ata nl fall 08 vol34no3 - american tapestry alliance...the mural and the miniature. the designers of...

Tapestry TopicsA Quarterly Review of Tapestry Art Today

N e w s l e t t e r o f t h e A m e r i c a n Ta p e s t r y A l l i a n c e

Fall 2008 Vol 34 No 3

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www.americantapestryalliance.org

In this IssueThinking Small

Thinking Small . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2By Mary Lane

Small Format? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3By Susan Martin Maffei

Let's Get Small . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5By Lyn Hart

Thinking Small . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6By Mary Dieterich

Embracing Fine Threads . . . . . . . . . . 7By Joyce E. Hayes

The Value of Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8By Ruth Manning

Thoughts on Weaving Small Format Tapestries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

By Kathe Todd-HookerEmbroidering a Small Canvas . . . . . 11

By Ayelet Lindenstrauss LarsenSaving Memories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

By Marjolyn Van der WelDoors, Gates and Windows . . . . . . . 12

By Mary Colton4 Australian Tapestry Weavers . . . . 14

By Anne JacksonWoven Gems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

By Terri StewartThe Tapestry Handbook: The Next Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Reviewed by Judy Ann NessReview: Land, Art And The Sacred: Three Perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

By Lyn HartOne Tapestry's Journey . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

By Elisabeth Quick Volunteers Make It Happen: Tommye McClure Scanlin . . . . . . . . . . . 19

By Lyn HartATA Award: Jennie Lee Henderson. . . . 21

By Merna StrauchATA Award of Excellence: Irisa Blumate . 22

By Linda ReesKudos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Greetings We hope everyone had a great summer of time

spent with family and friends, travel, beaches, picnics,gardening and some studio time. What a delightTampa was! Three days of tapestry talk with friendsold and new, and inspiring tapestries to view.

The "American Tapestry Biennial 7" exhibitionopened at the Scarfone/Hartley Gallery with a recordnumber of participating artists in attendance. Ourjuror, Susan Warner Keene, did a superb job selectingsome of the best tapestry in the world, and the galleryspace and lighting highlighted the excellence anddiversity of her choices. The 177 small format tapes-tries in "Woven Gems" drew appreciative crowds toTECO Plaza. The ATA Forum, "ReinventingLandscape," with slide talks by Joan Baxter and MaryZicafoose, and our first 'Digislam' were enjoyed byeveryone attending. The workshop, "Channeling YourMuse," provided an additional three days of learningand interaction with Baxter and Zicafoose. Our dinnerget together at Jackson's Bistro was a wonderfulopportunity to network. There will be in depth reportsin the next issue of Tapestry Topics and images on thewebsite, but we wanted to extend a huge thank you toall who came and made the events such a success.

The past year's accomplishments were reviewed atthe biennial general meeting in Tampa. The annualreport and financial statements are available on line.One of the important aspects of the meeting was theratification of our board elections. Returning are:Becky Stevens, Linda Wallace, Alex Friedman, MaryLane, Janet Austin and Barbara Richards. We welcome

Joy Smith, THIS GOES WITH THAT - SHOES 10 x 34cm, (4" x 13") 2005

Ta p e s t r y To p i c s F a l l 2 0 0 82

new board members: Mary Zicafoose, Sarah Swett,Marcella Fraker and Kathleen Marcel.

Our next major tapestry event will be our new juriedbiennial exhibition, "Connections: Small TapestryInternational." The November submission deadline isgetting closer, and we are truly excited about the possi-bilities the format will create. With this issue ofTapestry Topics focused on small tapestry, we hopeyou'll all be inspired and working on your submissions.Details and forms can be downloaded from our website:americantapestryalliance.org.

This year has been one of resurgence in the tapestryworld, with major events and exhibitions. Tapestry2008, with Master Classes, symposium and exhibitionstook place in Canberra, Australia. Many of us, through-out the world, submitted pieces to the symposium's"Land" exhibition. (An ATA Award For Excellence inTapestry was awarded at the "Land" Exhibition. Checkthe Kudos column for more information on that andother awards that have come to our attention.)

In West Yorkshire, UK, the British Tapestry Groupcurated their second national exhibition, Tapestry 08.Workshops, events and a national conference accompa-nied the exhibition.

Let's keep the energy going!

Becky Steven and Linda Wallace

Thinking SmallBy Mary Lane

Roman medals, coins, Egyptian scrolls, stamps. The histo-ry of making images within a miniature format is found inmany cultures and within many different classes of objects.For contemporary small format tapestry weavers it might bethe ultimate irony that the enormous tapestries of medievalEurope were, in most cases, based on the very small, highlydetailed and often fanciful illustrations of illuminated manu-scripts. The miniature sensibilities of its source material canbe seen in medieval tapestry's elaborate use of anecdotal detail.This is an example of what Kathe Todd-Hooker, in her article,refers to as "large in format, but small in scale."

Miniatures are not a large image shrunk small. Small-scalework requires a special sensitivity, a fundamental shift in think-ing about space and scale. The authors in this issue of TapestryTopics refer to: a careful consideration of "the proportionbetween… design components and… fiber components"(Lindenstrauss); the scale of the woven mark (Maffei); theminiature's ability to "suggest considerable expansiveness"(Dieterich) and "tak[ing] a very large subject and distill[ing] itdown to its essence" (Hart).

By collapsing a world within the smallest of spaces, minia-tures condense meaning, pulling us in to explore their fantasticand ever expanding world. Susan Stewart, in her essay entitledMiniatures says, "The miniature has the capacity to make itscontext remarkable; its fantastic qualities are related to whatlies outside in such a way as to transform the total context…Amid such transformations of scale, the exaggeration of theminiature must continually assert a principle of balance andequivalence, or the narrative will become grotesque… Thespace is managed by simile and by the principles of equiva-lence existing between the body and nature. Scale is estab-lished by means of a set of correspondences to the familiar."(Stewart, Susan. On Longing: Narratives of the Miniature, theGigantic, the Souvenir, the Collection. Durham: DukeUniversity Press, 1993. p. 37 ff)

In addition to the metaphoric and suggestive possibilities ofsmall format work, many practical advantages accompanyworking small. Many of our contributors cited the ability towork through ideas more quickly, the ease in shipping workand the portability of small looms. Ruth Manning began weav-ing miniatures when she moved into a smaller home. She sub-sequently found that the limits of size and scale opened newavenues for artistic growth. Joyce Hayes reflects, "The act ofweaving [in a small format] is physically comfortable, which isimportant because, at twenty ends per inch, my pieces take along time to weave." In addition, Joyce feels her artistic sensi-bilities fit within the scale of miniatures.

A heartfelt thanks to all of the authors in this issue ofTapestry Topics. I hope you enjoy their unique insights. Maythey inspire you to explore small format tapestry. In the wordsof Marjolyn Van de Wel, "Working small is addictive."

Our Deepest Gratitude is extendedto Pat Spark, studio partner of Kathe ToddHooker, for saving the day with the loan ofher digital projector for the ATA forum,Reinventing Landscape, in Tampa.

Bravo and Thanks! to Lany Eila forediting the last issue and to Mary Lane forspearheading the current theme.

Upcoming Themes:October 1 deadline will feature Conferences and

Events of the past year that we have not yet been ableto cover. If you have seen tapestry shows, attendedlectures or conferences or have had unique tapestryexperiences in your recent travels, let us know aboutthem. January 15: Stimulating Creativity: a discus-sion about books, disciplines and other resources togenerate or sustain a fresh outlook. April 1: TheMateriality of Surface: commentary highlightingwork that has distinctive surfaces.

Newslet ter of the American Tapestry Al l iance 3

surrounded by a protective outer-wrapper preserved from aSong (960 - 1279) mounting in the British Museum. It isapproximately. 10" x 7.5" (25 cm x 20cm), small in size bywestern historical values, although the general arrangementof a peony amongst hydrangeas is not. Small format?

Ah, and my favorite subject, Andean historical tapestry.Does the very small general make-up of the repetitive pat-terning in the amazing tunics classify them as small format?For example, the Inca tunic in the Dumbarton Oaks muse-um called "All-t'oqapu Tunic" (1440-1540) is comprised of312 small units, 156 on each side. The warp sett is 38-48ends per inch (15-19 per cm) with the weft woven at anamazing 147-170 picks per inch (98-108 per cm). We cansee depicted within these 312 units a miniature tunic of the

standard black and white checkerboardpattern. It appears 33 times. Does thisgeneral overall small arrangement makethis a small format tunic? Or must welook to the individual miniature tunics,woven for children or dolls, or as gifts tothe gods? "Miniature Tunic withCheckerboard Design" appeared in theMetropolitan exhibit "The Colonial Andes:Tapestries and Silverwork 1530-1830." Itis10.5" x 8"(garment dimension) with 22-23 warps per inch (9.5 per cm) and 80wefts per inch (32 per cm.) Small format?Or miniature? Or both?

Have you ever noticed how small-scale items (miniatures) have a specialprecious quality, whether it is a piece ofchildren's furniture in the antique world, ababy animal or a miniature version of justabout anything, including a tapestry?

Today small format exhibitions areusually defined by an overall size. (I wonder if this is relat-ed to the fact that we see images every day from either theTV or the computer screen in miniature format?)Requirements for these small format exhibits vary. TheAnger miniature show in France stipulates under 4" square;the upcoming juried ATA small format show requires nomore than 100 square inches; the recent Australian "Land"exhibit specified that the tapestry must be 4" high and couldbe any length. Some of the works in this exhibit were solong that they went half way around a large room. Are theystill small format? I have never noticed any restrictions onthe warp sett. It could be 4 ends to the inch or 24. Becauseof this the work may have large-scale mark making, or themarks may be miniature in scale. In the "Land" exhibitwhat I would call miniatures seemed more small formatthan the others.

Perhaps I should look up miniature: Miniature, a smallpainting or illuminated letter, as in a medieval manuscript.2. (a) a small painting, especially a portrait, done on ivory,

SMALL FORMAT?By Susan Martin Maffei

In considering the meaning of small format, whatcomes first to my mind are Persian and Indian miniatures.Is it their small size or is it the small scale of the imagery,or both? I have always found a strong connection betweenthe mural and the miniature. The designers of medievaltapestries often used illuminated manuscripts as their mod-els. Perhaps they too saw the connection. The mural sur-rounds the viewer; the miniature pulls you into its world.In Persian miniatures and illuminated manuscripts the termsmall format encompasses both the overall size of the workand the intricate and fine nature of the images depicted. Inboth cases, the images are narratives.

The Metropolitan Museum of Artowns "Still Life, Autumn," a tour deforce of weaving by the Beauvais tap-estry workshop in France. It wasdesigned in 1845 by Theude Gronlandand woven in 1846 by RigobertMilice. It depicts a bouquet of flowersthat are about life size, 25" x 21"(64cm x 53cm) and sett very finely at30 warps to the inch (12 per cm). Isthis small format? It certainly is not aminiature, but it is a small tapestry bythe standards of the day. In today'stapestry world would this qualify as asmall format work?

