wallace’s artwork and her process: Online ATA Exhibit curated by Dorothy Clews: 

https://americantapestryalliance.org/exhibitions/tex_ata/a-penelopean-space-the-artwork-of-linda-wallace/

 Articles: —Linda Wallace, “Looking for Magic,” Tapestry Topics, Volume 44, No. 2, Summer 2018, pp. 30 -31 —Linda Wallace, “Thinking Outside the Box,” Tapestry Topics, Volume 30, No.2, Summer 2004. —Leanne Jewett, “Weaving Ideas with Linda Wallace,” Fiber Art Now, Winter 2012, Issue No. 2, pp. 40-41. —Ellen Ramsey review of “Dialogues: Tapestry and Human/Nature,” Tapestry Topics, Volume 36, No. 4,  Winter 2010, pp 19-21. —-Mary Lane review of “Dialogues:Tapestry and Human/Nature,” Textile Fibre Forum, Issue 4, No.100, 2010. pp.28-29 —Mary Lane, “Earthly Aesthetics,” Fiberarts, Summer 2010. —Mary Lane, “Risk and the Creative Process,” Tapestry Topics,  Volume 32, No. 2, Summer 2006 —Dorothy Clews and Linda Wallace, “Doors, Pathways, Journeys, Seeds,” Tapestry Topics, Volume 32, No.2,  Summer 2006. —Claire Patterson, “Special Delivery: ‘Finding Home’ Explores the Intimate World of Miniature Tapestry via Airmail,” American Style, October 2006

 Books: —Tommye McClure Scanlin, Tapestry Design Basics and Beyond: Weaving and Planning With Confidence. Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. 2021, pp. 25, 70. —Micala Sidore, The Art is the Cloth: How to Look at and Understand Tapestries. Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. 2020, p. 116 —Carol K. Russell, Contemporary International Tapestry.  Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. 2015, pp. 88-89. —Carol K. Russell, Tapestry Handbook: the Next Generation, Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. 2007, Title page,  pp. 178 -179.

American Tapestry Biennial catalogs: ATB 5, 2004, “Conundrum” ATB 6, 2006, “Promethean Dreams” ATB 7, 2008, “Homage to Aubrey” ATB 8, 2010, “Hanging By a Thread” and “Threadbare” ATB 9, 2012, “DisConnect” ATB 11, 2016, “The Journey Back”

Tapestry Design Basics and Beyond by Tommye McClure Scanlin

Immediately upon opening this book, it is clear that this is a well-honed cumulation of the decades that Tommye McClure Scanlin has been teaching and working with tapestry students from a broad variety of backgrounds.  She describes the fundamental principles of visual design and how they apply to tapestry in a very sensible and accessible manner.

Part One is an Overview of Design Fundamentals where each element and each principle of Visual Design has accompanying examples in tapestry.  A feast for the eye, a variety of tapestries by different artists (myself included!) illustrate:

·      The Elements of Visual Design--Line, Shape, Form, Volume, Value, Texture, Space, Color

·      The Principles of Visual Design: Balance, Emphasis, Repetition and Rhythm, Proportion, Variety

·      Tying it all together into a unified composition

Line Explorations on page 86, photo courtesy of Schiffer Book, photo credit: Chris Dante

Part Two is chock full of step-by-step ways of discovering and furthering understanding design concepts that will ultimately lead to the loom. For tapestry students who have been intimidated by the art world, who feel they are “not artists,” or “not creative” this is the book for you.  For those who have more experience, this is also the book for you, for diving more deeply. You may discover a new way to work, be it with lines, scale and proportion, dull and saturated colors, etc. 

When an idea begins stirring, it is best to approach it with a sense of curiosity and play, something I also have advocated in my own teaching.

“Delve into these ideas in any way, or any order you wish, keeping a sense of play in your experimentations.  There is not a right or wrong way to plunge into these suggestions.   After all, as we all know, doing something, trying something is the key to wrapping your head around ideas.” —Tommye McClure Scanlin, p. 80

Part Three goes into sources of inspiration, use of design prompts and idea starters, working with mixed media for design explorations and so much more.   Here is an opportunity to enjoy the process of an idea starting to take shape, and further developing it into a design for tapestry that will work well compositionally as well as synchronize with the language of the loom.  

So often the temptation is to rush through the design process so that we can dive into the weaving. Here is where stopping to take another look becomes a crucial step before launching into the weaving. In Part Four Tommye Scanlin presents several approaches for critiquing and identifying what works and what does not.  This type of analysis encourages further revisions so that one ends up with an even stronger composition.  

The Cartoon on page 10, photo courtesy of Schiffer Books, photo credit: Chris Dante,

The section on cartoons provides options for resizing a design for the loom, attaching the cartoon vs. inking on the warp, and working without a cartoon. In addition, the pages on finishing and presentation give clear examples of ways to mount small format tapestries on a mounting board or wooden frame, as well as free-hanging options. The Appendixes are full of practical information about tapestry weaving basics, ways to blend colors and shapes, troubleshooting for when things go awry, useful templates, glossary of terms, as well as resources and references for where to find more information.

Tapestry Design Basics and Beyond is a “must have” reference tool that you will turn to repeatedly. Designing and weaving tapestry is all about honing the knowledge of hands, training the eye to see more clearly, articulating ideas into woven form, and allowing yourself to go where the journey takes you.  This book is a long-awaited guide that will help you along the way.

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Tapestry Design Basics and Beyond: Planning and Weaving With Confidence by Tommye McClure Scanlin is available through Schiffer Books.

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Polly Barton "Dare, Revel, Dive"

Solo Exhibition at Chiaroscuro Contemporary Art in Santa Fe, NM July 2 - 31, 2021

Ikat banners (left to right): Thicket, Live Wire, Prey, Anchor 64.5” x 31.5” ©️Polly Barton photo credit: Wendy McEahern Photograpy

The title of Polly Barton’s solo exhibition, “Dare, Revel, Dive,” at Chiaroscuro Galley in Santa Fe, NM “corresponds with the three distinctive, yet connected bodies of work: large ikat weavings with warp designs (Dare), pastel color fields on paper (Revel), and handwoven linen paper with mixed media added (Dive), which Barton refers to as ‘weaving my own paper.’ “  —from Chiaroscuro Contemporary Art press release

 Polly Barton elaborates further:

 “This show spans five years and three bodies of work, none of which would be possible without the other: the four ikat banners are a departure in their political and calligraphic imagery; the pastels on paper are joyous; and the woven paper canvases worked with pastel, pigment and metal leaf feel rebellious as they capture emotions. Abandoning old working patterns has pushed me with an urgency to evolve and dissolve constraints of the woven grid. Old working rules fade as an immediate and fluid satisfaction emerges deepening my commitment to the studio and to the meditative repetition in work.”

Prey 64.5”” x 35.5” Silk, double ikat with additional dye ©️2017 Polly Barton photo credit: Wendy McEahern Photograpy

The idea of a dialogue between three distinct bodies of work in three different media intrigued me, something that I needed to experience in person.  I drove up to Santa Fe for the opening reception on July 2nd for my first art outing since the pandemic lockdown. A celebratory atmosphere filled the gallery as people delighted in seeing each other and in viewing Polly Barton’s latest works. I slowly made my way around the room, spending time with each piece and with what they evoked in me.

