Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Warp&Weft
The Newsletter of the London Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers
Issue 231 September 2008
ContentsContact details 2
Editorial 3
Meetings:
June - Silks of the Ancient 7Kingdoms July - Weaving the Unicorn 11Tapestries August - Creative Sampling 15Weave Study Group & 20Spinning GroupFuture Meetings 23
Features:
Woven Living Willow 4 Bucks Open Studios 6Fabricreations Exhibition 18
Regulars:
Guild Notices 22Membership Update 25Library News 27What's On 28
Workshops and Events:
Creative Sampling 17Summer School 2009 21Exhibition - Sue Hiley Harris 27
Page 2
Warp and Weft Issue 231
London Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyerswww.londonguildofweavers.org.uk
President
Daphne Ratcliffe - [email protected] 020 8997 0291
Vice Presidents
Aileen KennedyNancy Lee ChildMary Smith
Executive Committee: Officers
Chair - Jenifer Midgley - [email protected] 020 8892 4708 Treasurer - Lola McDowell - [email protected] 020 8749 0923Secretary - Jane Rutt - [email protected] 0207 580 8583
Committee members
Roberto Campana - [email protected] 07730 284 258Jean Derby - [email protected] 020 8560 0483 - LibrarianBrenda Gibson - [email protected] 020 8673 4914 - Webmaster, Design & Layout of Warp & Weft, PublicityAllya Khan - [email protected] 07970 155127 - Exhibitions OfficerSharen McGrail - [email protected] 020 8446 3418Theresa Munford - [email protected] 020 8748 3737 - Editor: Warp & WeftNoreen Roberts - [email protected] 020 8313 3880 - Membership SecretarySonia Tindale - [email protected] 020 7722 9343 - Programme Secretary
Front cover: Details from the new Unicorn tapestries - see article page 11
Page 3
September 2008
EditorialDrawing together the articles for this issue of W&W, I was struck by how the craft of weaving offers an immeasurable wealth of possibilities. The simple act of interlacing a warp thread with a weft thread can produce an infinity of outcomes. At this time of year, when the trees are weighed down by apples or plums, it’s good to be reminded of the sheer abundance that can be the ‘fruit of the loom’.
The last three Guild meetings reflect this in different ways. There is the abundance that results from different cultural and geographic situations. We saw this is Diane and Jim Gaffney’s cornucopia of south-east Asian textiles. There is the abundance from different historical periods. Caron Penney’s talk took us back to the medieval period when the Unicorn tapestries were first woven as well to the present with an account of their reconstruction for Stirling Castle. And, most strikingly, there are the boundless possibilities of combining warp and weft that we tasted in Melanie Vene’s talk on sampling.
The fruit of our own looms is also well represented in this issue with reviews of Fabricreations in Liverpool and the Bucks Open Studios exhibition. And we have an interview with Penny Penton who combines the abundance of nature with the skill of weaving in her work with living willow.
There’s no harvest without some initial hard graft. Guild members
continue to hone their skills through workshops, challenges and skills sharing. W&W carries a report from the Weave Study Group, the Spinning clinic, and Melanie’s one-day workshop. And there’s a reminder from Jean Derby, our librarian, of the abundance of books on offer in the Guild library and what a useful tool these can be for extending and advancing the techniques we use.
While writing this editorial I thought I’d quickly look up where the expression ‘Fruit of the Loom’ came from, but my Google search just threw up a million references to the international clothing company of that name. One challenge I can’t be bothered with is wading through this particular abundance of information……can someone simply enlighten me by telling me where the phrase originated!
Theresa Munford
Page 4
Warp and Weft Issue 231
Weaving Willow in the London Wetlands
Guild member Penny Penton has been a volunteer at the London Wetland Centre since before its opening in 2000. Not only does she weed, help with ducks and show visitors around, but she has made an exciting contribution to the landscape itself with her woven willow sculptures. W&W talked to her about her work.
W&W: How did you first start weaving with willow?PP: I was helping as a volunteer in the Wetlands in the spring of 2000, just before it opened. We were planting living willow as a quick fix for boundaries and to screen the public footpaths from the birds. I was lucky to work with Mick Petts, a leading willow weaver, who was designing these so-called ‘fedges’ (a cross between a hedge and a fence). I’d trained as an occupational therapist in the 1960s when craft skills were key to our training, so this willow work appealed to the weaver in me.
W&W: What is it in willow weaving that most delights you?PP: It’s wonderful to be able to use garden rubbish to make something magic. There’s so much that gets thrown away that can be used, hedgerow basketry is a particular love of mine. As for the living willow, a huge upside-down basket changes, sprouts and grows, rather
like the children, including my own granddaughter, who I have watched running in and out of them for the last eight years.
W&W: What is the most difficult thing about weaving living willow?PP: Cold hands! You need to do it when the willow is dormant and has no leaves. By the time summer comes, the willow is less likely to sprout and is too brittle to weave.
W&W: Don’t try this at home or have a go?PP: I certainly encourage people to try it in their gardens and schools, but it needs a permanently wet spot of land and a lot of space. Once it gets going it also uses up a lot of nutrients in the soil and, if you want to keep it tidy, a lot of care. Some of the London Wetlands examples have been allowed to grow untamed, others such as the big archway, I prune every year together with a group of volunteers. The older and more established these
Page 5
September 2008
structures are, the harder this pruning becomes. Each year dead uprights need replacing with new stakes and the tops need reweaving.
W&W: What’s your best work?PP: The group of willow caves I was able to design myself – they’re robust and children can run in and out of them and have fun. The greatest return is watching children play there, they come up with wonderful remarks and it’s great to watch their interactions, especially the under-fives.
W&W: Where do you recommend people go to see good examples of woven living willow?PP: Most of the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust sites around Britain have living willow, the National Wetlands Centre Wales near Llanelli even has a living willow maze. The best I have seen are at the Eden Project in Cornwall where there is a particularly beautiful one in the Wild Garden.