I go to the dictionary and look upthe word format. Format, the shape,size, binding, type, paper, and generalmake-up or arrangement of a book,magazine, etc. I guess the etc. must bethe tapestry part. According to this definition, small for-mat would be the small shape, small size and small scaleof the make-up or arrangement of our tapestry.

What historical tapestries might fit into this definition?Coptic tapestry is certainly well represented by smallimages woven into large garments. Here the vehicle is notnarrative, but portraiture. "Hanging with heads ofDionysian group" from late 5th-early 6th century andattributed to Antinopolis comes to mind. It is 40.5 " x62.5" (102cm x 158 cm) and is composed of 12 portraits(originally 15) accompanied by decorative details. It is notsmall by most standards, but it is certainly small in termsof detail, warp sett and images. Is that considered generalmake-up, or arrangement? Would we consider this to besmall format?

Shall we go to Asia? Silk tapestry, kesi, a new luxuryart of 12th century China was used to make wrappers forprecious scrolls. The "Admonitions of the Instructress tothe Court Ladies" is a scroll attributed to Gu Daizhi and

ADMONITIONS SCROLL COVER FirstMasterpiece of Chinese Painting: The

Admonitions Scroll, Shane McCausland,George Braziller, Publishers, NY, 2003,

chapter 4, pg. 93-95 and pg.120


vellum, et.; (b) the art of making such paintings. 3. a copyor model on a very small scale. In miniature; on a smallscale; greatly reduced. Interesting! Does that mean thatminiatures are small format, but small format is not neces-sarily a miniature? Perhaps we should just move on andleave these questions to ponder further.

And so how does my concept of small format apply tomy work both in the making and the dissemination ofskills? Small works have always been encouraged inworkshops that teach the principals of tapestry. Theyallow students to progress through ideas fairly quickly.However, many times the small works are just samples ofa bigger tapestry and not a completed idea conceived as asmall format item. Are these small format samples orjust samples?

Small format exhibitions, such as the one that accom-panies Convergence, allow for an overview of currentwork within the small world of tapestry. More and moreinternational organizations realize the practical advantagesof small format shows, both in terms of cost (shipping andcustoms) and access to a larger audience. What was oncea mural art only for the wealthy is now available to all ona domestic scale. (Is domestic scale considered small for-mat in the European aesthetic?)

There are not many people that work in tapestry in amural format, unless it is in a professional workshop likethe Gobelins in Paris, the Victorian Tapestry Workshop inAustralia, the Dovecot in Scotland or West Dean inBritain. Large works by artist/weavers in today's worldtend to be of domestic size, up to, perhaps, 6' x 8', unlessdone by special commission for public spaces. And thenthere are the very small works, as small as 1.5" x 1.5", atthe other end of the spectrum. (The winner of the mainprize for the "Land" exhibit was close to this size). Mywork seems to fit in at the two extremes of size format.However, I do think of all of my work as a general minia-ture arrangement whether large or small.

Over the years I have woven many small formatworks. Some represented the exploration of ideas and thedevelopment of skills as I evolved a particular way ofworking freely on the loom with little help from prepara-tory drawings. Most have been conceived as completecompositions, not samples. My work tends to be narrativeand for me small format means miniature in terms of themark making, and in most instances, a finer warp sett andfiner wefts. Perhaps that is why Persian and Indian minia-tures began this bit of musing. They have had a big influ-ence on how I create visual narratives, whether working ina large or small size.

Having established that there is a definite relationshipbetween small and miniature in my work, I will explorethe how and why. I begin with the attractions of workingsmall. Time is one feature that has already been mentionedas an advantage in working small. Portability is another.My life style requires extended travel and because tapestryis the mainstay, passion and center of my life, I choose toweave while traveling. So, have loom, will travel, as Icontinually search for a language that speaks only throughthe medium and within my visual narrative.

A particular technique that has developed as a resultof working small (although I also use it occasionally inlarge work) is the discipline of four selvedge weaving.For small items it has the advantage of not having warpends add bulk to the finished work. It also eliminatesadditional finishing, which brings us back to the time fac-tor and leads us into presentation. Large works hang wellon their own without framing but small works are a bitmore problematic. Since there is really no precedent forframing, it is an open journey. Often the requirements areset by the terms of an exhibit, which helps to unify agrouping of mixed pieces. In the past I suggested a wayof mounting that was used by galleries and museums inthe stabilization and presentation of small textiles that willhang on a wall (For information on both four selvedge andmounting see the educational pages on: www.brennan-maffei.com). Mounting a tapestry on a stretcher framecovered by fabric keeps the integrity of the textile and alsoprovides a surrounding space, either by shadow or by aborder that separates the small work from the wall, literal-ly giving it a small wall of its own. Lately I have beenlooking at mounting methods that make small works moreportable and less stiff. In particular I am looking at Asianworks and the scroll format. And so another journeybegins. We can find many roads of information and inspi-ration in historical works from all cultures. You know thatold adage, "nothing new under the sun." I shall end mymusings on that note and ask you to consider the question:what is small format for you?

Susan Martin Maffei, IN THE WOODS IN INWOOD (detail) 12" x 65"


studio, "recuerdos de georgia"was woven for a Día de losMuertos exhibit. I wove land-scapes for two other exhibits atthe same venue, "desert island -espíritu santo," depicting sunsetover the large island, IslaEspíritu Santo, in BajaCalifornia Sur and "earth &sky," a scene of the VermillionCliffs in northern Arizona. Itwas very interesting that as Iwove them both I was actuallyfeeling that maybe they wouldhave been much better if theyhad been done on a large scale(by now I had acquired an old45" Tissart that I was restoringand am still working the "kinks"out of). I had also read an arti-cle in an art magazine describingthe difficulty of selling smallerworks because the price pointcan be very high when com-pared to size. Some of the otherworks in those group exhibitswere very large scale, and I was

thinking that maybe my little tapestries were getting lostin the shuffle. Interestingly, those two tapestries were thefirst pieces that I sold. In the exhibit in which "earth &sky" was included, it was displayed on a pedestal under aPlexiglas display box with two beautiful pieces of jewelryby other artists. I was struck and delighted by the won-derful juxtaposition that arrangement created. During theartists' reception, several people stopped to tell me thatthey had caught glimpses of my small tapestry from acrossthe room and felt very compelled to come over for a clos-er look. The words of one person, which were laterechoed by the exhibit curator, really helped dissolve anydoubts I had about weaving "small" landscapes. She toldme that I had taken a very large subject and distilled itdown to its essence, accurately depicting its grandeur, yetcreating an intimacy that drew the viewer in.

My weaving isn't focused solely on exhibitions. I amparticular; the exhibit's theme has to speak to me, to sparkan idea that I was already contemplating weaving. Lifetook me on a few detours before I was able to fulfill mydream of becoming an artist, and seeing my tapestries dis-played in exhibits gives me a great deal of personal satis-faction. Becoming excited about an exhibit's theme stimu-lates me, having a deadline helps me stay motivated, andweaving small format allows me to formulate, design, andweave a piece in a timely manner so I can move on to thenext idea hovering in my mind.

Let's Get SmallBy Lyn Hart

Weaving small format wasn'ta conscious choice for me; ithappened through circumstance.Like most tapestry weavers, Ilearned to weave tapestry on aframe loom. I was unsure ofwhether I could afford, or evenfind, a large tapestry loom, and Ialso felt that perfecting myweaving skills would come moreeasily on a smaller loom. I real-ly wasn't even aware at that timethat small format was a "catego-ry." I tried several differenttypes of small looms until Iended up choosing, and becom-ing very satisfied with, the 16"Mirrix on which I still weave mysmall tapestries. Another reasonfor me to work on a small loomwas its portability; my husbandand I make regular trips in asmall camper to our mountainproperty in southern New Mexico to escape the blisteringsummer heat in Tucson. The loom had to be small enoughto fit in with everything else we haul to this very primitivecamping site. I have whiled away much happy time weav-ing in the fresh, cool, and balsam scented mountain air.

When I found the courage to enter my first exhibit, itwas an open entry call from Tohono Chul Park forArizona-themed fiber art postcards. Size was a strictrequirement; all works had to be 4" x 6" and mailed to theexhibit sans envelope or container. I wove "CactusWren," which is our state bird. The tapestry portrays thebird larger than its actual size; I chose to weave just itshead, trying to capture some of the inquisitive, investiga-tive nature of this bird instead of depicting it sitting in theclassical static "bird pose" on a branch. The experience ofweaving, submitting, and then seeing my little tapestry inthe exhibit was addictive. It also spawned the idea of adesert birds postcard series. I wove another 4" x 6" birdpiece, Verdin, again representing only a portion of the birdmuch larger than actual size and capturing its very lithenature. This tapestry was my first acceptance into a juriedexhibit, HGA's "Small Expressions 2007." As I woveother pieces and submitted them for exhibits, I discoverednot only was I enjoying having my works displayed, I alsocould design and weave these small works quickly.

I have continued to participate in group exhibits atTohono Chul Park, and everything I have shown there hasbeen small format. Using a card table to set up my weav-ing space while our garage was being renovated into my

Lyn Hart, RECUERDOS DE GEORGIA, 10" x 14", 2007;bamboo, natural & synthetic dyed wool, photographic

image printed on cotton twill, silk paper


Thinking SmallBy Mary Dieterich

"Small" is no stranger in my life. Having spent a great amount of time working in the biological sci-ences, viewing life behind a microscope, I am comfortable in the environment of things small scale. It wasthe "small" in my scientifically based experience that must have morphed into the small tapestries that Iweave today.

To create images that easily measure within a hand's width calls for a special dedication. However, evenimages that suggest considerable expansiveness can be rendered in small dimensions. Visual emphasis is acritical element that must be considered in addition to all of the other design criteria. This is an aspect thatgreatly influenced my experience in producing small-scale works. As a beginning weaver I assumed that tap-

estries were large and formidable. Later I learned about thesmall-scale works produced by various cultures in the world - theCoptic and Andean especially. The size of these examples wasmore in keeping with my sense of scale.

Working in a small format demands close attention to thetapestry's restricted size. The weaver, as well as the viewer, isdrawn close to the work through details: size, relationshipsbetween elements and compatibility with personal experience.I am drawn to detail and the subtle connections between form,color and size. When designing for a small-scale work I feelthe design must maintain its own integrity. In my mind, thestarting point is scale. Planning begins with the dimensions ofthe space I want to fill. I don't work with a large design that isthen cut, compressed or shrunk to fit the space. Images aredrawn at the size they will be woven so that I can judge theamount of detail possible within that format and balance detailwith the overall composition.