Live Wire 64.5”” x 35.5” Silk warp ikat, pigment, copper wire weft

©️2020 Polly Barton photo credit: Wendy McEahern Photograpy

DARE

Each ikat banner radiates its unique mood and feel. My immediate response to Prey is to the rhythm of heartbeat patterns in black, the 2 curved bowls in red reminding me of the flow of blood, all highly contrasting to the white background with a hint of blue. Live Wire, woven with copper wire weft, is like a whirling vortex of energy, with its glowing iridescence and shimmer, and surprise patterns of brilliant white.  Thicket  reminds me of a calligraphy of birds against the blue and white of sky. Red at the side borders bleeding into blue to become red violet, bleeding into white to become pastel rosy tints.  Anchor grounded me with it solid grays and rhythm of undulating curves shifting constantly from thick to thin; their red presence sometimes brilliant, sometimes almost disappearing into the grid of gray.

The four ikat banners began in 2016 on “one continuous set of vertical silk threads under tension on the loom.” Using a Japanese bamboo reed of 25 dents, the sette for the stripes is either 50 or 100 threads per inch (or 2.5 cm) spread across the width.

“Each warp section was tied with its own distinct design and dyed into what would become the working canvas, and onto this surface, I painted, stained, rubbed, leaked, oozed, fussed and finessed with pigment, soy milk, sumi ink, and dye. Embedded messages, unwanted lessons, fading habits, new materials with their surprising results began to play in my work as I felt tossed time and again up against that hurdle between weaving and painting. I gave myself free rein to leap into an unknown. “  --Polly Barton

Thicket 64.5” x 31/5” Silk, double ikat with additional dye. ©️2018 Polly Barton photo credit: Wendy McEahern Photograpy

REVEL

Each grid of pastels speaks of different types of color energy and mood. I especially resonated with the more muted blendings of Revel II, speaking of changes brought with storm clouds. I loved the vibrancy of Revel III,

Revel II 54” x 34” pastel on paper ©️2021 Polly Barton Photo credit: Elizabeth J. Buckley

“Working in pastel feels fluid and soft to my fingertips… rubbing pure color on paper….These pastels have led to a shift in my work, a new freedom in coming to the blank paper with no constraints, no pre-patterned canvas. For years I have worked with by building layers of color and patterns tied and dyed into the warp and weft of my woven work.  These grids of pastel ground me to breath and being in the studio.  They provide another rhythm in working as I listen to what will emerge next.” —Polly Barton

Revel III 54” x 34” pastel on paper ©️2021 Polly Barton Photo credit: Elizabeth J. Buckley

DIVE

Woven with spun linen paper (shifu ) using a 50 dent Japanese reed that is double sleyed (100 threads per inch, or 2.5 cm), these canvas works invite me to step closer, for intimate observation. In each one, a shape emerges through the underlying woven grid, the added pigment on the back creating this illusion.  I see the exquisite shifts in color in the woven area, and the shift in value and texture within the shape itself. From a distance, the emerging shape becomes three-dimensional, surrounded by blended colors of the woven grid.

In Softening Down, the dark blue greens shifting to greens reminding me of being underwater.  Flecks of glitter (gold leaf on the back) the bits of sunlight that penetrate ocean depths.  From a distance the emerging shape could be part of a whale. Fierce Solace radiates warmth that draws me in.

Softening Down Handwoven linen paper and mixed media , 18.25” x 16.25” framed. ©️2021 Polly Barton photo credit: Wendy McEahern Photograpy

Fierce Solace. Handwoven linen paper and mixed media , 18.25” x 16.25” framed. ©️2021 Polly Barton photo credit: Wendy McEahern Photograpy

“Her broad back floated on the surface, the weight of motherhood and daughterhood suspended with her breath. That hull of a back, larger than any span I might have imagined; a container of emotion larger than life—certainly than my life. The mama humpback whale I encountered off the coast of Cape Cod last summer pierced me with a sadness, a longing, and the shiver of love. I felt bonded to another creature, unprepared for the solemn wrench of grief which devoured reason. Compassion, trust, suffering, family, connections, life, loss, death, the mama humpback brought a new texture of urgency to my work.” —Polly Barton

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Over 40 years ago,  Polly Barton lived in the religious heart of the Oomoto Foundation  located at Kameoka, Japan, while she studied with master weaver, Tomohiko Inoue. She practiced tea ceremony, calligraphy and Noh Drama with Oomoto’s master teachers. She subsequently worked with traditional methods of binding and dyeing bundles of fiber to weave her hallmark ikat works. Over the past fifteen years, she has shifted to incorporating other materials:  pigment, soy milk, pastel, metallic threads, stitching, papyrus, metal leaf and more recently weaving spun linen paper (shifu in Japanese) to create her own canvas.  

Drawing for Live Wire photo credit: Wendy McEahern Photograpy

Live Wire in process photo credit: Wendy McEahern Photograpy

Weaving Ikat photo credit: Wendy McEahern Photograpy

Cobalt warp on loom photo credit: Wendy McEahern Photograpy

Polly Barton’s solo show, “Dare, Revel, Dive,” invites pausing and being present with each piece. I viewed the works in slow walks along the gallery walls, as well as in moments of looking from across the room. Each time, with each piece, I would see something more. Repeated visits to this show would allow each work to penetrate and speak even more fully. Born out of intentional daily practice in the studio,  Polly Barton’s latest bodies of work not only reflect the knowledge of her weaverly hands, her deep understanding of dyeing, and her sophisticated eye honed over 40 years, but they also say much about her finely tuned interior space, that fertile well out of which new expressions emerge.  

“The threads resist, push back, push me, provoke the process of the weaving. The lines, the graphics, the voice of each piece astonish me with a vitality, a freedom from rules, and reveal unspoken truths.”

Embedded messages, unwanted lessons, fading habits, new materials with their surprising results began to play in my work as I felt tossed time and again up against that hurdle between weaving and painting. I gave myself free rein to leap into an unknown."  —Polly Barton

Polly Barton at her loom, pastels in the background. photo credit: Wendy McEahern Photograpy

“Dare, Revel, Dive” runs July 2 - 31, 2021 at Chiaroscuro Contemporary Art 558 Canyon Road in Santa Fe, NM 87501 Gallery Hours: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm Tuesday - Saturday

Gratitude to Polly Barton for permission to use images of her work, and her quotes in this blog post. Check out her website for more inspiration.

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The Thread's Course In Tapestry by Mette Lise Rössing

I first learned about this book several years ago, then life intervened and I forgot about it until recently.  What a marvelous gem this book is!  Based on decades of Mette Lise Rössing’s teaching, the content of this book digs into techniques unique to multiple indigenous weaving cultures in different parts of the world, as well as tapestry traditions of Scandinavia.   The technical illustrations are clear, and include views for weaving from either the left and the right side of the warp.  Written in both Danish and English, this book is organized into three sections:  Techniques, Culture, and Theory into Practice.

Techniques:  The topics range from twining—Chilkat, Maori, Ethiopian methods--twills, soumak, plus different types of stepped diagonals, Coptic tapestry techniques, kilim, plus color effects on selvedges and in plain weave. The Coptic techniques include lines and trellis patterns, free graphics.  The pages of soumak go beyond the basics to stepped lines and backwards, structures in the surface, and combining soumak techniques. The descriptions of Kilim cover vertical joining, stepped effects, border triangles and figures.  Rössing delves into several approaches to dovetailing, including the oblique stepped diagonals and displaced hachures, which to date have not been documented anywhere else. In addition, she describes several types of joins with support yarn, as well as finishes for edges, fringes and braids. 