W&W: Tell us a little about the history of willow weaving.PP: Living willows have been used for centuries to stabilize water banks. Every village would have had an osier bed, where willows were grown for baskets.
In fact, when you visit the London Wetlands you are walking in an area that was important for its osier beds, in the days when William Cobbett was farming there in the early 19th century.
Page 6
Warp and Weft Issue 231
A Visit to Bucks Open Studios, June 2008I had a most enjoyable afternoon visiting the first exhibition of Bobbie Kociejowski’s Chesham weaving class. This was held in a house in High Wycombe, unfortunately rather off the beaten track for any ‘passing
trade’.The
standard of work was extremely high and varied with cushions, tapestries, bags, rugs and a curtain, in addition to the more usual scarves and shawls.
The exquisite work of
Ann Brooks, Mary Newland, Aase Walker, Wendy Morris and Mary Lowry is well known to London Guild members so I hope they will forgive me if I only mention the weaving of other members of the class whose work caught my eye.
Some members, such as Kate Williams and Helen Munday have been very prolific and I was told that in some cases working for the Bradford qualification has been a spur. Kate showed beautiful mohair and silk boucle scarves and a two-layered merino and wool scarf; Helen’s scarves showed different techniques
of distorted weft, my favourite being a purple scarf with shaded yellow and pink blocks (left).
Maggie Brookes had a very subtle grey length inspired, it seemed to me, by Japanese textiles. It was woven in various 4-shaft twills and the silk had been tie-dyed for both warp and weft. Just gorgeous.
Mavis Thorne displayed a painted silk warp scarf on the theme of mother of pearl. This has been displayed at the V&A museum as part of its ‘Inspired By’ exhibition. A very beautiful, subtle piece.
Geoff Hooper showed a narrow summer silk scarf in shaded lime green with stripes to one side of purple, yellow and green. It was altogether different from his tapestries and showed a wonderful colour sense. Jean Neill’s cushions in natural, blue and green linen were a delight and I admired Christine Oakley’s white-on-white hand towel and Wendy Fowler’s raffia bag (below).
Perhaps the Chesham class will be buoyed with success at this exhibition and manage to find a more prominent venue next time. All success to them.
Elizabeth Jackson
Page 7
September 2008
June 2008:Diane and Jim GaffneySilks from the Ancient Kingdoms
At first sight the speakers’ table at the Guild looked like an eastern market stall. There were folded silk scarves in bright colours, lengths of undyed or vegetable-dyed handwoven hemp, ikat scarves in 4-ply Thai silk, felt dolls from Uzbekistan, hanks of dyed silk, silver buttons and jewelry from northern Thailand, much of it made by Karen silversmiths copying different hill tribes’ traditional designs. A closer look showed silk of Parisian designer quality with rich brocades and temple batiks that might grace a museum.
Diane and Jim Gaffney met while teaching in Singapore and for the last 25 years have made their living collecting, buying and selling, researching, and lecturing. Based in Bishop’s Castle in Shropshire, they have organised textile holidays in Turkey, lent or sold to museums and curated an exhibition of Java batik for Liverpool Museum. At least once a year they travel to Thailand, especially eastern Thailand and the bordering countries of Laos, Cambodia and Burma.
Diane began their amicably-shared presentation by taking us through the process of producing silk. Legend has it that production of silk started in China about 2700BC when a princess noticed that the cocoon that fell
from a mulberry tree she was sitting beneath into the tea she was drinking could be unravelled to produce a very fine filament.
The silk moth lays eggs, the caterpillars that hatch are then fed mulberry leaves and after 35 days are ready to spin a cocoon. The silk is produced in glands in the silkworm’s head and then forced out through openings called spinnerets, solidifying on contact with air and held together by a gum called sericin. The silkworm spins about 1.5 km of filament and about 5,500 silkworms are needed to produce 1 kg of silk.
We handled the very light cocoons in white and yellow from two different types of silkworm. The cocoons are plunged into hot water, killing the moth which would otherwise burrow out of the finished cocoon and damage the silk. The silk filaments are then wound on a reel. Since one thread consists of as many as 48 filaments, one cocoon could lead to about 3600 metres of silk.
Later in the talk, Jim showed us slides of this process with the cocoons being spun in a round flat basket. The grub that is left is considered a delicacy and one slide showed Jim eating one, a polite grimace on his face. Silk takes dyes very well, both synthetic and the natural dyes from bark, indigo and lac (an insect resin) that were displayed. The silk is spun and woven by village women on backstrap looms or on the floor looms kept out of the rain underneath the balconies of their houses.
Diane’s talk had great tactile appeal.
Page 8
Warp and Weft Issue 231
We were allowed to feel and crumple the silks she passed around. We handled 6-ply shot silk and let the light play on its green weft and blue warp. After the Second World War, Jim Thompson, an American, took it on himself to develop the Thai silk industry. He imported looms and synthetic dyes and exported the products to America. We saw slides of the Jim Thompson Museum in Bangkok, known to several of the audience.
We passed around lengths of
squirrel-tail weave where two colour silks were plyed in the weft to dazzling effect. This technique is called Queen’s silk because Queen Sirikit travelled to the US in the 60s with a wardrobe of Thai silk designed by Pierre Balmain, resplendent with evening dresses in matmi silk. The exports were given an extra boost by the costumes for the movie, The King and I. The golden brocade silk fabric that the queen wore is made by four weavers sitting at one loom with a supplementary warp and able to produce only 5-7 cm a day. The silks are produced under support and promotion of the Royal Household and Her Majesty the Queen’s Foundation.
Diane then moved on to ikats. They were originally made in cotton but it was thought that since ikat weaving is so labour-intensive, luxurious silk would be a better medium. I have seen ikats at Guild meetings, but for me the description of the technique was new and fascinating. I enjoyed the slide illustrations of the weft thread being wound around struts so the ties could be made in the exact places and I handled the bundles of thread with the plastic string ties in place. After dyeing, the hanks go onto bobbins which must be used in the right order. Some of the very fine ikats were work from Khmer weavers who have for centuries been offered sanctuary in Thailand. Jim also showed slides of batik production and we marvelled at the intricacy of the temple weavings of Buddha’s life.