I see as important the ability of the viewer to connect person-al experience to the work. Weaving a tapestry of any dimension is an opportunity to encourage internal dis-cussion and the small format contributes a visual component to a personal conversation. I work in the hopethat my finished pieces will be viewed most often by one individual at a time, one who will use his or herown experience as a reference point for understanding the work. The individual's reactions generated by thetapestry make the work personal in a way that only begins with the woven image. We often speak of mean-ing within a work of art. But meaning is not always ordained. I hope that the personal experience of theviewer will invest additional meaning to my work. I hope to stimulate reaction, not direct it.

Working small is consistent with the way I view the immensity of the world around me. I am most ableto find confirmation and challenge within the confines of a smaller format. I trust the nature of the small toinform me about the reality of the grand.

Among the challenges associated with the creation of a small tapestry is that of maintaining its integrityas a work of art. Small works can suffer if they are seen as "cute" or "precious." The weaving, as a whole,needs to be important in all respects in order to justify the attention that it deserves. Content is one part ofthis. What does the tapestry weaver wish to convey? Beyond content, other aspects arise, for example, exot-ic, textured yarns and unusual color combinations and usages. Surprising combinations of unique materialsneed to be carefully justified, visually and conceptually. What do these elements contribute? Are they to betaken seriously? One needs to keep in mind whether the choices are promoting a specific concept orindulging one's embrace of the unexpected, the off the wall and the reaction of "How did you do that?" Thisis not to say that this approach has no legitimacy. Presenting a feast for the eyes can be seen as a purpose.Indulging in fun and embracing surprise can carry a concept too. The audience is given permission to enjoythe laughter. So is the weaver. Working within a small format attracts an audience that shares this interest.

Weaving in small dimensions forms an intimate connection with kindred spirits - whether few or many.One hopes for that connection, works towards it and is inspired by it. As one viewer once put it: "Small tap-estries are human-sized." I think she "got" it!

Mary Dieterich, WATER SLIDE 5.75 x 7 1999 Photo by John H. Dieterich


Embracing Fine ThreadsBy Joyce E. Hayes

My journey towards small format tapestry looks muchlike a bell curve. I began small with prints and drawings,progressed to large paintings and bound-woven rugs, andback down again to my current small format tapestries.Reflecting back on my larger work, there was always adisconnect, a discomfort with the materials and tools. Ididn't know what to do with the larger space and strug-gled to fill it with compelling imagery. Twyla Tharp, inher book, The Creative Habit (p.37), suggests that we allhave a preference for "seeing the world either from a greatdistance, at arm's length or close-up" and that it is in ourDNA, "and we generally don't waver from it."

As a student, I vividly remember stretching a 6' by 6'canvass with beautiful natural linen from Ireland, which Ithen primed with a clear acrylic medium instead of gesso.Although I proceeded with the painting, I recall feelingthat the primed canvas was more beautiful and perfect thanmy painting. I loved the texture of the linen's fine weave,its subtle brown and gray color, and the polished finishthat the medium created.

Miniatures have an intimacy and an economy of space.We invite the viewer in for a closer look. Because I don'twant to distract from my message, the technique must beprecise. Each pass of the weft counts. The physical spaceis small, so I home in on the details of a moment or aglimpse, then flesh out the fine points.

Small formats are a good fit for me. I enjoy the preci-sion and detail oriented approach that it demands, and Iappreciate that no space is wasted. Every square inchmust count. The act of weaving is physically comfortable,which is important because, at twenty ends per inch, mypieces take a long time to weave. As I weave, I get into arhythm and my attention never strays because there arealways details that need tending to.

continued...

My transition to tapestry weaving was not easy. For twoyears I did not weave and could not face the thought of cre-ating another bound woven rug. I started painting watercol-ors and used those to create collages. While I found thisinteresting, I knew that it would be unfulfilling in the longterm. I wanted to return to weaving but the shelves of woolin my studio bogged me down and my custom-madeMacomber loom immobilized me. I closed the door on mypast work and dragged out books on tapestry weaving. Iwas in a hurry and terribly impatient, so I skipped the sam-pling exercises and relied upon pictures and illustrationsinstead. Two weeks later I began my first tapestry basedupon one of my watercolor collages.

The seeds for my renewed interest in tapestry wereplanted 15 years earlier during a course with four visitinginstructors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.Diane Itter, an innovator in the art of knotting, not onlytaught us proper technique, but also discussed the creativeprocess - where ideas come from, what catches your atten-tion, and the importance of scale and detail. Because sheworked in miniature, she emphasized that the materialsneeded to be fine and in harmony with the scale. ElizabethTuttle, another instructor, presented her pictorial crochetwork that used cotton-sewing thread. I was enthralled withhow she took several colors and moved from color to colorby using 3-4 threads in a bundle; the energy in her workcame from this subtle movement of color.

The materials I use in my own work have been careful-ly chosen. I prefer cotton sewing threads because I liketheir feel and look. There has been much trial and errorfinding the threads because they need just the right fine-ness, twist, and shine. The hunt for new and interestingmaterials is constant.

When I work with fine threads, the weaving surfaceinfluences the overall look of the piece. In my early tapes-tries, ribbing was a concern because of the stretchiness ofthe cotton seine twine that I used for warp. Once I switchedto linen, the ribbing disappeared. The warp and weft ratio isalso an ongoing conversation, which I revisit often. At thistime I have settled on a smoother surface that needs fewerthreads in the weft bundle, allowing me to create finerdetail. This ratio not only affects the visual surface, it alsoaffects the feel of the cloth. The result is a dense and intri-cate tapestry, which, for me, is more than a two-dimensionaldesign. It becomes a three-dimensional object.

The tapestry has been woven, the warp has been dealtwith, and the back has been trimmed. So what now? Is thisjust another pretty hot pad? Before a tapestry is complete, Imust consider how the work will be finished and readied fordisplay. Presentation is a big part of the piece and the ideasand possibilities never end. For me it is important to createan environment for the work so that it doesn't get lost on thewall, whether in a home or in a gallery. Joyce Hayes, BACH 2 PART INVENTION #3

12" x 16.25" Linen warp, cotton sewing thread andmetallics for weft on watercolor paper background, acrylic

paint and colored pencil. Photo by Art and Soul

Over the years I've approached tapestry design in avariety of ways. My first attempts as a young girl wereactually charted out on graph paper, needlepoint being myonly frame of reference, as I engaged in the practice of hitand miss in my tapestry development. Later I made draw-ings that were painstakingly inked on warps. I havedesigned from photographs and I've sat down to warpswith a group of yarns I was attracted to and let them tellme where I'm going. Now I use what it takes, combiningphotographs, watercolors and those talking warps.

I've always been an artist who works in series. Thatfirst year of change I went back to my weaving roots, aone-inch warp of woven words. A tour to Mexico contin-ues to be important in a lot of undefined ways, a focus onjourneys taken, distance traveled in real time and in themind. Lately I've been looking more closely at familypictures, thinking maybe that's all that really matters. Atrip to Savannah by train brought back old memories ofriding the Reading Railroad in high school. Ideas havenever been a problem for me.

I take photos and collect them; most of them are notvery good. This keeps me from becoming devoted to thephoto. If it's part of my family series, I might see anexpression caught that I realize I know very well, or in thecase of my recent train series, I might just take randompictures out the window. I print them out quite smallwhich keeps me guessing at the details. These photosbecome watercolors or at least parts of them do. The tap-estry is always the end in mind; my focus is shapes andthe value of the colors I'm placing in them.

Of course, we know tapestry is not watercolor. Thewatery nuances of the painting begin to disappear when Iget to the loom; shapes are discarded that don't conform tothe demands of warp and weft. The relationship betweenphoto, watercolor and tapestry becomes more distant,more like second cousins twice removed.

The Value of LimitsBy Ruth Manning

I used to weave large tapestries. In fact, I wove manypieces at once: five looms, all filled: a 4 x 6 foot tapestryon the standing frame loom my dad built, a 3 foot widepiece on the Shannock loom, a square foot on the Hagenloom and a few small pipe looms scattered around withideas on them. I'm a person that likes to have many pansin the fire. That way you are always busy, but you can stillgive yourself time to look and ponder the next step on anygiven piece.

I used to have space, did I ever; 600 square feet of itwith those walls of yarn that obsessive fiber people knowabout, organized in color groups, shelves of books, furni-ture from home, enough space for groups to meet, classesto be taught. I used to have time. Other than the needs ofmy family, I wove all day. Tapestry weavers know aboutgetting lost in that "Zen state" of weaving. Before youknow it, its time to wonder what's for dinner.

Life is always changing. Some might call this "oppor-tunities for growth" and the more cynical among us mightroll our eyes, but in the past six years that's what hap-pened to me. As my life changed, so did the approach tomy artwork, and, in the end, the pieces I'm surrounded byare better. Five years later I no longer have to strugglewith deciding what size my tapestries will be; I onlyweave the very small. My looms are two 10-inch pipelooms, what we happily called the "Archie Looms" in pastworkshops. A few bobbins my dad made for me, scissors,a spool of gray thread, a needle and a dozen tote bags ofyarn stuffed in various spots in my house complete theinventory. The studio is part of the house and did I men-tion the house is 800 square feet? My working space isone corner of the middle room with a window and a spotfor my cup of coffee, probably 8 square feet of workingspace. It is here that I weave faithfully every morning forforty-five minutes. I'm a fulltime elementary art teacher.


During this process I also take care to use archivalmaterials. Because I mount my weavings on watercoloredpaper, I need to consider the delicacy of the surface andoften use glass (always UV rated) when framing whichgalleries and buyers prefer. Yet, since glass often detractsfrom the weaving's surface, I frequently go without, whichviewers prefer. Fortunately, there are products availablenow that can be used to protect paper from the environ-ment and fingerprints.

Finally, I choose the color of the mounting by placingthe tapestry in a high traffic area of my house and glanc-ing at it for several of weeks until an answer comes as tohow the piece should look when it is complete. Ideally,the result is a well-designed and cohesive object.

Ruth Manning, VIEW OF UNA CASITA 10" x 9" 2008


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I am a child of my grandmothers. When I began weav-ing, my love of small handwork transferred to small for-mat/small scale pieces. Please note that I said small format/small scale. Small format pieces woven in large scale, withtheir coarser rib structure, lack of detail, and overly simpli-fied design are not what I wish to weave. However, thereare others who do it well and create beautiful small piecesin larger scale.

I also love small things because they can easily bemoved from place to place; more of them fit into small andmobile spaces. Large format work has many limitations.Modern homes with low ceilings are not conducive to verylarge pieces unless the work is hung horizontally or in astairwell. Tapestries can be overwhelming and oppressivewithout the proper space around them.

Small work invites you to stand closer, to become inti-mate with the piece. Small things are precious in manyways. Large format work can be imposing, looming, evenintimidating. Small format work is often deceptively non-imposing; the size makes it precious and intimate, approach-able. One's experience with the work is more private.