Culture: Here Rössing presents illustrated examples of motifs typical of specific indigenous cultures where weaving has been a significant part of life for generations.  The pages in this section become a rich celebration of the global tapestry traditions that can be found in Norway, Ethiopia, Egypt as well as in North American amongst the Navajo and Chilkat, and the Maori of New Zealand.  We see examples of Kilim, the flat woven rugs from Turkey, Kurdistan, Iran, and the Caucasus area; motifs that also can be traced 8000 years back to Catal Hüyük, Turkey where paintings on walls depict kilim patterns similar to what is seen today.

Theory into Practice: In this section Mette Lise Rössing presents color plates of her own tapestries, detail and closeup images of techniques she used.  Here we see the vocabulary of techniques not only synchronizing with the overall design, but the woven technical structure itself also determining the nature and quality of the textile.

 Near the end of the book, Mette Lise Rössing says:

 “The choice of quality (the relationship between the warp and weft) means a great deal for the final result…Weaving requires a ‘calm mind’ to be homogeneous—you are, so to speak, more aware of your own state of mind and are able to ‘discipline’ yourselves to a uniform way of working—whereby the peace will calm your own mind.”   p. 132

This is a well-thought-out book, based on decades of integrity and scholarship, teaching and weaving these tapestry techniques.  This book is a tremendous gift to the tapestry world. 

Available at: https://www.billedvaevning.dk/indexEng.php                                                     

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The Nature of Things: Essays of a Tapestry Weaver

Each year, mid-November through the end of the year has become my time for being in retreat in my studio.  This year, I am weaving at my basse lice loom, working on a large format tapestry that will be 60” x 60” when completed.  It has been in-progress on the loom for over one and one-half years, and I am now just beyond the mid-point.  I was away from this tapestry for four months this fall as I shifted my teaching online.  I have been savoring these mornings of daily weaving and the accompanying thoughts that happen at the loom. 

I also have been reading Tommye McClure Scanlin’s book, The Nature of Things:  Essays of a Tapestry Weaver in the leisurely manner it deserves:  a chapter a day, drinking it in slowly so that I can think about it while I weave.  These essays are like an ongoing conversation with a good friend, where the words flow and echo many of my own experiences as an artist making my way in the world.

 In the Preface, Tommye Scanlin describes her journey to becoming an artist as one that

“began simply and has taken modest paths.  I haven’t traveled extensively to experience the wider world.  Most of my years have been spent close to the mountains where I grew up.  Every day, I still find something to see and wonder about and to respond to in a visual way, maybe in a photograph, a sketch, a painting, or a tapestry.  There is beauty in the limits of space and time.”

Indeed, her life and her body of work reflect this beauty grounded in quiet observation, paying attention to what catches her eye.  A lesson for all of us to slow down and truly see what is at our feet during a walk or to look up and notice the way the light shimmers on leaves or casts a shadow.

“Along my way, many people have been my guides.” Tommye Scanlin writes. (Preface, p. xiv)

I think about those who have been my guides, the teachers who made a life-changing difference for me and from whom I also learned the most about effective teaching, saying and showing things in different ways.  My college French teacher, Marguerite Hessini, comes to mind, as well as my current modern dance instructor, who helps us to remember how to move in a much smaller space at home via zoom classes. 

I am often telling my students that “the tapestry will tell you what it needs next.” But before the weaving on the tapestry can begin, much preparation goes into its design. Tommye Scanlin takes us through some of the steps in her design process.  Through the many images that fill the pages, we can glimpse her sources of inspiration from nature, her sketches and journal entries, paintings and woven studies—all of which go into the final tapestry composition.  

Flight 56” x 32” ©️2013 Tommye McClure Scanlin

At the loom, the design can continue to change.  I especially resonated with Tommye’s descriptions of how she modified several designs when the tapestry was partially woven, as was the case with the tapestries Flight and Phoenix. From paying attention to how the light hits the warp, or the impact of events going on around us—such as the devastation of hurricanes and wildfires-- to processing deep grief over personal traumas and deaths of those who are dear to us, all of this goes into our tapestries and into our work as artists. To read of Tommye Scanlin’s own journey through all of this is an affirmation for all of us who work with the creative process.

Phoenix 60” x 32” ©️2017 Tommye McClure Scanlin

Photo credit: Tim Barnwell

In the chapter on “Black Walnuts and Red Earth,” Tommye Scanlin describes her experiences with natural dyes, and having Mary Francis Davidson as her teacher. When I read about her working with “earth pigment painting,” I immediately wanted to experiment with this on my own.

I also thought about my mother, Esther Kolling, who first explored use of natural dyes in the early 1970’s and later taught workshops about it for the Wichita Weavers Guild.  Her chemistry knowledge from her training as a medical technologist gave her a deeper understanding about the use of mordants and the extraction process of dye from plants. She, too, referred to Mary Francis Davidson’s book, The Dye Pot. 

To the Essence of Every Nature 54” x 34” ©️2007 Tommye McClure Scanlin

photo credit: Randy Crump

As a teenager, I accompanied my mother in the collecting of dye plants, often growing in the irrigation ditches alongside the back country roads in southeastern Kansas. We gathered walnut hulls from a tree that grew in a friend’s yard not far from where we lived.  The brew of plants in the dye pots simmering on the kitchen stove filled our 900 square foot house with strong and peculiar odors, despite the open windows.  Out on our clothesline in the back yard, my mother would hang wool hanks in earthy colors of browns, rusts, golds, oranges, yellows and greens.  When my mother died, I inherited a wealth of her hand-dyed yarns in different weights of wool, cotton and silk. I always include some in each of my tapestries, so that her legacy of weaving carries forward into my hands through the yarn she once touched.

Tapestry Diary for 2016 49” x 12” ©️Tommye McClure Scanlin Photo credit: Tim Barnwell

Many tapestry weavers, myself included, weave every day as part of our daily practice.  This is essential especially given the slow-growing nature of tapestry making.  Tommye Scanlin took this a step further beginning in 2008, by weaving each day for a month, where “each day’s increment would be determined as it was woven.” (p. 167). This in turn led her to weaving yearly tapestry diaries, marking the passage of each day, as well as working out how to show the time away while teaching workshops and classes, attending conferences, etc.  The impact of viewing these woven diaries as a whole affirm the power of the ordinary, daily, monthly rhythms of a life as an artist and itinerant teacher.  

The creative process also includes the doubts, the dry periods where nothing is visibly happening.  All artists journey through these, and Tommye Scanlin describes her experiences, sharing excerpts from her journals and poems.  She reminds us that all of this is part of the life of an artist, and that a spark of an idea will emerge if we keep engaging and trusting in the darkness of the dormant period as a rich and fertile time.