Diane and Jim ended their talk
Page 9
September 2008
by showing us how the clothes were worn. They took a four-yard tube for a woman’s sarong, folded it over the front and tucked in the edge round the waist. For men they took an eight-yard tube and brought it through the legs before tucking in the waist. For the finale, we had the Guild’s own Yul Brynner to applaud at the end of a dazzling presentation and lecture.
Marilyn Jones
Opposite and above: Roberto Campana kindly modelling the male sarong.
the handweaversstudio& gallery ltd20 Sept. Spinning, Nancy Lee Child27/28 Sept. Colour Theory (conquer it all) Bobbie Kociejowski18 Oct. Spinning, Nancy Lee Child25/26 Oct. and1/2 Nov. Loom Weaving I and II, Melanie Venes8/9 Nov. Tapestry, William Jefferies15/16 Nov. Dyeing (Acid and Fibre Reactive) Bobbie Kociejowski22/23 Nov. Feltmaking Heather Belcher29/30 Nov. and 6/7 Dec. Loom Weaving I and II, Melanie Venes13 Dec. Spinning, Nancy Lee Child
Prices: Spinning £45.00 , Colour £90.00 , Dyeing £90.00, Tapestry £90.00, Feltmaking £90.00, Loom Weaving I & II £140.00. ie 1 day £45.00, 2 days £90.00 and 4 days £140.00Limited places (usually seven) are available for each weekend course. All fees quoted include VAT, equipment hire and raw material (yarns, fleece/fibres). Courses are held from 10am to 5pm each day, with an hour break for lunch. The courses are non-residential. For all courses, please bring a notebook and pen or pencil and (except for spinning) graph paper, scissors and a tape measure. We suggest that you bring a packed lunch, facilities for making tea and coffee are available.
Open 10 am - 5 pm Tuesday to Saturday Closed Sunday and Monday29 Haroldstone Road London E17 7AN 020 8521 2281
Email address: [email protected] site: http://www.handweaversstudio.co.uk
Page 11
September 2008
July 2008:Weaving the Unicorn Tap-estriesCaron Penney (Head of the West Dean Tapestry Studio)
The West Dean Tapestry Studio to the north of Chichester in West Sussex works to commission for private and corporate clients. Their work usually translates the paintings of well-known artists such as Henry Moore, Howard Hodgkin and John Piper, or they produce contemporary designs for clients such as the Houses of Parliament and Great Ormond Street Hospital.
In 2001 however, the West Dean weavers began work on quite a different project. Historic Scotland (the official department which looks after ancient monuments and historic buildings in Scotland) are in the process of renovating all of their castles to how they were in 1546, during the reign of James V. They wanted to recreate the seven tapestries which make up the mediaeval series called The Hunt of the Unicorn, for eventual display at Stirling Castle. This particular series was chosen because most series (usually made in sets of seven or eight) are either incomplete or no longer exist. But the Unicorn series (1495-1505) is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art at the Cloisters Museum in New York.
When West Dean Studio won the
tender to produce the tapestries, a team of weavers travelled to New York to produce the cartoons and research the original techniques and colour. Producing the cartoon from a contemporary painting would usually be done by tracing over the original artwork onto acetate. But the team was not allowed to touch the original tapestries, so each one was photographed as an A4 transparency and enlarged. Copying them onto acetate, however, resulted in a cartoon that was too stiff and inflexible under the weaving, so instead, they were printed onto paper, backed by a stiffer paper, so this could be stitched to the tapestry as it progressed. With spreadsheets to record all the finer details of colour, the drawing process for the first tapestry took about five weeks to complete.
As some of the tapestries were damaged (skies had been removed and replaced by blue cloth, possibly to lose outdated royal emblems, or slits had appeared due to the weight of the tapestry), it was agreed with Historic Scotland that areas could be redrawn at this stage, inventing as necessary. Also, because the originals were woven at 17-18 epi and the new ones were to be at 10 epi, producing a coarser effect, the weavers used a finer weft to counterbalance this. However, this was an advantage as it gave the weavers more freedom to interpret the design rather than just making an identical copy. Although they were not able to look at the back of the tapestries in order to see the original colours (because of how the
Page 12
Warp and Weft Issue 231
originals were mounted), they were able to check the digital photographs taken previously by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and they were allowed to increase the colour density where colours had obviously faded. All of these changes had to be approved by the client.
The original weft yarns were in the proportion of 80% wool, 15% silk and 5% gold, but the silk had degraded and the pure gold wrapped around a silver core had tarnished. As the American conservation team had used mercerised cotton to repair the silk, West Dean Studios were also allowed to replace the silk with mercerised cotton, and they used a lower content of gold wrapped around a cotton core to replace the mediaeval gold thread. The original warp was wool, but the new tapestries have a cotton warp.
The original three natural dyes were madder, weld and woad with different mordants to achieve a variety of colours. During their visit to New York, the team used spreadsheets to record all the subtle details of colour in each figure, and, for convenience, matched the colours using Pantone colour samples (the standard reference colours used by designers and printers). Back in the
studio, using chemical dyes, they matched the Pantone samples, at first producing about 100 colours, although subsequent visits to America have caused this to grow to about 260 colours, and these dyed samples are now used for colour matching the later tapestries.
The mediaeval tapestries were woven sideways Gobelin-style from the back, but West Dean Studio, although also weaving sideways, prefer to work from the front. As Historic Scotland had decided that the weaving would be split between West Dean and a smaller satellite studio at Stirling Castle, it was agreed that the West Dean weavers should continue to work on their usual low-warp horizontal looms (as did the mediaeval weavers), but the Stirling weavers should work on high-warp vertical looms. As the weaving in Scotland would be viewed by visitors to the castle, this had the advantage that the public could see the work in progress more clearly. Otherwise, the techniques used (hatching, hachure, dovetails, half-passes, etc), are the same as those used 500 years ago.