Many people think that small works are a sampler for alarger work or that one weaves smaller because it's faster.Others believe that small format is less complex, less mean-ingful, less narrative, less symbolic or a second choicebecause you don't own a large loom, can't afford the materi-als, your body is falling apart or a large piece would be toodifficult to exhibit. In some cases this may be true, but notin mine. I have never found small format/small scale tapes-try to be more limiting than large format tapestry. Limitsare in the mind of the artist, not in the format.

I believe that the following three things must be consid-ered when weaving tapestry in any format: There is a differ-ence between scale and format. To me format has to dowith size - the amount of territory a piece covers. Size canvary from two warp threads wide to thousands of warp

But there is the wonder of pick and pick and the amaz-ing difference between a chenille and a tightly twistedwool; throw in some silk and a piece of novelty yarnsomeone gave me twenty years ago and I remember whyI'm still sitting here, after all these years picking up everyother warp and passing through that piece of yarn. My stu-dents often call it "string." This affronted me at first, butthere is a humble beauty about that idea, much like theirlollipop trees and corner suns.

Yes, I am very limited these days, but somehow, someway, and perhaps because of that, my work has grown.Perhaps it's the slowing down (a silly thing to say - whenis tapestry NOT slow….), no more deadlines to meet, achance to take time to wonder, should I turn on this warpor the next.

One Convergence many years ago I took a workshopwith Archie, Susan, Jean Pierre and Yael. I rememberweaving a 1" warp with Archie as he led us through exer-cises that seemed pointless at the time, stripes that madelittle landscapes; one might have a slight bump, one used anovelty, another turned on the second warp rather than thefirst. So what?

Now I know. This little tiny space, the time spent star-ing, sorting through the little balls in the corners, thechoices and the possibilities: can you show the feeling ofriding the Palmetto Train from Wilmington to Georgia with25 warps and a handful of string?

If it doesn't happen on this warp, perhaps it will onthe next.

Thoughts on Weaving SmallFormat TapestriesBy Kathe Todd-Hooker

Presently, I don't think of the size of a tapestry when Iam designing. I design the image I want to create and thenweave it in the size appropriate to the design. However,while in school, most of my professors insisted that Iweave large format work in order to be an "artist," eventhough bigger was never comfortable for me or more desir-able. It took me years to understand that in the long term,what they thought didn't matter. I should weave for myselfand think of others (the critics) later.

Since childhood I have loved handwork that I can carrywith me. My Grandmothers - one raised in a subsistenceculture and one who was considered "upper crust" -believed that a person should stay busy. They always hadprojects that could be shoved in a pocket, creating bothwhat one would call women's "fribble," those items thatseem to be created from nothing, and objects made withthe best materials. It was important to create beauty andharmony in all the items of everyday existence.

Kathe Todd Hooker, HOME 7.5" x 5", Weft-sewing thread-embroidery floss-cotton

Warp-dual duty craft thread Epi 20-22


challenge that includes transparency and drapery. I findthat I weave about ten small tapestries to one large piece -always scheduled with deadlines, which in itself sayssomething about preferences.

The small piece that I am just beginning on my otherloom tells a story that the viewer needs to stand closer to,feel more intimate about. The design for the larger formattapestry is more stand-offish and almost oppressive whencompared to the small format pieces that I weave. Thesmall size becomes an invitation to create meaning orempathy within a small area. It's more personable: a com-plex story of bewilderment and chaos- those things barelyunderstandable, or not understood by me at least.

My small format work often appears to be decorative,but usually has highly charged personal symbols andspeaks metaphorically of my life experiences. Small for-mat work allows me to do this almost surreptitiously. Iprefer images that have double meanings, such as those inTarot cards, or meanings that are conflicted because of thethree different cultures to which I belong. My images allhave meanings. You may recognize my intent or you maychoose your own understanding. This possible confusionin meaning can be a wonderful outcome; your meaningmight be more relevant than mine in the understandingof an image.

I would hope that the viewer would first see the designof my work and only consider the technique, medium, andsize after deciding about the appropriateness and meaningof the design. To me everything breaks down to a simplequestion: Does the design reflect what I am trying to say?

I wonder if there is a gender issue surrounding format,materials and appropriate sizes for tapestries? I knowfrom experience there is a gender issue surrounding flow-ers and decorative work in galleries and exhibits. When Ifirst started weaving tapestry in the late 70's, small formattapestry wasn't allowed in tapestry shows. Lack of accept-ance of small format always reminded me that large for-mat tapestries weren't necessarily allowed in "art" shows.Some time in the mid-90's this begin to change. I pro-duced my first small format pieces in the late 80's andearly 90's. Finding venues to show small tapestries wasdifficult. Small Expressions, an ITNET small formatshow and "It's About Time" all helped make small formattapestries more acceptable. People's perception andexpectations of tapestry are changing because the world ischanging rapidly. Tapestry is becoming more grass rootsand is no longer tied to large looms, large commissions,workshops, etc. People may not have the time or thespace for large tapestry, but they may be able to weave asmall tapestry on a small loom. The Internet and the sheeramount of information available allow anyone to try smallformat tapestry.

threads wide. Scale, on the other hand, defines the ribstructure and perhaps the amount of detail possible in agiven space. A piece can be large in format, but small inscale, for example, an intricately detailed dragon robe.

Tapestry is a technique not defined by material or sizeor shape. The materials must allow the tapestry to fulfillits function, whether it be a wall piece, a pair of Copticshoes, a small cloth worn under the clothing to declareone's personal connection to God or a lover, or a patch onthe seat of a pair of trousers. Tapestry can be woven withwool, silk, linen, sewing thread or any material that canbecome a strand and is pliable. For example, in medievalFrance tapestry slippers were woven with a straw warp andwool wefts. As late as early 19th century Coptic weaversmade them from cotton, silk, and silver threads. Shapeconforms to function and perhaps symbolic need, for exam-ple a shaped Navajo rug.

I weave both large and small format. I weave large andsmall scale. My preference in personal work is small for-mat/small scale. I use the exact same tapestry techniquesin both large and small format and in large and small scale.It takes me just as long to weave a small format piece as alarge format piece because of the denser warp sett. Largeformat pieces are 10 epi. Small format/small scale work is20-22 epi. The time invested in labor is the same.

My materials are often the same for either format orscale. I have used sewing thread and embroidery floss andrayon at both setts though I prefer wool for large setts andsewing thread for the smaller setts. Usually I don't like thefuzzy surface of wool in my smaller pieces because I wantthe more defined edges of shapes that cotton gives. Thispreference is beginning to show itself in my larger woolpieces. I am switching from woolen threads to worstedwool, whose longer staple produces a flatter surface. Mychoice of materials, therefore, depends on the surface that Iwant. I find that four threads of sewing thread or embroi-dery floss rayon at 20 epi is equivalent to 4-6 strands ofwool at 10 epi. I keep that in mind when designing anddeciding on the techniques I will use to create my images.I am more likely to use hatches in small-scale pieces thanhachures. I am less likely to use a bobbin with small for-mat/small scale weaving.

I design and weave in two styles: colour studies thatdeal with the sky and atmospheric light; and personalimages that are narratives of my surroundings and life.The images in both styles are often photo realistic andslightly stylized. I combine many images within a piece.When I design a new piece, I journal, collect images andcreate lists of things I know about the subject - images,symbols, colour, the story I wish it to tell. Scale and for-mat are decided after the piece is designed. Some storiesdemand a certain size. My preference is usually to weavesmall format. But the large format/large scale piece (10epi/6'by 4') I have on the loom now has its own story and a


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scale is familiar. These references often involve people,either explicitly, for example, when the object is a glove,or implicitly, for example, when the work uses the factthat the viewer would dwarf the object. Miniature worksmight reflect the object's true dimensions, or they mightmake their point by distorting sizes. Some very success-ful miniatures, in fact, monumentally magnify an objectthat in real life is smaller.

This last paragraph describes my goal in makingminiature textiles. En route to achieving this goal, Iwould like to describe three miniatures I have made,about which I can at least say this: they really had to besmall. The first, "Maxwell's Demon," is named after ahypothetical device that would sort molecules into slow-er ones on one side, and faster ones on the other. Athought experiment shows that such a device cannotexist, since if it did, it could be used to contradict theSecond Law of Thermodynamics. But it is an amusingidea to try to visualize, anyway. Molecules were a littletoo small to portray, so I got the hypothetical demon tofix mixed-up rainbows. I tried to capture his industriousbusiness with the small things he was sorting.

The second, "Love Across the Atlantic," is a silkembroidery in which the canvas was cut in the shape ofan airmail envelope. On this canvas, I embroideredsmall tokens that my grandmother, my mother and I havesent each other across the Atlantic at different times.

The third piece, "Workman's Lunch and Tea," wasmade as part of a series about the Banjara people ofIndia and their traditional nomadic lifestyle. Its shape issomewhat reminiscent of Banjara bags, important ele-ments in a traveling household. The imagery depictingroad construction refers to a traditional Banjara occupa-tion. My piece is not very functional, but if it were, it

Embroidering a Small CanvasBy Ayelet Lindenstrauss Larsen

As I embroider, I think a lot about the surfaces and tex-tures I am producing; I want each stitch to be there for a rea-son. In restricting my work to a small format, I try to get theviewer to look at my work from up close, the way I do.

Textiles are unique among the craft media in havingminiatures as a well-developed, oft-exhibited sub-genre.The traditional dichotomy in European textiles wasbetween art - public, large and formal, and craft - private,small and possibly more spontaneous. The art-fabricmovement sought to break this dichotomy by uniting theroles of designer and maker, pushing material and tech-nique to the fore. This led to artists exploring differentfibers and methods of construction in new and wonderfulways. These textiles were large, sometimes monumental.Sheer size was used to make the viewer aware of the par-ticular qualities of the textile.

The modern genre of miniature textiles evolved inthe 1960s and 1970s as a reaction to these larger works.Confident enough to jettison size as a means of valida-tion, some artists were ready to call attention to thenature of the fibers within a very small, rather than avery large, format. The new work commanded viewers'attention like an exquisite seashell, rather than a tower-ing rock face. For practical reasons, more people couldproduce such work, and it was easier to exhibit. So thegenre prospered.

The British sculptor Henry Moore said: "If you photographed it against a blank wall in whichyou had nothing to refer it to but itself—or you pho-tographed it against the sky against infinite dis-tance—a small thing only a few inches big mightseem, if it had a monumental scale, to be any size.Now this is a quality which I personally think allreally great sculpture has; it's a quality which, for me,all the great painters have - Rubens, Masaccio,Michelangelo - all the great painters, artists, andsculptors have this monumental sense.'' (HenryMoore: Writings and Conversations, ed. AlanWilkinson, University of California Press, 2002).