 I especially loved the opening sentence to the chapter on “Stones:”

“Stones speak to me.  Not in words, but in images." p.113

Because of Memory 60” x 54” ©️2014 Tommye McClure Scanlin

Photo credit: Tim Barnwell

“Through the details I can better understand and cope with the complexity of the whole.” excerpt morning pages journal, p. 182

“I’m continuing a ritual of practice that enriches the discipline necessary to be a tapestry maker.  The daily commitment to the ongoing tapestry diaries—as well as my engagement in looking at, thinking about, and designing from the world around me—is how I weave the threads of my life, one day at a time.”  p. 177

Indeed, the threads of Tommye McClure Scanlin’s life are made visible in her tapestries, as well as in her drawings, paintings, photos and in her book of essays, The Nature of Things:  Essays of a Tapestry Weaver. 

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Thank you to Tommye Scanlin for providing images of her tapestries to use in this blog post. To view more of Tommye McClure Scanlin’s work, visit her website. Please purchase her book through your favorite independent bookseller.

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Anatomy of a Tapestry: Techniques, Materials, Care

By Jean Pierre Larochette and Yadin Larochette, illustrations by Yael Lurie

Available at Schiffer Books

Over the past five decades, many of us have studied with Jean Pierre Larochette and Yael Lurie, whether it was at the San Francisco Tapestry workshop in the 1970’s to early 1980’s, or in the shorter, intensive workshops they taught around the United States from the mid-1980’s to early 2000’s, or at their place at El Tuito, Mexico over the past sixteen years. With this book, more weavers now have access to this generational knowledge of masters, as well as the historical context on the development of tapestry, the looms, materials, and finishing.  In addition, their daughter, Yadin Larochette, provides valuable information about the mounting and long-term care of tapestries, based on her expertise in textile conservation.

  The technical chapters are beautifully illustrated by Yael Lurie.  The woven samples, and woven illustrations further the analysis of the details to pay attention to when weaving curves, angles, lines, the significance of “covered and bare warp” for smooth or jagged edges. The section on patterns and hatchings with dots is illuminating, never before documented so clearly in English. Each example is presented with the weaver’s view, woven from the back, and beside it the front view. 

  As I examined the pages of this book, I found myself reflecting on my first workshop with Jean Pierre Larochette and Yael Lurie in Tucson, Arizona in 1989.  It changed my life as an artist.  From my mother, Esther Kolling, I had learned the basics of weaving row-by-row and shape building, working from the front without pre-planning and letting the tapestry talk to me about what it wanted to be.  When my designs grew too complex to hold all the details in my head, I knew it was time to find a way to create a road map, a cartoon, that would guide the weaving process and would allow space for the tapestry itself to speak of what it needed to be. This quest led me to studying with Jean Pierre Larochette and Yael Lurie.

  At that workshop in Tucson, the world of French tapestry opened up for me, and I knew that this was the direction for my work.  Each yearly workshop that followed took me to a deeper level, so that by 1994, I was ready to study in Aubusson.

  Over the centuries, ateliers and weaving centers in France carefully guarded their techniques in order to maintain high production standards as well as their competitive edge. Knowledge was passed down as an oral tradition through the generations within each family of tapestry weavers.  Often, but not always, it was the men who wove, as was the case with Jean Pierre Larochette, fourth generation master weaver.  By the 1980’s and 1990’s few sons and daughters of these master weaver families were interested in learning their tapestry tradition. With no one in the next generation weaving tapestry, that family atelier’s body of knowledge of tapestry techniques vanished, with only traces remaining in the tapestries themselves. This was the case of the atelier Tabard, that wove Jean Lurçat’s Le Chant du Monde  (Song of the World) 1957 – 1966. 

  In Aubusson, I studied with Gisèle Glaudin-Brivet, fourth-generation master weaver originally from Felletin, France, where it was the women who wove in her family.  In addition to having woven tapestries for noteworthy artists—including June Wayne, Picasso, and Jean Lurçat-- Gisèle collaborated with her husband, Henri Brivet, who taught tapestry design at the Aubusson Ecole National des Beaux Arts (now closed, repurposed as La Cité Internationale de la Tapisserie),

From Gisèle Brivet, I learned her generational knowledge of hachures, expanding on what I learned from Jean Pierre Larochette and Yael Lurie.  From Henri Brivet, I learned cartoon-making, and to design in values first, before thinking in color. This in turn lead to light bulb moments of understanding how my art training in graphic design applied directly to designing for tapestry. How fortunate I have been to be in the right place at the right time to learn from two different masters, each with unique familial knowledge of Aubusson tapestry. 

  The collaboration of Jean Pierre Larochette, Yadin Larochette, and Yael Lurie in the book, The Anatomy of a Tapestry, is a beautiful documentation of their legacy. 

“The French word for loom is métier, which also means ‘what you know how to do best.’ p. 99

 If there is a symbolic legacy from the loom, it tells us to weave the stories of our time.  Bring forth history with the eloquence of the woven image.  Spin. Dip the thread in color. Imagine.   p.24”

— Jean Pierre Larochette, The Anatomy of a Tapestry

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The Art is the Cloth: How to Look At and Understand Tapestries by Micala Sidore

  When I first opened the pages to this book, I immediately became engrossed in the themes, ideas, and the selected tapestries.  It reminded me of a well-curated exhibition, where tapestries that have never before been seen together talk to each other while hanging side-by-side, across the room, and as a collective whole.  These conversations in book form take on a whole new level of dialogue about their textile essence. 

  The chapters take us through the tapestry journey we textile artists often engage in, beginning with The Elements of Weaving, where the opening sentence is: “Weaving a tapestry involves multiple decisions.”  I see and feel my own experience as a tapestry artist reflected in the flow of words and chapters that follow:  Special Materials, Visual Themes, Adapting the Past to the Present, Trompe l’oeil, Directionality, Textiles and Identities, When Textiles Define a Particular Group, Self-Reference, Historical Self-Reference, with the final chapter being The Art in the Cloth.

Bonnie Platzer tapestry, Amish Boy ©️2017 40.5” x 34.75” paternayan wool, cotton warp

photo courtesy of Schiffer Books

  I slowly turn each page, study each tapestry, and let the thoughts and ideas sink in.  This book is a meditation on tapestry making and the finished works, taking me deeper into unexpected places of insights and awe.  I see tapestries by artists I do not know, refreshing and delightful, profound and thought-provoking.  I also see works of my colleagues and friends that I have been familiar with for decades.  Now, throughout this book, I find myself engaging with the images of these tapestries in a different light. 

  I, too, am included in this book, in the chapter on Trompe l’oeil, and I have the opportunity here to see my work in context with the collective whole.  “Portal,” a tapestry that I created in solitude in my studio, was the first major piece after the death of my parents, marking my new explorations in transparency and drape of fabric.  Yet here it is taking its place on these pages to engage in the larger conversation about the art form of tapestry.  

photo courtesy of Schiffer Books

Micala Sidore has been engaging in this larger conversation about tapestry since the 1990’s, in formal lectures, and later in curating the show, “The Art is the Cloth,” that opened at the New Hampshire Institute of Art in October of 2014.  That exhibit, accompanied with a printed catalogue, traveled to George School in Newtown, Pennsylvania, then Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts in the spring of 2015.  In 2016, Schiffer Books accepted her proposal to expand on the exhibit and to create the book I now hold in my hands. 