The religious symbolism of the image of the unicorn is the last days of Jesus Christ, the seven tapestries being:
1. The Start of the Hunt2. The Unicorn is Found3. The Unicorn Leaps the Stream4. The Unicorn at Bay5. The Mystic Hunt of the Unicorn6. The Unicorn is Captured [often
called Killed] and Brought to the Castle.
Page 13
September 2008
7. The Unicorn in Captivity.Each tapestry takes three to four
years to complete, and so far, of the seven, the two studios have finished four: number 7 in 2003, number 1 in 2004, number 6 in 2007, and number 2 in 2008. Historic Scotland plan to complete the renovation of Stirling Castle by 2011 and the full set of tapestries by 2013.
For a more detailed article about the Unicorn tapestries by Caron Penney, see The Journal, March 2008 (issue 225), pp.23-6.
Yvonne Dedman
For anyone who would like to attend a tapestry weaving course at West Dean, phone 0844 4994408 for a brochure or take a look at www.westdean.org.uk and go to the short courses (constructed textiles) link. The courses on offer at the moment include:
Tapestry weaving in a small format, Pat Johns (28 Sep-3 Oct 2008)
Tapestry weaving for beginners, Caron Penney (24-26 Oct 2008 & 17-19 April 2009)
Tapestry weaving: the art of translation, Philip Sanderson (13-15 March 2009)
Tapestry weaving: exploring ideas through personal practice, Pat Johns (28-31 May 2009)
The website is also worth a look if your interest is natural dyeing, kumihimo, feltmaking or other crafts.
Page 15
September 2008
August 2008:Melanie VenesCreative Sampling – the ‘what if?’ school of weav-ing
As a member of the newly re-formed Weave Study Group that meets quarterly before the monthly Guild meetings and whose members had swapped warps, I had spent a fair amount of time over the last couple of months wondering what I should do with the natural lambswool warp and advancing point threading suggestion that I had been given.
What should I be thinking about? The possibilities seemed endless. To begin with those choices were dictated by the yarns I had to use and then, as the weaving progressed, by what I liked and didn’t like. But were these choices right? The thought remained that maybe I wasn’t asking myself the right questions. When I saw that the talk on the afternoon of our second meeting was to be about samples, I thought that some of my questions were bound to be answered and things would become easier when I started work on the new warp.
In her introduction, Brenda gave a good overview of Melanie’s past in weaving and teaching and of her work with the Guild and she ended with the simple statement: “And of course Melanie has opinions.”
How right she was. The opinions we heard about in that fascinating two hours were mainly, but not entirely,
to do with the fact that sampling is a vital tool for anyone who is looking to advance their weaving skills. Sampling, Melanie took great pains to make clear, takes many different forms, it is done for many different reasons, and it has many differing outcomes which are all very often driven by the question: “What if?” What if … I use a different yarn...I change the sett … I beat it harder/softer … I wash it in hot water when I take if off the loom? The “What if”s are endless.
Standing behind three tables covered in 30-years-worth of samples, both actual and virtual, Melanie took us through some of the stories behind those samples, explaining how they came into being and how they lead her on to make further experiments and more discoveries. The samples began with those she had made as she studied for the Bradford diploma, continued with samples made as she learnt what her new loom was capable
Page 16
Warp and Weft Issue 231
of, and continued with others as she moved from being predominantly a rug weaver to weaving fabric and needed to adjust her technique to these new challenges.
One of these early samples was based on drawings and photographs of tiled roofs in Dubrovnik and there was a sample which very evocatively captured the design elements Melanie had been working with. But, what to do with the remainder of the warp? The Bradford syllabus insisted that each one of four samples must be different. The final one of these samples was a cut-pile fake fur and Melanie clearly described how the development from the first sample to the last very different one had been driven by the question: “What if?”
Many of the samples are vital as tools when Melanie teaches, to explain, to challenge, to give guidance, and to show the breadth of possibilities open to students. A fascinating example here was the long narrow roll of red cloth – 65 variations on twill using all 14 possible sheds available on a
four-shaft loom in every possible combination and with only two shades of red wool (one for the warp and one for the weft). The countless shades of red and the handle of the cloth from sample to sample could provide hours of study.
The final group of samples belonged to more recent times, woven since Melanie has been working to commission, and included samples for a scientific project assessing responses to natural and synthetic fibres. More conventional perhaps, but no less revealing in the challenges they presented, were samples for a jacket and for furnishing fabric for a hall in the Shetland Islands. And to finish with, a sample of woven mouse fur, spun from fibres collected from deconstructed owl pellets and to be used in an installation by the artist, Alistair Mackie. These latest samples reinforced Melanie’s theme for the afternoon that there should be no limit to the questions we ask ourselves or to the samples that we weave as we strive to enhance our weaving skills.
The afternoon ended with a chance to take a closer look at the samples Melanie had been talking about, to understand differences she had been explaining by handling them and examining them more closely, and to take away yet more ideas for future projects. I’m not sure that it will be any easier to produce samples from the warp that I took home with me but asking those awkward questions is certainly going to continue.
David Armstrong
Page 17
September 2008
Creative Sampling Workshop Sunday 10 August
This workshop, a great practical one day follow-on to Melanie’s talk the previous day, was held in an excellent venue in St Margarets, (good space, good light, parking available, and a reasonable hire cost). It was attended by a small group of enthusiastic participants including a couple of non-London Guild members.
We had each chosen a theme from a list Melanie had provided in advance, and arrived with looms ready-warped according to a pre-agreed threading. Mine was ‘blocks, floats and distorted wefts’ on a Bedford Cord threading. It was interesting that three of the themes/ threadings that were being woven by more than one person. But looking at the very different results that were emerging, non-weavers would be very hard-pushed to guess.