Moore says that a truly successful form, or image, iscompelling on any scale. This is not the same as sayingthat it is scale-free, and should affect us in the same waywhatever its actual size. A textile, in particular, alwayshas a scale set by its materials. We expect certain mate-rials to be certain sizes. When they are otherwise theyare surprising and make us question their use. The idealminiature textile should satisfy Moore's test of being suc-cessful at any scale, but it should best fit its actualdimensions. Its small size should be determined by theproportion between its design components and its fibercomponents, or by external references to objects whose

Ayelet Lindenstrauss Larsen, LOVE ACROSS THEATLANTIC 4.5" x 6.5" 2002 cotton, silk, and found doily

on silk organza and cotton canvas

would be a combination lunch bag/teapot/emergencyroad sign; the compactness is that of the traveler's mate-rial possessions.

All three pieces are embroidered on canvas—I do notweave much tapestry, but of all other crafts, I feel that theaesthetic of tapestry weaving is closest to that of canvasembroidery. Which is why I am a member of the ATA!

A longer article Ayelet wrote on miniature textiles in theSummer 2003 issue of Fiberarts is available online athttp://www.fiberarts.com/article_archive/genres/bigger.asp


bought the seed from the McCrea House in Guelph, amuseum dedicated to John McCrea, the soldier who wrotethe poem, In Flanders Fields.

That experience set me on a path of weaving memo-ries. The next set of tapestries depicted the hands and feetof my day old cousins. Later, I wove the face of mygranddaughter in turquoise; she was born with a smile onher face. We moved to Chicago, where I woveCrossroads, a composite image that includes the farm inHolland where my husband was born, The Sears Tower inChicago and the cottage we loved on Georgian Bay.Looking over the water after our move back to Canada, wefound geese always around us and, hence, Togethernesswas born. My most recent tapestry was part of the exhibi-tion Woven Gems in Tampa. It shows my daughter playingthe saxophone on the beach, during a sunset. A saxophoneis difficult to weave in small format!

I usually scan my pictures into the computer, printthem in black and white and then add color with coloredpencils. I weave these tapestries on a small loom that Ican take with me on holidays. My yarn is thin, hand dyedwool. I blend three differently colored strands together inweft bundle. The warp is cotton sett at 5 to the centimeter,or 12 to the inch. Recently I have been stretching my tap-estries over a sheet of plexiglass, rather than framing them.

Working small is addictive; I am always searching forthe next design. My hope is to inspire other weavers.After you find a good design, it does not take that long tocomplete a tapestry.

Saving MemoriesBy Marjolyn Van der Wel

In 1984, when I was warping for my first tapestry, Iput on extra warp. This was the beginning of a longfriendship with small tapestries. It came at the perfecttime, because, after weaving large tapestries for theAmerican School and the American Church of The Hague,The Netherlands, I could not lift my arms anymore, but Istill loved weaving tapestries.

While still living in The Netherlands, I found fourgreen, square wooden frames and decided to weave asmall tapestry for an exhibition that was part ofConvergence, Cincinnati. It became the first in a set of 4poppy tapestries. The fourth piece was woven, with per-mission, from a photograph of Ingrid Boesel's, showingthe poppies in her garden in Guelph, ON. Ingrid had

Marjolyn Van der Wel TOGETHERNESS 9" x 8" 2006cotton, hand dyed wool and silk

Doors, Gates and Windows By Mary Colton

The tapestry project "Doors, Gates and Windows"(DGW) began with a simple question: what project wouldchallenge everyone in our group to weave a tapestry?

Our tapestry study group is one of several interestgroups of the Las Arañas Spinners and Weavers Guild ofAlbuquerque, New Mexico. Started by 3 weavers, thegroup has studied and shown together for about a decade,with a changing membership. When DGW began twoyears ago in 2006, we had a dozen active weavers. In thegroup were near-beginners as well as tapestry weavers ofmany years who have studied with well-known teachers.What kind of project would appeal to that range of back-ground, challenging the experienced without intimidatingthe inexperienced?

Several ideas from other groups started our discussion:cutting a picture into squares and giving each person a sec-tion to weave, weaving tapestry post cards from NewMexico, weaving a streetscape of adobe houses, and doingsomething related to the "Vamps to Visages" show of the


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Tapestry Weavers of Vancouver Island (TAPIS) at the 2002Vancouver Convergence. Each TAPIS member had woven a heador a pair of feet and then exchanged their tapestry with a partnerwho wove feet or a head that related to the original one.. At theVancouver Convergence, I stood, fascinated, in front of that exhib-it, matching the randomly arranged heads and feet.

Our group spent two meetings discussing options, whichallowed us to arrive at a plan that appealed to all of us and gaveeach person a sense of ownership of the project. That was key, wediscovered, when a small part of the group later tried to startanother project, which the rest of the group rejected.

Another key was choosing to adopt the 10" x 10" rules of theATA "Woven Gems" exhibit, which fit into our busy schedules (wechose 9" in the vertical dimension and no more than 10" wide).The rules also gave us a deadline and the promise that everyonecould be shown, since the show would not be juried.

The plan was for each of us to weave a door, gate or windowwe found in New Mexico. That would give us subjects we reallyknew but a whole state and several cultures from which to choose.At a subsequent meeting we brought our cartoons and marveled atthe variety of ideas that were developing.

While these tapestries were still being designed, several of uswent to Santa Fe for a workshop that also attracted three weaversfrom Vancouver Island. When we described our DGW project, oneof the Vancouver weavers produced the last copy of their "Vampsto Visages" catalog and asked if they could join our project. Wewent back to our group to see if they agreed.

At that moment our project grew from a dozen tapestries andone show to 48 or more tapestries, several shows and a catalog.The TAPIS weavers would each weave a door, gate or windowfrom Vancouver Island. Then we would pick partners from theother guild, exchange photos, and all weave responses for a total oftwo weavings apiece. The Las Arañas group had the task of defin-ing the terms of the exchange and pulling names from a hat tochoose partners.

Again, the terms grew from an extended group discussion. Wewanted to be specific enough to give direction without limitingcreativity. The response was expected to be a "recognizable com-plement" to the original door, gate or window, with the followingsuggestions: It could imagine the other side of the wall, or lookfarther into the distance. It could be a "portal" of a similar shapefrom the locale of the partner weaver or relate to the original byusing the same colors or shapes or design style. It could be anabstract response to a representational image, or vice versa. Itcould have a different sett or weft size, but it needed to include thebasic beige and purple yarns that we had selected to include inevery tapestry.

Because we had a head start, we prepared most of our originalDGWs for a local fiber festival in May of 2007, eleven monthsafter our initial project discussions. A second gallery show inSeptember 2007 included all of our originals, many of the TAPISoriginals and even a few partner responses.

Elaine Duncan, SONG OF THE LOOM 10" x 8 3/4" (response) Errington, B.C

Ann Blankenship, PORTAL TO ONE'S PASSION 9" x 8" (original) Albuquerque, NM

Be sure to look online for more photographs for all articles.


4 Australian TapestryWeavers By Anne Jackson

Woven tapestry is often described as a medium that"enriches space." The intensity of skill and thought thatgoes into each work communicates itself to the viewer,consciously or unconsciously. This is true whether thework is large or small-scale. As well as being a richand resonant medium, tapestry is also supremelyportable; the exhibition in Exeter, Devon UK of workby four artists based in Melbourne, Australia is testimo-ny to this.

The BSW Gallery is a new venture in improving thevisibility of woven tapestry as an art form. While tapes-try is often included in mixed exhibitions, this is cur-rently the only gallery in the UK which provides anopportunity to focus on this medium alone.

Contemporary tapestry, historically used to adornhigh walls in churches, palaces or state buildings, isnow also bought or commissioned by private individu-als, often on a domestic scale for their own homes. TheBSW Gallery is located in a space that elegantly navi-gates the line between public and private spaces, show-ing large, miniature and three-dimensional works in arestored Georgian merchant's house. The gallery roomsare welcoming, with high ceilings and graceful propor-tions. Large-scale tapestries have room to breathe, andsmall works beckon the viewer closer.

The artists represented in "4 Australian TapestryWeavers" are all based in Melbourne and have allworked at the prestigious Victorian Tapestry Workshop.Most of the work in the show is miniature, a feasiblestrategy for participating in an exhibition on the otherside of the world. Portability doesn't compromise qual-ity; the work is intense and potent. The vibrancy ofcolour and the sheer evidence of time spent and skillexercised results in each tapestry creating a smallworld.

All the works shown are woven tapestries, with theexception of one on paper by Sara Lindsay. Entitled"Trade: China Spice," it is a sequence of deckledpaper rectangles, striped with mapping pens.Referencing stripes in woven cloth, it has resonancesof Agnes Martin and Ben Nicolson, and provides evi-dence that medium matters less than the intention ofthe artist. It fits perfectly with the vision demonstrat-ed in her four small, quietly insistent tapestries hungon the adjacent wall. Each of the "Cinnamon andTicking" pieces comprises a narrow horizontal band ofdelicately striped tapestry above a tightly aligned rowof rolled cinnamon bark that forms strong, verticallines. As well as eliciting echoes of trade and colonial-

A blow to our plans came in fall 2007 when we learnedthat no exceptions could be made to the one-tapestry-per-per-son limit at the 2008 ATA Small Format show, "Woven Gems."We met to select which tapestry from each person should go.We chose pairs, trying to send a representative group of origi-nals and responses from each guild. Those entries are in the"Woven Gems" catalog.

Because our group is fortunate to include a photographerand a graphic designer, we were able to produce a catalog ofthe entire collection in the spring of 2008. Fifty of the tapes-tries will be in a final show in Albuquerque in September andOctober 2008. Then the tapestries will travel to Canada fortwo or three shows before the collection is dispersed.

How important was our choice of a small format and whatdid we mean by it? Most significantly, the size seemed doableto our members. Small would not take as long as big, and, ina number of cases, it could be woven on a second loom with-out interrupting a larger tapestry on a primary loom. Althougheveryone wove a complete image, and not just a section from alarger tapestry, designing for a small piece was simpler. Ouronly definition of "small format" was the size restriction. Wewere free to choose our setts, which ranged from 8 to 12 epi,and weft appropriate to each sett. We did not define a 1-inch-to-1-foot ratio, which one finds with miniature paintings. Weused the tapestry techniques most comfortable to each of us:French-style from the side and the back with double-weftinterlocks; Southwest-style from the bottom and the front withslits and single-weft interlocks; or other combinations of tech-niques. Thus we have an eclectic show that resulted fromchallenging a diverse group of weavers.

Success came because we made each decision as a group,step by step as the project evolved. We also succeededbecause different individuals were willing to undertake leader-ship of specific parts of the project, but we found that one per-son from each group had to be willing to lead from start to fin-ish. At the beginning we did not foresee how extensive theproject would be, so a few of the tapestries have sold and havebeen promised to their buyers before the entire exhibitionschedule is completed. We may display photographs of themissing pieces at the last shows. Customs made exchangingacross borders a bit more complicated, but in most cases wehave been able to send photographs or to find someone whocould hand-carry the tapestries to avoid the issue. As oneshould expect, over two years the groups have changed, withformer members moving or no longer weaving and new peoplebeing recruited. Finally, it is hard to find two groups of identi-cal size; I had the pleasure of exchanging with two partners tomake up the difference.