All books, like all tapestries, require long lengths of time to gestate, evolve, grow, and come into being.  It is a process of fine-tuned listening to the voice of the project.  This book, The Art is the Cloth: How to Look at and Understand Tapestries, reflects well-seasoned thought and experience, as well as an extensive depth-of-knowledge.  Charisma Bremer-David aptly puts it when she says in the Foreword:

“ Micala Sidore makes us stop in our tracks, in order to look and to see the visual poetry of the weavers’ art.  She takes us beyond the cursory glance, to mindful looking, to contemplation, to appreciation, to an understanding of cloth.”

— Charisma Bremer-David

I linger with this book, and know I will return to it again and again, seeing and appreciating something new each time.  

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The Art is the Cloth: How to Look At and Understand Tapestries by Micala Sidore is available through Schiffer Books.

The Art is the Cloth back cover

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Tapestry and Interconnectedness

As tapestry weavers, we know much about interconnectedness. Our hands weave weft threads of varying colors to create shapes, angles, curves and lines. Our thoughts mingle with the individual threads becoming cloth as weft moves over and under taut warp. The very act of weaving itself connects us to archetypal pathways and creation myths of weaving the world into being.

Many of us prefer to work in solitude, where we can dive into the depths of the creative process of one thought leading to another as one woven row leads to another. Insights often come to us while the tapestry grows on the loom. The tapestry itself tells us about what needs to happen next. Perhaps it is time to add a new color mixture or to begin a new shape; or to use a specific technique to achieve the desired effect.

While sitting at the loom, we are in retreat from the world. We enter a portal in time that stretches beyond the digital clock, where the moment expands into eternity. We enter into the memory of the universe, in a manner similar to what is described in the book, Journey of the Universe by Brian Thomas Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker (pp. 60 - 61):

“When we today remember that the energy of our lives comes from the original flaring forth of the universe, and that the atoms of our bodies come from the explosion of ancient stars, and that the patterns of our lives come from the many ancestors over billions of years, we begin to appreciate the intricate manner in which life remembers the past and brings it into fresh form today. Life adapts. Life remembers. Life learns.”

We are all living in a pivotal moment where we must physically be separated from each other, yet acutely aware of our interconnectedness. This is an opportunity to enter into solitude, dive into its depths and discover the wisdom awaiting within.

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I currently have internet access issues, so cannot add the images accompanying this post at this time. Be well everyone.

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Crossovers In Tapestry Conference in 2021

DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC, THIS CONFERENCE HAS BEEN CANCELLED. STAY TUNED FOR WHEN IT CAN BE RESCHEDULED.

The initial idea for this regional tapestry conference began with an email from David Johnson several years ago.  He saw a need to gather together artists of the different tapestry traditions being practiced here in the Southwest.  As the conversation grew to include more people, the Spanish Peaks Tapestry Weavers agreed to investigate potential venue sites in Pueblo, Colorado.  The American Tapestry Alliance gave the event their blessing, suggesting that it be held in an alternating year from Handweavers Guild of America’s Convergence.

Thus, the inaugural Crossovers in Tapestry: A Southwest Conference will take place April 30 – May 2, 2021 at Pueblo Community College in Pueblo, Colorado.  It will highlight tapestry being woven in Native American, Hispanic and European traditions through lectures, a panel discussion and an exhibition with top professionals representing the cultures within which they work. Participants will have the opportunity to share their work in digital form, network, and celebrate our connections with each other as artists working in tapestry.

The conference will begin Friday evening with an opening gala, dinner, and the keynote speaker, Dr. Alice M. Zrebiec.  Many of us know her from her professional work as Curator of Textiles at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Consulting Curator of Textile Art at the Denver Art Museum, and Curatorial Consultant in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Saturday morning, David Johnson will facilitate a panel discussion with the following artists:  Lynda Teller Pete, Navajo Style Weaver, Irvin Trujillo, Chimayo Style Weaver, Elizabeth Buckley, Aubusson Style Weaver, and Rebecca Mezoff, Southwest Style Weaver

Saturday afternoon, each of the panel participants will be giving lectures and powerpoint presentations. Sunday morning, program planner, David Johnson, will wrap up the weekend by talking about “Tradition and Change:  Evolution in Tapestry.” 

Exhibits on view at the conference will include tapestries provided by the Panelists and a digital show of tapestries woven by the conference participants.  It will be a feast to the eye to see such a spectrum of tapestries in one place!  I am honored and excited to be a part of this event!

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$225.00 Early Registration is from October 1, 2020 – January 15, 2021

$250.00 Registration is from January 16 - April 1, 2021

Hotel Accommodations:  Springhill Suites by Marriott, Pueblo, Colorado

To get more information, notifications of future registration and conference updates, you need to sign up to get on the mailing list at:  SpanishPeaksTapestry@aol.com

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My Last Conversation With Archie Brennan

My last conversation with Archie Brennan took place at the opening reception for the  “Contemporary International Tapestry” exhibition, (January 11 – May 10, 2015) where he, as well as Susan Martin Maffei, and I had work on display at the Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton, New Jersey. Despite the cold and snowy January afternoon, over 400 people filled the galleries. Toward the end of the afternoon, when many had left in order to get home before dark, Archie was slowing walking around the second floor gallery, looking at each tapestry on display, as was I.  He lingered in front of my tapestry, “Dialogues Through the Veil,” reading the artist statement posted on the wall, and gazing at the tapestry.  As I approached him, he turned and told me how lovely it was, asked about the types of interlocks I used, did I weave from the back?  I pointed out where I had used double-weft interlock, and where I had sewn slits.  We began discussing the differences and merits between our two methods for designing and weaving tapestry (Archie from the front, me from the back in the Aubusson tradition). We talked of the discipline, the daily practice of showing up at the loom, Archie saying that if he does not weave each day, something feels not right about the world.

Archie Brennan and Elizabeth Buckley in front of her tapestry, “Dialogues Through the Veil.” photo credit: Lisa Lomauro

Much of the conversation was without words.  Simply a mutual appreciation for the skill and mastery of the other, and of the tapestries that each has created. The understanding of what it takes to devote the whole of one’s life to tapestry.  The sacrifices, the grit and courage to forge one’s own way where there is no road, or even a trail. Proceeding forward, despite minimal income, and despite the cultural milieu of lack of awareness and pervasive under-valuing of these skills of the master-weaver hands honed over the decades. The deep love and devotion to the art form of hand-woven tapestry.

When masters/mentors die, the grief is not only for the loss of their vibrant presence in our lives, but also for the works they no longer will create, as well as their unique way of responding and being in world.

Susan Martin Maffei and Archie Brennan, January 2015 photo credit: Lisa Lomauro

May the journey ahead for you, Archie, be smooth and filled with Light.  Your legacy moves forward in the many hands weaving memories of you embedded in the threads forming tapestries at the loom.  

Archie Brennan December 7, 1931 - October 31, 2019

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Artist Statement for the tapestry, “Dialogues Through the Veil.”

The space between now and then Opens Like a window Into the moment, Inviting the presence of Mary, the poet, Ann, the peacemaker, And so many others, To leave traces Of their thoughts In these threads.

Currents of time and air Flow Into this veil of mist and memory; This waterfall of light On cottonwood leaves Beside my studio.