There were loads of ideas to explore from Melanie’s teaching samples (that we examined even more closely than the day before) as well as boxes of weft yarns for experimentation. Melanie broke up the day expertly with teaching, discussion and tours of the different work in progress on the looms. Our outputs for one day were pretty impressive.
The gilding of the lily, so to speak, was a loom set up to weave not only velvet, but with a supplementary weft gold twill on the ground weave. Strictly ‘off topic’ as far as the main workshop was concerned, but prepared for the benefit of a PhD student who joined us for the day,
doing some rather esoteric research into the topic. She started the day as a total non-weaver, but ended it having woven a most professional sample and cutting her own velvet pile!
I said the previous day that my claim to fame was that I was one of the few people in the London Guild not to have been taught by Melanie at some stage. I’m sorry that circumstances made me wait so long, but at long last I made it, and it most certainly lived up to expectations. And well done to Jenifer Midgley for having found the venue – any suggestions for more workshops?
Brenda Gibson
Page 18
Warp and Weft Issue 231
A Little Look at Liverpool
There was a good show of work by the London Guild at this summer’s National Association exhibition in Liverpool. Quite a few members got to visit the exhibition as well. Below is a small sampler of pictures and comments.
Jean Derby “I liked the variety of tapestries. One which caught my eye was one made with linen paper with small pieces of slate attached, which was quite different to the others. A pity there wasn’t a catalogue which would have added to the enjoyment of the exhibition.”
Sonia Tindale “I was very impressed by the high standard of work and it was nice to see so many guilds represented. Paddy Bakker’s work for the Advanced Certificate in Textile Studies was outstanding. It wasn’t an easy venue to display work in, perhaps more use
Page 19
September 2008
could have been made of the upper floor.”
Brenda Gibson“I really liked the mezzanine display space with some beautiful rugs hung from the ceiling in good light, though it’s a pity that this meant displaying the backs of some non-reversible pieces.”
Marion Gore“There were some really impressive pieces. My favorites were two rugs and a special stole tucked in a corner upstairs. The scarf which I submitted had been wrongly ascribed so I was glad to correct that error.”
Jenifer Midgely“We submitted 22 items for the exhibition and it was good to see 16 of them on display, so only six rejects. In addition we provided eight miniature pieces and four works in CD cases. I was pleased to see several woven shibori items from fellow class members of last years’ summer school and Claude’s amazing Liar’s cloth. The best part of the day was the faultless organisation of our day out by Brenda.”
Noreen Roberts“The exhibition space with its central staircase was pleasing, as was the high quality of the work, but I was
disappointed in the way some pieces were hung and the lack of adjacent information on materials/ techniques used.”
Anyone for another outing?
There is a proposed visit to Perry Green to see the exhibition of textiles designed by Henry Moore. Members interested should contact Jenifer Midgley (020 8892 4708 or [email protected]). The exhibition ends on 19 October so possible dates would be 1 or 15 October and we would travel by car with lunch en route.
Above left: Miniatures showcaseLeft: Carpet-woven shoes by Noreen RobertsAbove right: A selection of hangings
Page 20
Warp and Weft Issue 231
London Guild Weave Study GroupFor members of the Weave Study Group, 9 August was sample day in a big way. Not only did we have the afternoon to be stimulated by the wealth of variety in the samples Melanie used to accompany her talk (see above, W&W p. 15) but also in the morning we were able to examine and discuss the samples we had all woven as a result of our first warp exchange.
The idea behind the warp exchange had been to give each of us a nudge outside our usual weaving mould – although it might be said that in some cases it wasn’t so much a nudge as a bloody great push! Jenifer Midgley for example, known for her fine (in all senses of the word) weaving and spinning, had had the task of sampling on a thick wool warp; I had been presented by Melanie with a warp in colours I have never used before, enabling me to explore unfamiliar colour combinations as well as a block structure I rarely use; and Sarah Griffiths rose brilliantly to the challenge of her first warp on 8 shafts (and only her second warp ever) with considerable style and innovation.
The general consensus was that, while taking a warp and threading from another weaver can indeed open doors in our minds and new possibilities in our weaving, there is something quite discomfiting about it – as Eve Alexander put it, usually when you start to weave, that’s the end of the process, but here it’s the
beginning and you don’t know how the story goes. Not that any of us lost the plot completely …
Notwithstanding that, for our next meeting in November we will again be sharing samples from exchanged warps. After that we will move on to common exploration of a single yarn, probably tencel or bamboo, so that we build up a body of experience and samples that can form a useful resource both for study group members and the Guild as a whole.
Wendy Morris
Spinning Skills-sharing GroupTaking advantage of the fact that the hall was hired in the morning of the August meeting by the Weave Study Group, about a dozen spinners gathered to share skills. We decided that because of the problem of transporting wheels, we would concentrate on spindle spinning. This session focussed on two ways of plying, the Andean method of a wristlet made by winding singles across the back of the hand and the method of plying from a centre-pull ball wound on a nostepinde.
We all experienced ‘eureka’ moments – my own came when I realised that the skein formed by Andean plying is held together merely by friction on the wool….trying to demonstrate it using mercerised cotton just doesn’t work!
It was suggested that we could
Page 21
September 2008
share experiences of selected fibres at future sessions. Pat Wilson proposed trying some Bowmont fleece, if we can source it. We would order sufficient for each person to try (perhaps 100gms each) and distribute them so that spinners could bring their samples to the next session in November. If you are interested in taking part, email or phone me ([email protected], 020 8748 3737).
Theresa Munford
Summer School 2009
The AGWSD Summer School will take place the week of 2-9 August 2009 at Bishop Grosseteste College, Lincoln. There are 13 courses on offer, details are in the September edition of the Journal. A brochure and down-loadable application form will be on the Association website soon, and also available in hard copy from 1 September from the convenor:
Judith Penneck,Fougou,Silver StreetWragby,Market RasenLincs LN8 5PJPlease send a SAE C5 envelope.Allocation of courses will be done in January 2009.