After two years everyone in our tapestry group is moreexperienced and a better weaver than when she or he began.The growth of our least experienced members is the mostnoticeable, the creativity shown by everyone is amazing, andwe have just had fun.


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Woven GemsBy Terri Stewart

I think that this exhibit by far has had the largest variety of works of all subject matter and skill that I have seen in years!Kudos to all who entered their work.

The group challenges have really taken off and there are more of them now than ever before. However, many of the piecesthat struck me as outstanding came from the non-group entries. Odette Brabec's "Reflections" has the impact of a large paintingwith its subtle changes in color and lighting and the movement of water. Trena Coultor's "Equus In Aequora" is a true gem of apiece! I really feel like I am looking into a fish tank watching this beautiful little sea horse move about. Lany Eila's works areconsistently impressive in their simplicity of color choices - black and white. "Haley at 10" is just one such example. Emoke's"Eclectic" took a simple idea and added a twist - zippers! - something that I didn't notice in the catalog photo and that was adelightful surprise when seen in person.

ism, the rhythm of the warp in tapestry is made explicit in the regu-larity of these organic shapes.

Joy Smith is well known in the tapestry world for the wit and rich-ness of her small-scale, jewel-like tapestries. Here, three works enti-tled "This Goes with That," inspired by earrings, shoes and clothingfound in charity shops, exhibit her extraordinary attention to detail ineveryday things. The contrast stitching depicted on tiny blue jeansand shoes is meticulous and perfect, and the beaded earrings are truly'beady,' rendered in individual picks of weft. There is a sense of theartist exploring these ordinary objects with loving attention.

The two tapestries entitled "West Dean Topiary: Summer" and"…Autumn" are a humorous take on the effort and perseverancerequired to shape growing shrubs into that peculiar European artform, topiary. The artist may be drawing a parallel with makingexquisitely fine woven tapestries; in any case, the medium seemsappropriate to the message.

Robyn Mountcastle's main contribution is a series of fourteenminiature works. "Via Dolorosa" lies within the ancient tradition ofwoven tapestry in ecclesiastical decoration. The series depicts the"Stations of the Cross," more usually seen carved in stone on thewalls of churches or cathedrals. The intense emotion of the themedraws the viewer into each of these tiny tapestry worlds. One findsoneself trying to read the symbolism of the abstract shapes caughtwithin the warp and weft.

Tim Gresham's work shows the influence of his other medium,photography. The tapestries included in this exhibition hold reso-nances of Modernist architecture, focussing on abstract rhythms andpatterns-within-patterns, executed in a palette reminiscent of concreteand modern building materials. These works defy the usual conven-tion of tapestry being richly seductive, jewel-like and approachable incolour. However, on closer inspection, the eye is rewarded with rich,optical colour blending, creating both harmony and dissonance.

The four Australian artists in this exhibition are skilledweavers. Through their chosen medium their voices and intentionsspeak clearly in the gallery space. The exhibition has balance andrhythm, representing the strength of woven tapestry, this portableand potent art form, in a worldwide context. Tim Gresham MAQUETTE II

15x15cm 2007 wool cotton

Robyn Mountcastle, WIPE NO.6 (Veronica wipesChrist's brow) 10cm x 10cm, 20cm x 20cm framed.


The Tapestry Handbook: TheNext GenerationReviewed by Judy Ann Ness

By Carol K. Russell 2007, Schiffer Publishing LTD978-0-7643-2756-8 $59.95

A classic, The Tapestry Handbook by Carol K. Russell,has come back into print. The first edition from LarkBooks in 1990 became a standard for teachers and stu-dents. An updated and expanded edition has been reissuedby Schiffer Books as The Tapestry Handbook: The NextGeneration. The reader can follow step-by-step instruc-tion to create an amazing ten-foot sampler containing atleast 30 specific tapestry techniques. The systematicapproach offers lessons presented in a logical manner,with each newly learned procedure becoming the basis forthe next experience. Black and white pictures, rather thandrawings, provide clear images for visual reference toeach lesson. 300 color photographs offer a stunning col-lection of the best of contemporary tapestry weavers, aswell as precious museum textiles for a historic perspec-tive. Close-up photographs are especially helpful inshowing the practical application of a specific technique.

The book starts with a short orientation describing thehistory of tapestry and a general definition of the weavestructure, followed by a brief overview of loom set up,yarns, and preparation. The author offers thoughtful sug-gestions on how the book might be used to greatest bene-fit. The philosophy integrates a hands-on learning experi-ence with an introduction to design principles and concep-tualization. Each chapter starts out with 'GeneralDirections' (the how-to) for a specific process such as ver-ticals, shading, interlocks, etc. Photos accompany the textto show the yarn action, where it is coming from and

where it needs to go. Every technique has a 'Summary'that details how it works to help create a composition.The 'Tips and Advice' feature provides notes on commonproblems, the value of the technique (why it works), withpossible variations for expanding the basic idea. Theweaver gets a solid understanding of the mechanics of tap-estry and encouragement to explore design elements. Thislightens the task of the thousands of tiny decisions that arerequired to interpret a composition. This book makes iteasier, with study and practice, for artists to realize theyhave the tools and ability to bring their designs into being.Like a self-taught tutorial, you can take it at your ownpace, work on one chapter to refine a specific technique, orgo from start to finish and complete the amazing technicol-or sampler and get a broad introduction to the art form.

In eight enjoyable chapters we go from a single pass toeccentric wefts, outlining, twining and chaining. ChapterNine describes blocking, finishing, and mounting.Chapter Ten focuses on design properties specifically fortapestry, and includes crucial discussion on value and con-trast, and a section on color theory. Direction or move-ment in design and its corresponding contribution to moodand meaning are addressed. Quotes from artists sprinkledthroughout provide intimate vignettes into their thoughtprocesses, intent, and spiritual connections to art. Helpfulresource materials towards the back of the book offer aglossary, a list of Resources for Tapestry Artists, and agood Bibliography.

To sum it up, this book has several roles: it is aboutdoing - a nuts and bolts solution to learning to weave tap-estry, while gracefully dovetailing practical design studieswith inspirational motivation. This manual will workmarvelously well in the classroom for students and teach-ers, and excels in its ability to support weavers studyingon their own. Frequently, weavers refer to The TapestryHandbook as their 'tapestry bible.' The new edition haskept all the goodness of the first, and made it better. Itshines, with highest recommendations for school, guild,and library collections.

Notes from the reviewer: As a graduate student, Iwas assigned to teach a college studio class in tapestry.With little experience in tapestry, and no time to take aclass, I learned the basics from the first edition of TheTapestry Handbook. The ten foot long sampler became abeloved helper and workhorse for that first tapestry class.It still makes appearances, and with the same lovelyresult - it gets used.

Carol K. Russell is an artist, curator, writer, and teach-es tapestry weaving, design, and color theory. She ispresently writing the biography of her own tapestryteacher and mentor, the late Margareta Grandin Nettles ofSweden and Nantucket, MA.

From the group challenge pieces, the one that Ienjoyed the most was Pat William's "I Couldn't Find theGarden." I truly laughed my head off at this, and when Itook my mother to see the show, she had exactly the samereaction. I love Pat's sense of humor. Having so manygroups enter this exhibit gives members new contacts forstudy groups from a variety of regions and countries thatthey may have not previously known about.

There were many good pieces in this show, but I mustsay that there are a few entries that I question as towhether they are tapestry and perhaps should have beenentered into Small Expressions or one of HGA's otherexhibits. By and large, this was a most enjoyable exhibit;even the staff of the Teco Building seemed to have a goodtime viewing them.


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Review: Land, Art And TheSacred: Three PerspectivesBy Lyn Hart

Curated and conceived by Claire Park, head ofTucson's Pima Community College Art Department's colorand fiber areas, the exhibit "Land, Art And The Sacred:Three Perspectives" at the Louis Carlos Bernal Gallery onPCC's West Campus, presented a collaboration of threeartists: Claire Park, Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi and D.Y.Begay. It sprang from Claire's dismayed perception of psy-choanalytical approaches to art creation noted during herworld travels to lecture. The work of these artists fromAnglo, Aboriginal Australian, and Native American cul-tures reveals their reaction and connection to the beauty ofcherished lands as conceptualized from the cultural andspiritual foundations in their lives.

Claire's five vertical weavings glowed with horizontalshifting striations of colors, vibrant color contrasts, andinterminglings of subtle combinations of relativelyintense hues. Coupled with an under palette of coloredwarps that shimmered intermittently beneath the surfaceof the weft, a result of her controlled beating technique,the weavings possess unimaginable depth. Making colordecisions "strand by strand," Claire unweaves areas ifchoices do not coalesce while maintaining awareness asareas disappear around the beam of her floor loom. Afterteaching color theory for 30 years, Claire wanted to cre-ate a body of work embracing that part of her life andalso represent her perspectives regarding the sacrednessand meaningfulness of land and life. She recounts theimpetus for creating her work.

"The Red Center:" My Australian artist colleagues toldme I must see Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (theOlgas) the red center of the Australian outback that isnow a national park run jointly by the National Park

Service and the indigenous Anangu people. Uluru andKata Tjuta are sacred to the Anangu. The marks on therocks, their crevices and formations are the stories thatteach them how to live, created by living ancestralbeings. The land, stories and ancestral beings are one,inseparable. Anthropologists believe that the Aboriginesof Australia have the longest undisturbed culture onearth.… Is it any wonder then, that the Anangu peoplesay their sense of time is in the past, present and futureall at once—also inseparable. As I was walking throughthe Kata Tjutas in the late afternoon I was struck withhow every branch, every leaf, the air itself, was vibrantwith burgundy light, rendering distinctions of form, oftime, unimportant. As I wove this work I reflected onthe eternal sacredness of life.

"Two Continents: One Pacific:" I am fascinated by howour experience of creation, beauty, life is inseparablefrom our beliefs. I love to learn from others and focuson what is universal, although seen from distinctly dif-ferent perspectives. Looking across the Pacific Oceanfrom our separate shores we see our immutable unity--two continents: one Pacific.

Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi's three GrandmotherCountry paintings explode swirling, dynamic, organic earthcolored shapes representing the people, their tools, the landformations, and the activities involved in going out togather Bush Tucker (food). The paintings very naturallyformed an amalgamation of the exhibit's concepts with thewoven works, balancing, complementing, and supportingthem. Gabriella, a second generation Anmatyerr painterfrom Melbourne, Australia, is responsible for painting spe-cific stories handed down by her paternal grandmother,continuing a traditional cycle of inheritance from manyprevious generations. These stories holistically interlockspiritual and community life, strength and beauty, the landupon which they live and the universe in which they exist.