400 hours made visible. Like beach patterns Of ocean on sand. —©2010 Elizabeth J. Buckley

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Dialogues Through the Veil, 48” x 25” ©2010 Elizabeth J. Buckley photo credit: Lany Eila

Landscape in Tapestry: Articulating the Personal Response

I recently taught a Landscape in Tapestry Retreat workshop at Wild Rice Retreat, located in Bayfield, Wisconsin on the south shore of Lake Superior. Geologically, the area is a peninsula, where the Apostle Island archipelago of sandstone deposits and sea caves originally formed over one billion years ago in the Precambrian era, when glaciers covered North America.  They are at the edge of the great rift, or fault, which formed the depression in which the waters of Lake Superior collected.  Some winters are cold enough to freeze the lake to such a depth that ice roads can connect the islands.

At the end of summer, we experienced clouds and storm systems rolling in, rain and wind, then clearing and bright sunshine all in the course of one day. In the main classroom, with its picture windows on all sides, it was like sitting in a tree house in the middle of a forest. 

Classroom at Wild Rice Retreat © 2019 photo credit Elizabeth J. Buckley. Back to front: Sue Bassett , Kristin Majkrzak, and Debra Thomas at their looms.

Two mornings before breakfast, I was able to walk the Woodstone trail from my lodging. The damp ground beneath my feet was spongy, sometimes muddy and puddled in places. I marveled at the lush green of moss and the textures of lichen on tree trunks.  Sunlight sparkled the rainwater droplets dangling on grass seed heads and oak leaves, as well as lit the steam rising along the path.  Periodically I caught a glimpse of  the bright blue water of Lake Superior in between the trees. 

Woodstone Trail near Wild Rice Retreat © 2019 photo credit: Elizabeth J. Buckley

Woodstone Trail, lichen on tree © 2019 photo credit: Elizabeth J. Buckley

Later the first morning of the workshop, as a class, we walked along the beach near the Madeline Island ferry landing, observing, sketching, and taking photos. We noticed the color of the water—grayed as the rain clouds gathered—and the bright white of a sailboat against the dark, blue-green backdrop of Madeline Island.  The shoreline caught the ripples of small waves splashing and foaming.  In the sand, a piece of birch bark rolled up, and bits of driftwood.  Sea gulls dipped and perched on the pier.  Sunshine broke through the clouds, like a hotspot, brightening areas of water constantly rolling and shifting. A wooden rowboat sat anchored, with its casted shadow on the water.

Rowboat anchored at Bayfield, Wisconsin © 2019 photo credit: Elizabeth J. Buckley

Back in the classroom, I talked about bringing our personal response to what we see into what we might say in tapestry.  Rather than copy a photograph, distill it down to essential shapes and values, movement, reflection, color. What do you want to emphasize or exaggerate? What is the mood or impression you want to evoke? Which tapestry techniques will best lend themselves to articulating different aspects water, trees and light?

Lake Superior Wave Foam © 2019 photo credit: Elizabeth J. Buckley

At the end of each day, in the evenings, I read Lab Girl: A Story of Trees, Science, and Love by Hope Jahren, a probing look at plants, trees, paleo-botany, and the human spirit. I found it changing and deepening the dimensions in which I was seeing each tree, flower, seed, and the soil in which it grows.  I felt a kinship with how I observe and respond to the natural world as an artist. My imagination sparked when I read:

A seed knows how to wait….A seed is alive while it waits….

After scientists broke open the coat of a lotus seed (Nelumbo nucifera) and coddled the embryo into growth, they kept the empty husk.  When they radiocarbon-dated this discarded outer shell, they discovered that their seedling had been waiting for them within a peat bog in China for no less than two thousand years.  This tiny seed had stubbornly kept the hope of its own future while entire human civilizations rose and fell.  And then one day this little plant’s yearnings finally burst forth within a laboratory.  I wonder where it is right now.

Each beginning is the end of waiting.  We are each given exactly one chance to be.  Each of us is both impossible and inevitable.  Every replete tree was first a seed that waited. pp. 30-31

The process of tapestry-making also requires knowing how to wait for the ideas to percolate and to begin taking shape.  Each tapestry begins as the seed of an idea that waits until the right moment to grow.

Lake Superior shoreline, Bayfield, Wisconsin © 2019 photo credit: Elizabeth J. Buckley

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The Element of Time In Tapestry

Time is a huge, invisible component in tapestry-making, in addition to skillful hands, technical virtuosity, artistic vision, and the universal, non-verbal language of the loom. The long haul of 1200 hours over many months involved in weaving large format tapestries can be a daunting commitment, requiring additional courage, dedication, belief in oneself and the idea that needs to be articulated. 

The Veils of Time tapestry in process on the loom. ©2016 Elizabeth J. Buckley

Interruptions are a fact of life for all of us weaving tapestry.  I work seven days a week.  I juggle studio time with the schedule of an itinerate art teacher and the necessary advance preparation of materials for each workshop and powerpoint lecture, plus write articles, proposals, and blog posts, produce videos, share on social media and other marketing activities, in addition to dealing with the surprises and necessities of daily living.

 Over the years, I developed strategies to help me to sustain connection with the work in-process over the days, weeks and months, whether it be a small or large format tapestry:

— Weave every day whether it is for thirty minutes, four hours or all day. This helps the connection with the work in progress to be vibrant and energized.

— Keep a notepad at the loom, and end each weaving session with a sentence, phrases or a diagram of what to do next.  I find this especially helpful when I am away from the studio teaching workshops.  When I return, reviewing my notes helps me to re-orient myself and more easily pick up where I left off.

 — Go to sleep each night thinking about what needs to be woven next on the tapestry.  This is especially helpful if I need to problem-solve which techniques or color mixtures to use in order to achieve the desired effect.  Usually I awaken in the morning with a clear sense of how to proceed.

 — When the weaving gets sluggish, take a break.  Usually the tapestry is telling me something, and I need to pay attention, look at the area with a fresh eye to see more clearly what needs to happen next.  Maybe it is a different color or value in the weft bundle.  Maybe I forgot to put in a detail I had intended to include. 

 — Get up from the loom frequently, to change body positions, stretch, roll shoulders, shift from close-up to far way focus for the eyes.  Often I do this when I need to wind a bobbin, change the music CD, etc.

Notepad at loom ©2019 Elizabeth J. Buckley

 I track my time spent on each phase of creating tapestries so that I have a more realistic sense of just how long it does take me to create new work around my salaried teaching schedule and everyday living.  This is especially important when doing commissions, as well as when large ideas need to become large format tapestries.  I know that a realistic estimate for works measuring 60” x 60” is about 1,200 hours spread out over 18 – 24 months.  Unless this is a commission piece, this is unpaid time until the tapestry sells.

Yet the documented hours tell only part of the story of tapestry-making.  What goes unmeasured is gestation time for ideas to brew, the mulling over time when taking a walk or driving, the problem-solving time until the solution comes.  All of this emerges out of a lifetime of our experiences, unique to each of us.

 Carol K. Russell aptly puts it in her introduction to Contemporary International Tapestry, p. 21

“Never ask a tapestry artist, ‘How long did it take to weave this tapestry?’  He or she will respond quite correctly, ‘It took my entire life up to the point at which this tapestry was cut from the loom, and the same for the next tapestry and the ones after that.’ ”

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Weft Bundles Using Different Thread Sizes

2 strands DMC Medicis (or 18/2 wool), 2 strands Paterna Crewel

I often mix a variety of threads in my weft bundles, winding them onto Aubusson bobbins. Since I do not dye my yarns, I work with the different color palettes of yarns in my stash, as well as from what is currently available. Some of the wools I use are:  Anahera (New Zealand wool), Appleton crewel weight wool, Australian Tapestry Workshop wool, my mother’s hand-dyed yarns of varying weights, and my stash of no longer produced yarns:  Paterna crewel and DMC Medicis wool (similar in density and thinness to Weaver’s Bazaar fine 18/2 weight).