The course on offer are:•Designing and weaving complex weaves and freeform designs on
simple 4-shaft looms, Annie Devriese•Design and dye your own self-patterning yarns, Debbie Tomkies•Design for creative spinners, Alison Daykin and Jane Deane•Felted stoles, Helen Melvin•Wool combing – colour blending and worsted spinning, Jacquie Teal•Warp, weft, sett – the elements of weave structure, Melanie Venes•3D felt for fashion accessories, Lyn Jenkins•Spinning for beginners and improvers, Steve Kennett•Practical inspirations from ethnic sources, Jennie Parry•Inkle loom weaving, Anne Dixon•Shadow weave and repp weave, the same but different, Janet Phillips•Fun with acid dyes, Amanda Hannaford•Spin to knit, Carol and Pete Leonard
Page 22
Warp and Weft Issue 231
Guild News
Peter Collingwood Videos Available When it was known that Peter Collingwood would not be able to attend the Complex Weavers seminar in Florida this year, Complex Weavers asked Wendy Morris and Stacey Harvey-Brown if they would work with Peter on a video to be shown at the conference instead. The video comprises a wide-ranging interview with Peter, followed by a more technical hands-on session in which Peter explains and demonstrates his macrogauze technique in some detail, along with shaft-switching and anglefells.
The video is now available through Complex Weavers as a 2-DVD set, but to make it easier for UK weavers, Wendy has brought a quantity back with her for direct sale. The price of the 2-DVD set is £10. If you would like a copy please let Wendy know - email [email protected] or phone 020 8340 3903.
Aileen Kennedy’s Books
We received thanks from Aileen Kennedy for the card that Guild members sent to her when she moved into a care home. The thanks came via an email from Aileen’s daughter, Julia Todd, who has also sent us a list of Aileen’s books. These are now available at good prices for Guild members and Julia has kindly offered 10% pf proceeds to the Guild. The
full list is on our website but should you wish for a hard copy please phone or email Theresa Munford ([email protected] 020 8748 3737) and she will send you a print out.
Spitalfields
Weavers from the London Guild will be demonstrating silk spinning at the 18th century house of a Huguenot silk weaver in London’s East End on the weekend of the 20-21 September (13 Princelet St, E1). Preparation for the demonstration has included researching the history of Huguenot weavers, protestant refugees from France who settled in this area outside the bounds of the City of London to avoid the restrictive legislation of the City Guilds, as well as setting up a demonstration loom with a fine silk warp.
Errata:
Many apologies to our Japanese visitor Naoko Asakura for a handful of mistakes in the article on karamushi in the June W&W.
Cultivation of karamushi in Showa village started in the 15th century (not the 17th as we stated) and began to decline when Japan opened its doors to the West in the 1850s. Also, Naoko’s MA degree was from the University of East Anglia, Norwich, not Norwich Art College.Sorry!Sumimasen!
Page 23
September 2008
Future MeetingsLesley Pullen: “Revival of Traditional Textiles: Bali, Flores, and Sumba (13 September)
An overview of the current production of textiles in the eastern areas of Bali, Flores and Sumba; this richly illustrated talk will consider the revival of natural dyes, and handwoven threads and textiles in these areas in the early 21st century. These beautiful traditional textiles, rich both in aesthetic and spiritual values, are hand woven by women in their rural homes and in informal village ‘co-operatives’. The eco environment of the plant materials for the natural dyes and threads, and the social environment in which the dyers and weavers operate, are key elements in this textile revival. Lesley travelled to these islands in 2005 and 2007 and the images she will share were captured first hand in the field. She will return there in 2009.
Lesley will also share with us her rich collection of warp ikat textiles from eastern Indonesia
Karen Staples: My Journey into Stitch and Weave (11 October)
Karen Staples is a textile artist who is currently concerned with ‘A Sense of Place’, in particular, Cwmorthin Slate Quarry in Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales. The focus of this work is a response to the physical landscape. Information has been gathered by walking, observing, listening,
touching, feeling and reflecting. Materials integral to the quarry have been gathered and utilised inside and outside of the gallery space exploring ideas of physicality, time and decay.
During the presentation Karen will outline the journey from initial concepts and ideas to preparing a body of work for exhibition.
Sarah Lowry: Who Am I Designing For? -- the recent work of Sarah Lowry (8 November)
Sarah graduated from the Royal College of Art, London, in 2007 with a woven textiles MA. Her personal work, influenced by braiding, is all about putting the diagonal into weave. She will be talking about her recent work which includes designing for George Spencer Design in Guatemala and doing development work with nettle weavers in Nepal as part of the John Dunsmore travel scholarship.
Competitions (13 December)
The Kennedy Cup for Spinning: Light to Dark and Back Again.Lore Youngmark Prize: Weaving with ColourThe Gwen Shaw Competition: Small Details, Big Ideas. (For full details see the March 2008 edition of W&W or look on the Guild website)
Details of 2009 programme will be in December's Warp & Weft, but in the meantime we can give you details of January's meeting, see over page.
Page 24
Warp and Weft Issue 231
Jennifer Shellard: Light Cloth (10 January 2009)
Jennifer writes “I have always been drawn to qualities and sensations of light – the halo of a full moon, the aura of a candle in a darkened room and the scintillating thread-like beams of a sodium street light on a misty night. The Light Cloth project developed from observations (drawings, monoprints, photographs and movie clips) of light in various forms. From this inspiration, the work has developed as an installation of handwoven textile, colour and projected light.
"Woven with controlled gradations of tone and colour, the minimal textile compositions form the backdrop. Shards of strategically positioned light are selectively and accurately positioned on the textile using a digital projector. With the help of specialist animation software, the projected colour evolves as a looped, slow transition movie in which the colour gradates barely perceptibly through the spectrum, both affecting and enhancing the minimal lit portion and – by simultaneous contrast - the surrounding composition of the textile.