D.Y. Begay's five horizontal weavings interpret land-scapes which are indivisible from her soul and Navajo cul-ture. A fourth generation Navajo weaver, she grew up rais-ing and shearing sheep, carding and spinning wool, har-vesting plants for dyeing, and weaving. She designs as sheweaves, perhaps beforehand sketching or photographingthe indescribable beauty of Navajo reservation lands. Sheuses mostly vegetal dyed or natural colored wools. Herweavings undulate with subtle and at times almost elusiveblending of earthen hues, forming silhouettes of the mesasand hills of high desert topography; virtually indiscerniblelines of soumak provide fine definition. Her distinctivestyle, developed over time, includes elements of tradition,but discards restrictions of design, color, or pattern.Weaving defines D.Y., merging beliefs, family, and com-munity…

"Pollen refers to corn pollen that we use for praying.We collect the pollen in late summer when the tips start

D.Y. Begay, POLLEN PATH, 26" x 36.5" wool


pollinating and it is collected in the very earlymorning before the sun rises. Pollen Pathreflects peace, beauty and gratification in life.

I am absorbed with the meaning of the colorlichi'i', red. Lichi'i' encompasses many ideas andbeliefs. To the Dine' lichi'i'', red symbolizes thefirst world. The dwellers in the red world consist-ed of twelve kinds of black insects. Lichi'i' isalso a color of danger and war. This is a refer-ence to pre-human creatures when they werestruggling in the lower world and seeking in vainfor harmony in another place. Black has manyreferences in Navajo ceremonies. Black is con-sidered to adorn the north where it is believedevil and danger dwell. Black is importantbecause it represents the origin of all things.

The Land, Art, and the Sacred exhibit createdthought provoking awareness of the beauty of ourplanet. Through their abstract interpretations, theartists shared their community and spiritual values.Their diverse artworks reflected their diverse cul-tures, creating synergy of beauty in life and art.

The artists' web sites:www.navajo-indian.com,www.boomerangart.com.au,http://web.mac.com/clairepark

Monique used a range of deep reds in the body and warm reds inthe border as the tapestry's primary color impression to evokethe remembrance of blood in the Jewish people's history, onethat is laden with tragedy and profound grief. The motifs ofvines and flowers run throughout, abstracted so as not to resem-ble any particular species, but to refer to the many roads andinterwoven journeys that the Jewish people have traveled overthe centuries. At the bottom of the tapestry Hebrew lettersemerge from the flowers, to read, "Awesome is this place,"while remainingentwined with thebackground and itscalling forth of timespast.

Monique beganweaving the tapestryin August of 2007,and I joined her inSeptember on theweekends. Over thecourse of 8 months ofweaving, a few otherweavers joined us forshorter or longer peri-ods of assistance.The vast majority ofweaving, however,was accomplished byMonique herself,often working 8-10hours per day, 7 daysa week.

Her 6' wide verti-cal Glimakra tapestryloom was expanded to10 feet for this project, replacing all horizontal elements with10'equivalents, while the hardware and vertical elements wereleft unchanged. The warp was 17 feet long, sett at 10 ends perinch to achieve maximum flexibility in detail.

Her European training as a painter is reflected in her weav-ing technique. She prefers working with thin yarns, mixing sev-eral strands together in a spontaneous selection of shades as sheweaves, which creates a dynamic textural surface with a livelymodulation of tone. In addition to the reds, she utilized a richpalette of ivory, sienna, amber and gold, with intense accents ofcobalt and cerulean blues that add a significantly Eastern qualityto the treatment of the colors, reminiscent of ancient tribalprayer rugs. Also trained in sculpture, Monique approached thetapestry as a sculptor might, working one area at a time:

When I work on a big tapestry, I never think about it as onepiece. The work is divided in my mind into sections. Ihave certain production goals per week and try not to get

One Tapestry's JourneyBy Elisabeth Quick

When Monique Lehman began her most recenttapestry commission, a 13' x 8' torah ark curtain, afull year lay in front of her to conceive and executethe piece. The commission for the ark curtain(known as a parochet) came from Temple Beth El inLa Jolla, California, and was to be the focal point oftheir new sanctuary. The trajectory of such a largeweaving project took a challenging and sometimesfrustratingly circuitous path. Monique began herresearch for the design in the library, searching forphotographs of antique ark curtains. She requestedphotos of parochets from Jewish museums inKrakow, Prague and NewYork, although the mosthelp came from a Norwegian collection.

The client, Ryan Stone, had an idea in his ownmind of how the design should look. As Moniqueput it, "The only way for me to extract this imagefrom his mind was by designing over 20 detailedimages." After three months of finessing, Stoneemailed his agreement, "I love your last design."

The image chosen is a contemporary interpreta-tion of an 18th century traditional parochet.

Monique LehmanTAPESTRY ARK CURTAIN

13' x 8' 2008 commissioned forTemple Beth El in La Jolla, California


continued...

distracted by the rest of the tapestry. When I work on a blue flower, I put away all my reds and golds so the colors I amnot using don't distract me. It always surprises me to see other artists' studios with the entire palette of colors on thewall.

The weaving progressed in what sometimes seemed to me excruciatingly slow increments, with Monique weaving morethan twice as fast as I could. Her meticulous attention to detail requires demanding care, and she used numerous different tap-estry techniques to keep herself entertained and focused. Every time we advanced the tapestry, there were significant tensionproblems that necessitated adjusting the warps in groups or individually to hold the tension as evenly as possible as the weavingprogressed.

By the end of January, we were not quite half finished, and I seriously doubted our ability to achieve the May 1 deadline.Monique, however, was not daunted nor discouraged, and urged me not to indulge in negativity. She had no intention of com-ing short of the due date. In the end, those of us who worked on the project in the late stages seemed to hit warp speed (nopun intended), and the weaving was finished several weeks ahead of schedule. That timing allowed for sewing up slits, fin-ishing, and backing with fabric, so the tapestry was completed with days to spare.

Installed at the end of April, the parochet is the central visual element of the starkly modern, new Temple Beth El sanctuary.Dedicated with the temple the first week in May, this ark curtain hangs as both a reminder of the Jewish people's historical jour-ney and an evocation of their place in today's world.

Volunteers Make It Happen: Tommye McClure ScanlinBy Lyn Hart

Tommye McClure Scanlin joined ATA twenty years ago this year. Duringthat time, she has committed a great deal of her time, energies and talents ful-filling crucial volunteer roles. I interviewed Tommye to learn more about herhistory with tapestry weaving and ATA.

How did you first become involved in weaving and/or tapestry weaving?

TS: My 'real' weaving life began in 1969 when I was student teaching; mysupervising teacher introduced me to a small cardboard loom as we werepreparing to do a weaving unit in the elementary school. The next year, when Iwas a full-time art teacher at a high school, I checked out a library book show-ing a simple frame loom, built a few for my classes and taught myself a bitmore about weaving to share with my students. I felt I'd finally found mymedium of choice. Most of my studio courses at the university had been draw-ing, painting and printmaking but the manipulative nature of the simple weav-ings we were doing at the high school really appealed to me.

How would you describe your personal connection to tapestry?

TS: Because of my love for imagery, I tried to find ways that would allowme to weave pictorially. Overall pattern, so easily accomplished through loomcontrolled weaving, didn't hold as much interest for me as did a combination of the technique with image creation. I usedmany woven techniques to try to create images: painted and printed warps, inlay weaves, pick-up weaves, multi-shaft weaves.I was staying far away from tapestry. I didn't think I had the discipline to weave tapestry; I would never be able to developthe skills needed to make that simple plain weave sing!

Several things finally came together for me in the same year: 1988. I went to Chicago where I was part of two panels atComplex Weavers Association conference held before Convergence. One of the things I heard myself saying at one of thepanel sessions was that I felt the 24-shafts and the computer assisted loom didn't yet give me enough potential for image.

Tommye ScanlinTO THE ESSENCE OF EVERY NATURE

53" x 33", 2007 wool, cotton


After the small format exhibit debuted in '96, whatinfluenced you to help keep it alive?

TS: The small format show was at Convergence inPortland, OR. Called "It's About Time," Kathe Todd-Hooker and several others from the Northwest Coast areabrought that exhibit about. The works in that show wereso full of life and energy, I came back from that confer-ence determined to see that the small format, non-juriedconcept be continued in Atlanta in 1998 whenConvergence was to be held there. Other tapestry artistsin the southeast also felt the same way. We decided tofinally put into action what several of us had talked aboutfor a few years: forming a regional group that becameTapestry Weavers South, and the first goal of TWS wasto organize and hang the next edition of the small format,non-juried exhibit. The second version we called"Encore!" was held at the Atlanta International Museumof Art & Design in 1998.

Now you are working on ATA's Distance Learningprogram. What attracted you to taking on that role?

TS: I was asked to fill in when Linda Weghorst, whowas chairperson for DL, became ill last summer. I didn'thesitate too long in saying "YES!" because the education-al potential of ATA is important to me. I've spent overforty of my sixty years of life as a teacher. I personallyfeel the impact of great teachers each day as I weave tap-estry. I hope I can share some of that joy of learning andgrowing in a skill through my own teaching. I like thechallenge of pairing mentors with students in the [DL]program. The program has so much to offer, I feel. Noteveryone can have the time, money or energy to attend aworkshop or a class. But the year-long process of work-ing with one person, having feedback from someone witha bit more experience as one develops, has manyrewards. ATA Distance Learning possibilities have nowbeen enhanced with the work of two more volunteers[Joyce Hayes and Jeanne Bates] as the Helping Handsdistance learning program for beginning tapestry weavershas gotten underway.

Volunteers are the heart, soul, and hands of theAmerican Tapestry Alliance. This organization is only asstrong as those who are willing to share a bit of their timeevery so often. I'm very happy to have been able to workwith ATA in a few ways since I became a member in1988. I'd encourage anyone to also consider what helpthey might lend by playing some role in the organization.

Maybe, I said, I should weave tapestry, instead! AseBlake, a wonderful tapestry artist [and friend], said to methat I should really consider trying tapestry since I wasdoing other things with weaving that were really harder.

I remember the impact the World Tapestry Todayexhibit had on me when I saw it during 1988Convergence. What absolutely incredibly beautiful tex-tiles those were-- I'd never experienced such range ofimages, wonderful technique and rich, woven surfacebefore. There was an ATA information booth in the ven-dors' hall with a loom set up for demonstrations, and Ipicked up an application for membership from someonethere. I left Convergence determined I'd give tapestry aserious try; if I couldn't do it, then I'd at least have madethe effort, and I would stop whining about wanting to dotapestry but not feeling that I would be able to master itwell enough to create the images I wanted. I also filledout that ATA application and became a member then.

Now, twenty years into this process of trying toweave tapestry I feel some confidence in my ability toweave almost anything I'd like to in the way of images.And I can thank time passing and the fantasticteacher/mentors I've had along the way for that. Most ofmy training has been through short workshops butthrough those I feel I've had a chance to be in the pres-ence of some of the best tapestry artist/teachers in theworld: Archie Brennan and Susan Martin Maffei; JeanPierre Larochette and Yael Lurie; Marcel Marois; SharonMarcus; Jane Kidd; Christine Laffer.