One strand Anahera, 2 strands Paterna Crewel

It is important to keep the size, or density, of the weft bundle consistent.  I usually use the classic European ratio :

the diameter of the warp = the diameter of the weft = the space in between each warp thread.

To determine a weft bundle diameter, it helps to twist the several strands in the weft bundle together and place it in the space between the warps.  The twisted weft bundle needs to occupy this space without overlapping the warps beside it.

One stand No,8 Pearl Cotton, 3 strands Appleton Crewel

When I want a little sheen, a contrast to the matt surface of wool, I will add a strand of pearl cotton (available in different weights).

One strand No. 8 Pearl Cotton, 3 strands Appleton Crewel

In these mixtures below, I have used a single ply handspun wool as part of the weft bundle:

One strand single ply hand spun, one strand DMC Medicis (18/2 wool), one strand Paterna Crewel

One strand single ply handspun, one strand Paterna crewel, one strand Appleton crewel

I wind multiple strands of weft onto Aubusson bobbins by using a Swedish bobbin winder (the one with the smallest shaft measuring 1/8” in diameter at the smallest end).

In the video, I demonstrate how to wind four different strands of yarn that I am mixing for one weft bundle, in such a manner that all four strands wind onto the bobbin evenly, with a similar tension on each individual thread.  This is important if you want to have a smoothly woven surface, with no unexpected bumps caused by one strand being looser in the weft bundle.

Also in the video, I demonstrate the hand gestures, les bons gestes, for efficient weaving, and for preventing the weft bundle from scraping against the warp threads, which will cause fuzzing of the weft.  I generally twist the strands in my weft bundle as I weave, by twirling the bobbin and then winding the twisted area onto the bobbin.  This makes all the strands become one thread.  There are times when I will not twirl the bobbin because I want to a particular strand to show up more, as a particular pattern in the weaving. 

On my basse lice (or basse lisse) loom, I am using a 12/12 cotton seine twine warp at a sett of 10 ends per inch.  My weft bundle needs to be about the same diameter of the 12/12 cotton seine twine.   

I have a Resources page on my website that lists sources of different yarns currently available, as well as other tools and supplies for tapestry making. Rebecca Mezoff also has a blog post describing weft yarns for tapestry.

Labels for DMC Medicis wool and Paterna Crewel wool, no longer being produced.

Label for Weavers Bazaar yarns

Label for Appleton wool, Crewel is the thinner weight best for tapestry

Label for Anahera yarn

Label for cotton seine twine

The Heading as Foundation for Well-Woven Tapestry

Two components go into establishing the foundation for well-woven tapestry cloth:  an evenly tensioned warp and equal spacing between each warp thread. Once you tie the warp onto the front beam, next comes the task of adjusting the tension so that each warp thread is equally tight. Then, comes weaving the heading to equalize the spaces between the warps.  Different tapestry traditions have various approaches to weaving the heading. Here is how I do it on my low-warp, basse-lice (or basse-lice), Aubusson loom:

Tools for weaving the heading on the basse-lice loom. photo credit: Elizabeth J. Buckley © 2019

On this loom, you will notice that the tie-on rod sits in a groove on the front beam, and the warp threads are in tie-on groups of 4 warp threads.  To spread out the groups of threads, I weave the heading in a process that gradually shifts and equalizes the spacing. The tools I use are:  a flat shuttle, a gratoir, an awl, an Aubusson bobbin, as well as my fingers.  (awls, gratioir and bobbins available here)

In the video, you will see that the first step is to weave four rows (or two full passes) with doubled warp threads,. I am using 12/12 cotton seine twine for my warp. The doubled warp threads start the process of gradually spreading the warps. For a 60” width, I will wrap these doubled warp threads around a flat shuttle, for ease of passing through the shed as I weave. At each edge, I leave about a one-inch loop of extra warp. To place and pack each row, or half-passe,  I use the gratoir.

The second step is to weave four rows, (or two full passes), of single warp, that I have wound onto an Aubusson bobbin (also known as la flute)..  I use my fingers to pack it in. Again, I leave about 1” extra slack in the loop at each selvedge.  Each half-passe, or row, of single warp continues the process of spreading the warps out further. 

The third step involves looking closely at the spaces between the warps. Jean Pierre Larochette calls this “reading the spaces between the warps.”

Warp is now ready for adjusting the spacing with the awl. photo credit: Elizabeth J. Buckley © 2019

I use the awl to begin shifting the warps, often poking the tip into the double warp woven area below the fell line.  It is best to start in the middle and work your way out to the edges. I push the threads that are further apart closer together, and the threads that are too close, further apart.  As I move and shift the warp threads, I use the tip of the awl to poke the upper area of single-warp weaving down, to hold the revised spacing in place. 

Warp is now evenly spaced. photo credit: Elizabeth J. Buckley © 2019

I want to make sure that the bottom edge and the side warp thread are square.  I use a very large, clear triangle (available at Dick Blick or any good art supply store) and place it on the warp.  Since it is hard to see the clear triangle in the photo, I added the smaller darker triangle to make it easier to see.

Making sure the edge of the warp and the bottom (or fell edge) are perpendicular, or squared. photo credit: Elizabeth J. Buckley © 2019

Now I am ready to twine across the warp, to hold the spacing in place, and to prevent unraveling of the completed woven tapestry, once it is cut off of the loom.  I measure a length of warp thread that is 3 times the width of the warp.  Since this warp is  60” wide, I will need a length that is 180” wide. Because the thread is so long, I wind each end onto a bobbin, placing the midpoint around the second warp thread, The warp at the very edge will be my guide thread, which will not be woven.  The guide thread helps me to see to notice, as I weave, when my selvedge is beginning to either draw in or expand.  I can then immediately make any necessary adjustments as I weave.

Twined heading, now ready to weave! 12/12 cotton seine twine sette at 10 epi. photo credit: Elizabeth J. Buckley © 2019

Once I have completed one row of twining across the width of the warp, I am ready to begin weaving the hem of the tapestry: a moment so many of us eagerly anticipate!

I find that this process of weaving the heading to be good practice to do on my other looms—such as the Hagen or Mirrix—as well.

My Connection to Aubusson

An in-depth book on the history of tapestry in Aubusson and Felletin by Robert Guinot, Editions Lucien Souny, 2009.

In 2009 UNESCO designated Aubusson and Felletin to be a World Heritage Site.  It is the only place in the world where for six centuries all the necessities for creating tapestries were met: the sheep, the spinning mill, the plants in the region and water from the Creuse River for dyeing,, les cartonniers (the cartoon artists) and the weavers, as well as the restoration facilities.

Six centuries.

Tapestry first came to Aubusson with the Arabs, in 732, where they sought refuge after  their defeat in the Battle of Tours and subsequent expulsion from Poitiers.  The next weavers to arrive were Flemish, who were expelled from Arras in the late 15th century by Louis XIth.  Then, in 1664, King Henry XIV’s prime minister, Jean Baptiste Colbert designated Aubusson, and neighboring village of Felletin, as a Manufacture Royale, allocating patents for very strict control over the tapestry-making process:  from the quality of the wool, the dyeing, to their unique weaving techniques. 