"Colour, light, and visual perception are key concerns of my work and although the hand woven textile continues to play a key role, the overall aim is for a visually harmonious outcome where the use of technology is effective yet discreet.
By subjugating and concealing its evidence, the installation succeeds in its aim to appear subtle, enigmatic and meditative.
"My talk will reflect on the Light Cloth project, on past work from which it has evolved, on my methods of working and on problems encountered."
Page 25
September 2008
Membership Update
We give a warm welcome to four new Guild members since the last issue of W&W: Shraddha and Astha Desai, mother and daughter, who some of you may remember as they were members a few years ago, and Mary Bradbury and Jocelyn Freeman. Please find their addresses below with members’ changed details.
Did you know that any new membership applications received after 1 September 2008 will continue until the end of 2009? If you know of anyone who may be persuaded to join now please let me know and I will send them an application form.
Please keep sending me any changes to your details which will appear in the membership section of our private website and is updated several times each year. All non-email changes are printed in this issue of Warp & Weft. Also please let me know if I make any errors.
Noreen Roberts
New members
Mary Bradbury40 Osbourne RoadLondon N4 3SD 07866 742433
Shraddha and Astha Desai 152 Blundell Road EdgwareLondon HA8 0JG0208 959 5175
Jocelyn Freeman‘Brenchley’Oldfield RoadBickleyBromleyKent BR1 2LF0208 289 1306
Members’ changes of address
Yvonne Dedman8 Borough StreetBrighton BN1 3BG0123 733202
Aileen KennedyQueen Elizabeth House38 Southborough RoadBromley BR1 2EE
Lola McDowell 15 Hamilton Road Whitstable Kent CT5 1JX 0208 749 0923 Cathy McIver The Annexe Naish FarmBack StreetWest Carmel YeovilBA22 7QF
Gillian Walker27 Kingston ParkLymingtonSO41 8ES01590 672362
Page 27
September 2008
Library NewsThere are no new books to let you know about in this issue of W&W. However, I thought it would be useful to set out again the rules for borrowing books from the library, as we have had some new members since the last time I did this. For every book that is borrowed there is a charge of £1 per year. If you want to borrow two books at the same time it is £2 and so on. The books can be taken out for two months, but if they are not brought back within that time, then a fine of 40p is made for each month overdue. The money collected goes towards buying new books.
As most of you know, we have been able to buy quite a few books over the past couple of years and we have also been given books, and these newbooks have proved popular. However, the
number of books borrowed each month is relatively small for the number of books we have in the library and the archive, only perhaps half a dozen or so at each meeting. Can I make a plea that more books are borrowed! The library is a great opportunity to take out a book which you don’t want to buy but would like to read. Alternatively you may have heard about a technique or pattern and would like to look it up or a book may be out of print and this is the only way of reading it.
There is a list of all the books in the library and archive on our website and also in the file which is on the library table each month. Please make your librarian happy by giving her more work to do!
Jean Derby
London Guild Member Sue Hiley Harris is having an exhibition of her woven sculptures this autumn – well worth a trip to Cardiff.
HIDDEN WAVESWater is ever-present in the artist’s immediate environment and much of the work in this exhibition derives from watching the flow of water and its contents. She lives in a Brecon town house rising at the back straight out of the River Honddu. Working with nylon monofilament enables Sue to weave pieces that disappear in some light and then reappear like moving water. Often other materials cut through the work without disturbing the whole shape.
Llanover Hall Arts Centre, Romilly Road, Canton, Cardiff CF5 1FH15 September – 25 October 2008 029 2063 1144www.cardiff-info.com/lifelong Email: [email protected]
The gallery is open to the public during term time whenever the centre is open. As a guide, office times are: weekdays 9.30am-3pm, Saturdays 9.45am-12noon. Phone and check opening if making a special trip.
Page 28
Warp and Weft Issue 231
What's On
29 August - 29 September
Threading Through Natureat the Pumfrett Room, Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Gravel Hill, Horndean, Hampshire. Work by the Odyssey textile group 10am - 5.30pm daily. Details from 02392 595040.
5 - 7 September
Something Old, Something NewThe Textile Society’s Conference in Winchester The Textile Society’s AGM is in Winchester this year. Three packed days full of talks, visits and all things textile. Details from www.textilesociety.org.uk
6 September
E17 Designers’ Market at the E17 Art Trail, Vestry House Museum, Vestry Road, Walthamstow, E17 9NH 2pm - 4.30pm. Details from 07904 546294, www.e17arttrail.co.uk.
13 September - 5 October
Long Barn Workshopspart of Hertfordshire Open Studios Brandsmead, Whempstead Road, Benington, Herts, SG2 7BX Seven artists exhibiting embroidered and stitched textiles and mixed media.
Sat, Sun 10:30am - 4:30pm , Tues, Thurs, Fri 12 noon - 4pm. (Displays will also include paintings and some print making on the following dates only: 13 - 14, 16, 19 - 21, 25, 27 - 28 September and 3 - 5 October) Details from 01438 869343. 13 September - 11 October
Take a Walk on the Wild SideExhibition by 02 Textiles at Braintree Town Hall, The Square, Braintree, Essex Mon - Fri 10am- 5pm, Sat 10am – 4pm . Entry free. Details from 01277 655994
8 October - 4 January
Interiors: The Roger Woods Design ArchiveAn exhibition at the Hastings Museum and Art Gallery celebrating the textile designs of Roger Woods [email protected] Until 26 October
The Story of the Supremesat the V&A Museum
Until 16 November
Fashion and Sportat the V&A Museum
1 - 19 October
NakedTextiles and mixed media by Diversity at the Norden Farm Centre for the
Page 29
September 2008
Arts, Altwood Road, Maidenhead SL6 4PF Tues - Sat 10am - 10.30pm. Tel: 01628 682555
9 - 12 October
Knitting & Stitching Showat Alexandra Palace, London Huge selection of exhibitions from internationally renowned embroiderers and textile artists, the Learning Curve workshop programme and a shopping mall to tempt you to buy all those new products you need. Thurs - Sat 10am - 5.30pm, Sun 10 am- 5pm. Ticket hotline: 01394 270707, www.twistedthread.com
11 October
African Textiles & Costumesthe textile society’s Collectors’ Group Autumn Meeting in North London. Janie Lightfoot’s African collection of textiles, costume, artefacts & beadwork. Janie will also show us around her conservation/restoration studio. [email protected]
13 October - 10 November
Signature IIZero3 Textile Group at Braintree District Museum, Manor Street, Braintree, CM7 3YG, Mon - Sat 10am – 5pm. Meet the Artists Saturday, 18 October 11.30am - 3pmDetails from 01376 344345
14 - 23 October
“Inspired by” at the Visual Arts Centre, Frances Bardsley School, Brentwood Road, Romford, Essex RM1 2RR An exhibition by the Material Girls 10am - 4pm. Details from 01708 472468, www.thematerialgirls.co.uk.