What was it like to be involved in the revitalizationof ATA?

TS: That was so exciting! When I was contacted byJim Brown in late 1992 and asked to be part of a commit-tee to consider a revitalization of ATA, I couldn't believeit! I'd only been weaving tapestry and been an ATAmember since 1988 but I'd replied to a questionnaireBrown had sent out in 1990 asking thoughts about thefuture of ATA. I was among several folks who'd indicat-ed that they were '...willing to put time and effort intoattempts to reorganize and revitalize ATA.' From thosefew, a committee formed in 1993 with that goal in mind.Marti Fleischer took on the role of director, I was mem-bership chairperson, Courtney Shaw did the newsletter.We contacted whomever we could, asking for their timeand energy. Many people came forward to play a role inhelping ATA continue as an active organization. Lookingat ATA's vitality and importance to the tapestry worldnow it's hard to believe it was at such a low point in theearly 1990s. that [vitality and importance] only continuesbecause of the tireless efforts of so many volunteers.

21

ATA Award of Excellence: Jennie Lee HendersonBy Merna Strauch

The Conference of Northern CaliforniaHandweavers (CNCH) honored Jennie Lee Hendersonof Gualala, California, with the ATA Award forExcellence in Tapestry for "Reflections." Her workstarred in the "Spun Treasures" exhibit, held at theDoubleTree Hotel in Sacramento in conjunction withthe CNCH conference in May, 2008.

Jacquetta Nisbet, a neighbor and ATA member,introduced Jennie to Navaho weaving. An experiencedfloor loom weaver at the time, Jennie found a reso-

Jennie Henderson, REFLECTIONS 38" x 60", 2006

Jennie's handspun wool, linen warp

nance in working this way. It allowed her a kind offreedom in her rug making that she hadn't experi-enced with loom controlled designs. She works at theloom now without a cartoon, just an idea. The designusually develops in the first three to six inches, thetexture and colors of the wool blending with her ideato guide the pattern. The "Reflections" tapestry rugwas woven in this way. Jennie says she envisioned apush and pull between the colors, creating an impres-sion of reflections on water.

Jennie has a long history of working with fiberand cloth. She learned to knit, tat, and sew as a child,and by the time she was in high school was design-ing, sewing, and selling hand-dyed dresses.Attending college in Denmark in the 70's, she discov-ered weaving, and the rest of the story was written.She came home to California with her first Glimakraloom and learned to weave with the help of Davison'sA Handweavers Pattern Book and lots of enthusiasm.

She learned to spin and was soon selling herhandspun, handknit wool sweaters at local craft fairs.Over the years she has spun everything from her pets'dog-hair to the lint from her clothes dryer. She hasgathered mushrooms, moss, lichen, flowers, and barkto use in dyes. Now she spins only wool and nolonger uses dyes because she can buy a wide range ofbeautiful, natural-colored, locally produced Romneyfleeces. She prefers to spin in the grease with a littleflicking but no carding. Her method is to spin a num-ber of fleeces and then weave until the yarn is gone,making two or three rugs and several throws eachyear from her handspun wool.

Jennie's eclectic lifestyle is mirrored in her textilearts and weaving. In addition to tapestry-style, hand-spun, natural-colored wool rugs, woven on either aNavajo loom or a large eight-harness Glimakra loom,she weaves scarves, throws, and shawls in brightlycolored silks, rayon, and tencel on both four and eightharness looms. She works in bound weave, shadowweave, and with supplemental warps. She makeswhimsical, rainbow-colored ribbon scarves utilizing atrapped fiber technique. And she has a wild idea for ahuge outdoor installation: a Navajo rug woven of col-ored rope or coated wire.

You can see Jennie's studio and more of her workat www.jleeh.biz.


ATA Award of Excellence: Irisa BlumateBy Linda Rees

Irisa Blumate of Riga, Latvia, won the ATAAward for Excellence for her tapestry "Uluru" in the"Land: Tapestry Foundation of Victoria AwardExhibition" in conjunction with the Tapestry 2008symposium in Canberra, Australia in May.

Wendy Teakel commented on the item she and fel-low juror, Sara Lindsey, picked for the award:

Our choice here has a touch of irony about it. Itseems fitting that an emblem of Australian landwith all its complexities of meaning should beawarded the ATA Prize. We felt this work has asense of celebration about it. Visually lusciouscolour and texture presents us with a tactileimmediacy appropriate for the wonderful hands-on experience of tapestry. The symbolic imageryof Uluru fulfills all aspects of the intentions ofthe "Land" prize referencing spirit, ownership,ecology, society and economy.

Linda Wallace recounted her impression of thework:

The background, which shows as uniform black,was actually quite a rich surface, and then therock itself was 3D, projecting out from the flatbackground. The fibre looked to be, perhapschenille - it was quite light reflective. The tap-estry was mounted inside a glass case, with alight shining on it, and it just glowed. It seemedto have captured the same kind of light magicthat happens when the setting sun shines on thereal Uluru. Quite arresting.

Irisa has an M. F. A. from the Art Academy ofLatvia in Riga, and is a member of the Associationof Latvian Textile Art and the Artists' Union ofLatvia. She has had two solo exhibits (1998 and2008) in the Latvia Gallery Rudolf's and theMuseum of Decorative Arts and Design and hasexhibited in international group shows in at least adozen European countries and the USA. Her workis in museums and collections in almost as manycountries as well.

KudosCompiled by Merna [email protected]

Terri Stewart was awarded First Place in HGA's SmallExpressions 2008 for "Old Man," a tapestry mounted in the man-ner of a Hindu Prayer Wheel. It was woven at 26epi with a quilt-ing thread weft. Juror John Marshall told Terri "I really like thethoughtfulness you put into the finishing. It is simple, like theweaving, but presented in an elegant way. The weaving itselfwas well-done and the presentation shows it off as a piece of art."

Connie Lippert is featured in an article by Deb Erikson inFiberarts, September 2008 issue, p.28-29.

"11,000 Words: Tapestries and Cartoons by Sarah Swett" willbe at Montgomery College in Conroe, Texas from August 28-September 39, 2008.

California Fibers members' work is on exhibit in "Forms inWood and Fiber" at San Diego's Mingei International Museumuntil January, 2009. Included are pieces by Susan Hart-Henegarand Michael Rohde.

Linda Rees will have a one person show, "Putting Content toColor" at Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts (DIVA) inEugene, Oregon from Nov. 25th - Dec.23, 2008.

Suzanne Pretty was selected at the New Hampshire 2007Governors Arts Awards as an Individual Arts Patron Award recipi-ent to create a piece for the Bloomfield Family. Suzanne workedwith the theme of the fractured landscape in her paper weaving,"Soaring Above the Divided Landscape." The multi-layered paperweaving is a stack of forest-blocks precariously stacked on gravelagainst the forest background with a soaring eagle.

A detail of "Promethean Dreams" (ATB6) by Linda Wallacewas selected as the cover illustration for Minds of Our Own:Inventing Feminist Scholarship and Women's Studies in Canada,1966-76. Published by Wilfrid Laurier Press, the book containsshort autobiographical essays by women who played a pivotal,pioneering role in establishing Canadian feminist scholarship.

Tommye Scanlin and Pat Willinas are invited artists in theinitial exhibit at the new Kryder Gallery in Dahlonega, Georgia.The ribbon cutting was held in June; works in the exhibit includeinstallation, photography, painting and tapestry.

Michael Rohde was July artist of the month at WeavingSouthwest in Taos, New Mexico. A meet-the-artist reception washeld for him on July 5th. Robin Reider will be the Septemberartist of the month.

Tapestry Weavers West (TWW) Members' Showcase,"Contemporary Tapestry in the 21st Century," is on exhibit atthe Craft & Cultural Gallery in Oakland, California, untilAugust 29th. Most of the twenty-one exhibiting artists aremembers of ATA.

Irisa Blumate, ULURU 10 cm. X 44 cm. 2008 wool, synthetics

Contact ATAPO Box 28600 San Jose, CA 95159www.americantapestryalliance.org

Director of Member ServicesBecky Stevens [email protected]

Director of ResourcesLinda Wallace [email protected]

TreasurerBarb Richards [email protected]

Member ChairEllen Ramsey [email protected]

Education Committee: Distance LearningTommye Scanlin [email protected]

Ed. Com. Coordinator, Events & Online study groupsMary Lane [email protected]

Library Chair, Archives & Slide RegistryJoyce Hayes [email protected]

ATB7Alex Friedman [email protected]

Woven Gems Small Format ExhibitionJanet Haase [email protected]

ATA AwardsElisabeth Quick [email protected]

PR ChairElaine Duncan [email protected]

Volunteer CoordinatorJoan Griffin [email protected]

Web EditorChristine Laffer [email protected]

Webmistress Jeanne Bates [email protected]

Web ExhibitsDavid Johnson [email protected]

Artist PagesMichael Rohde [email protected]


ATA MEMBERSHIP FORM

1 year 2 years Name__________________________________________Individual $35 $65 Address________________________________________Studio Circle $60 $110 ______________________________________________Curator's Circle $125 $225 City________________________________State_______Collector's Circle $250 $450 Postal Code_________________Country______________Student* $25 $45 Phone_________________________________________*enclose copy of current student identification card with payment Fax/Alternate phone_________________________________Please contact me about volunteer opportunities Email__________________________________________

_______________________________________________Send payment to: ATA Membership Visa/Mastercard number Exp. Date c/o Barbara Richards2160 Devil’s Gulch RdEstes Park, CO 80517 _______________________________________________(970) 577-9728 card holder’s signature

Terri Stewart, OLD MAN 14" x 6" diameter 2007

American Tapestry AlliancePO Box 28600San Jose, CA 95159-8600

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Tapestry Topics

Guidelines for submitting articles to Tapestry Topics:

Next Deadline: October 1: Conferences and Events of the YearJanuary 15: Stimulating Creativity April 1: The Materiality of Surface

Send all items to: Linda Rees: [email protected] --Or--

1507 Elkay DriveEugene, OR 97404 Phone: 541-338-8284

All photographs and electronic images should be accompanied by thefollowing information: size, date completed, and photo credits.

Articles should be under 2000 words. Submissions will be edited forclarity and space requirements.

Exhibition reviews: We seek articles that describe the show withinsight and critical observations. Describe the overall sense of the exhibitand explain the parts that contribute to this sense.

Newsletter committee: Proofreader: Mary Colton, Layout: ElinorSteele, Distribution: Ellen Ramsey. Online exherpts: Lyn Hart, Webposting: Christine Laffer. visit our website

www.americantapestryalliance.org

Ruth Manning, TURNINGPAGES 9” x 18” 2008

ata nl fall 08 vol34no3 - american tapestry alliance...the mural and the miniature. the designers of...

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