Entrance to the building where Gisèle Brivet’s atelier was located. photo credit: Elizabeth J. Buckey © 1994

This strict control also meant carefully guarding their techniques in such a way that knowledge was passed down as an oral tradition through the generations within each family of tapestry weavers.  Often, but not always, it was the men who wove.

Wooden stairs leading up to Gisèle Brivet’s atelier. photo credit: Elizabeth J. Buckey © 1994

For  Gisèle Glaudin-Brivet, fourth-generation maître-lissier. it was the women who wove in her family, originally from Felletin, France.  In addition to having woven tapestries for noteworthy artists—including June Wayne, Picasso, and Jean Lurçat-- Gisèle collaborated with her husband, Henri Brivet, who taught tapestry design at the Aubusson École Nationale d’Art Décoratif (ENAD). Together they created smaller tapestries of scenes of Aubusson.  No one in Gisèle and Henri Brivet’s family wanted to learn tapestry, so they decided to go against the centuries-old atelier tradition of never sharing tapestry secrets outside the family.  In September of 1994 they welcomed me and two other weavers from the United States into their atelier to begin passing on some of their passion for tapestry, and their knowledge of cartoon-making and woven techniques.

From the moment I opened the heavy black door to the long, stone building and climbed the wooden stairs leading to the atelier on the second floor, I felt as though I had stepped into another century. My footfalls echoed an announcement of my arrival, as I placed my feet in the middle of each worn step, where the center dipped lower than the edges.  I kept thinking, “I am walking in the footsteps of many apprentices.”

At the studio door, Gisèle greets me, the first time we have met after months of correspondence. She is bright-eyed with short-cropped auburn hair.  She barely comes to my shoulder.  I follow Gisèle down the center of the long rectangular room, as she eagerly shows me around her atelier.  “Voilà les métiers de basse-lice.”  **

Bobbins and skeins of yarns on the cartoon tray of mural-sized basse-lice loom. photo credit: Elizabeth J. Buckey © 1994

Indeed, here are the low-warp looms, which at that time I had seen only pictures of in historical tapestry books.  To our left, one large loom spans nearly the entire length of the room.  I see warp on the back beam, and the cartoon tray is piled with skeins of yarn and baskets of bobbins.  Colors jumble together:  yellows and oranges next to blues, purples, and reds.  In my mind’s eye, I could picture ten, maybe 12, weavers sitting side-by-side on the loom bench, leaning forward as they work on a mural-sized tapestry.

I turn as Gisèle moves to my right, to show me the looms we will be using.  “This one,” she explains in French, “is over 400 years old.  It sits lower and is more comfortable for shorter people, comme moi.”  She grins, “This loom over here is better for those who are taller.”  She looks directly at me. 

Three basse-lice looms in Gisèle Brivet’s atelier. photo credit: Elizabeth J. Buckey © 1994

At this loom, my studies began.  Time expanded and contracted during those weeks, where I ate, slept and lived totally immersed in tapestry, the French language and culture.  When I was not weaving in Gisèle’s atelier, I spent weekends studying historical and contemporary tapestries in Aubusson, Felletin, La Chaise Dieu, Soreze, Angers, and Paris.  Each Monday, I would return to Gisèle’s atelier and we would talk about what I had observed, before once again settling in to weave.  

When the day came to leave, I had absorbed into my cells so much, enough to know that I had barely scratched the surface of what more there was yet to learn.  The next step would be in the “doing,” diving deeply into this gift of knowledge, and incorporating it into my work, continually pushing and stretching the possibilities.

Many changes have happened in Aubusson in the 25 years since I last was there. Gisèle Brivet retired and closed her studio, as did at least a dozen other ateliers.

16th century bridge spanning the Creuse river near Gisèle Brivet’s atelier. photo credit: Elizabeth J. Buckey © 1994

The Aubusson École Nationale d’Art Décoratif (National School of Decorative Arts), otherwise known as (ENAD), also closed, to be re-purposed and remodeled.  It reopened in July of 2016 as the new La Cité Internationale de la Tapisserie (International City of Tapestry Center).  Its reference collection traces the history of six centuries of tapestry production in Aubusson, currently housing 330 wall tapestries, 15,000 graphic works, 4,000 handicraft implements. In addition, for the first time in nearly 20 years, it opened a training program for future maître-lissiers.

Recently, Cresside Collette curated and wrote extensively about “Breaking Through Tradition – Contemporary Tapestry in France,” on the American Tapestry Alliance website. A treat to the eye to see the range of work in this on-line exhibit. I especially liked seeing les Nouvelles Verdures d’Aubusson (the New Greenery Tapestries) as a response to global warming, and was intrigued by Tapis-Porte (Tapestry Portal).

New life, new breath in French tapestry, and in Aubusson, La Cité Internationale de la Tapisserie. 

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**The terms, basse-lice and basse-lisse, both refer to the low warp, Aubusson tapestry loom.

For further reading about my experiences in the atelier Gisèle Brivet, “Les Bons Gestes” article that I wrote for Tapestry Topics, newsletter of the American Tapestry Alliance.

Thank you to Katherine Perkins for her article, “Aubusson:  Une Ville Extraordinaire,” Tapestry Topics, Summer 2010, Vol. 36 No. 2, pp. 11-12.

Thank you to Nancy Wohlenberg who scanned my photos into digital format.

Where Science and Art Meet

“Picturing the Past: Paleoart 2018,” at the The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, opened this past weekend. A juried international exhibition in a variety of media, mine is the only tapestry in the exhibit. Other media include: two quilts, colored pencil drawings, acrylic paintings, cut paper and several small sculptures. About half of the 89 artworks are digital prints. A principle criteria for all work in this show is scientific accuracy, within artistic interpretations of our prehistoric past.

“The Veils of Time” tapestry fell into the category of “Prehistoric Panoramas.”

View of first room, two partial walls.

Exhibit Narrative on Prehistoric Panoramas

Artist statement displayed beside “The Veils of Time” tapestry

The Veils of Time tapestry beside digital art.

I visited this exhibit at the Sneak Preview for the fundraising gala “Cretaceous Couture” fashion show and silent auction. I found myself drawn to the wall of trilobites, and in particular, the cut paper work on the far right.

Trilobites wall. Cut paper rendition on the far right

I thought of my father, who would take our family on fossil-hunting expeditions, when I was very young, usually on occasional Sunday afternoons. We lived on the edge of the Flint Hills in the southeast corner of Kansas, where road cuts would reveal geologic strata. We would see a variety of invertebrate forms in the layers of limestone and shale, and if we were lucky, we would find a trilobite.

Thus I was introduced to the concept of time being so much larger than the clock face, the hours in a day and my own lifetime. As a child, I could not grasp the largeness of millennia so long ago when these invertebrate creatures were alive. As an adult artist, I keep returning to themes around geologic time in my tapestries, as though the huge number of hours spent at the loom weaving somehow can give me a glimpse into eternity.

“Visions of the Past: Paleoart 2108” is up through January 4th, 2018 at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, located at 1801 Mountain Road, NW in Albuquerque, New Mexico.