18 October
The Guild of Needle Laces AGM & Lace Day at All Saints Church, Dedworth, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 4JW Workshops: Smocking a Christmas Bauble; Lucet Cords & Embellished Cordonnettes.Speaker: Jacqueline Holmes - Gathering Inspiration.Suppliers: De Haviland Threads & The Guild of Needle Laces. 10am - 4pm. Entrance tickets £4. Workshops £10, including materials. Details from 01753 737277
23 October - 16 January
Billy: Bill Gibb’s Moment in Time at the London Museum of Fashion & Textiles Bermondsey. A retrospective of the work of one of the most creative designers of 20th Century London fashion. A contemporary of Ossie Clark, Biba’s Barbara Hulanicki and Zandra Rhodes, Bill Gibb created beauty and fantasy in 70s fashion. His extreme imagination on paper was translated into garments of an haute couture level. Gibb’s signature was gowns of romantic and
Page 30
Warp and Weft Issue 231
historical inspiration textured with print, pattern, embroidery, beadwork and leather. With Kaffe Fassett, he elevated knitwear to an art form.
11 November - 29 November
Blackheath Textile Artists’ Annual Exhibition at Blackheath Village Library, London SE3 0DD Tues, Thurs, Sat 10am - 12.30pm, 1.30pm – 5pm, Fri 10am – 1pm Details from 01322 663374
21 - 23 November
MADE 08 - Brighton’s Design and Craft Fair at the Corn Exchange, Church Street, Brighton. Showcases UK designer-makers, across all disciplines, enabling the public to view and buy contemporary work direct from the makers. Entrance: £5 Details from 01903 600453, www.made08.co.uk
Until 7 September 2009
China: Symbols in Silk at the Horniman Museum, 100 London Rd, Forest Hill, London SE23 3PQ 10.30am - 5.30 pm daily. Details from 020 8699 1872. (This exhibition has had its run extended until September 2009 as part of the Horniman’s plan to have an annual textile exhibit running from September to September each year.)
Contributions to What's On
What’s On in Textiles is collated by Sharen McGrail and is supplemented by material from other members. If you know of any textile related events or exhibitions in the London area that would be of interest to other members please let Sharen know.
[email protected] 8521 0355
Page 31
September 2008
Opinions
The committee is not responsible for the opinions expressed in Warp & Weft. Nothing may be copied without the permission of the editor. Where a communication to the editor or any of the officers requires a reply, please email or enclose a stamped addressed envelope.
Warp & Weft Online
This edition of Warp & Weft is available in colour in a private members’ area on the London Guild website. Members whose email addresses are known are sent a Username and Password that enables access to the private area of the site. If you do not have the access details, please email [email protected].
Advertising in Warp & Weft
Warp & Weft accepts both display and classified advertising at the editor’s discretion. The cost for display ads is £15 full page, £10 half page. A layout and setting service is available if required, cost £20 and £10 respectively. Small (ie classified) ads cost £5 (members) and £7.50 (non-members) for up to 25 words. Adverts must be prepaid by postal order or cheque made payable to “London Guild of Weavers”. Send copy and payment to the editor.
Articles for Warp & Weft
Articles should be:1. submitted by email, either as a
Word, RTF or text file attachments (or even in the body of an email);
2. sent on a disk (floppy or CD), as a Word, RTF or text file;
3. printed out or typed in as large and clear a typeface as possible, with no end-of-line hyphenation, so that they can be scanned instead of being re-keyed (in order of preference) and sent to the editor.
Copy Dates
Warp & Weft is produced quarterly in March, June, September and December. All contributions (including advertisements) must reach the editor by:1st February for the March issue1st May for the June issue1st August for the September issue1st November for December issue
Editor
Theresa Munford27 Bracken GardensBarnesLondon SW13 9HW020 8748 [email protected]
13 September
Lesley Pullen: Contemporary Expressions of Traditional Textiles -evidence from Bali, Flores and Sumba
11 October Karen Staples: My Journey into Stitch and Weave
8 November
Morning: Weave Study Group 11:30Afternoon: Sarah Lowry: Who Am I Designing For? - the recent work of Sarah Lowry
13 December Christmas CompetitionsGwen Shaw: Small Details, Big IdeasLore Youngmark: Weaving with ColourKennedy Cup for Spinning: Light to Dark and Back Again
10 January 2009
Jennifer Shellard: The Light Cloth Project
All meetings are held at St Stephen’s House, 48 Emperor’s Gate, London SW7 and start at 2:30pm, unless otherwise indicated.
See www.londonguildofweavers.org.uk for additions or updates
London Guild of Weavers, Spinners & DyersProgramme 2008
![Case study - Textile ETP [Spinners & Spinners]](https://img.dokumen.tips/doc/110x75/5878e2e41a28abfa038b4da9/case-study-textile-etp-spinners-spinners.jpg)
