Threads in Sheds: Wall IV

Memory IV
Minna Rothman

41 x 38 cm; silk, silk boucle, linen, wool
MZRStudio@comcast.net

Tapestries in my Memories Series are based on the visual memories: sketches and watercolors which I produced in my youth while on travel in Mediterranean and Western Europe. They are all woven in a manner atypical for tapestry weaving; mainly they are created to resemble paintings. To achieve this effect in a small format tapestry, I use hatching for color blending.

R<1
Jane Kirby

37 x 37 cm; wool, silk weft; cotton warp

Lockdown was a strange new experience for us all in the Spring of 2020. As we all became more familiar with the language of epidemiology, the need to drive down the R number to below one became the key to restoring our 'normal' way of life; this was the inspiration for my work. The figure attempts to ward off the virus as the elusive R<1, woven in a very slightly different shade of yellow, is barely visible.

The Journey
Paulette Furnival

30 x 24 x 6 cm; processed, wild and Tussah silk, wool, rayon
paulette.furnival@outlook.com

According to legend, silk was first discovered in China. In Western Europe, French weavers became famous for their skill in weaving sumptuous fabrics, most were Protestant Huguenots. In 1685 King Louis XIV revoked the Treaty of Nantes allowing freedom from religious persecution and many of the silk weavers fled to England, where they were welcomed by King James II.

The silk box encloses three scrolls with the signatures of the Empress Lei Zu, King Louis XIV of France, and King James II.

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Shade and Light
Veronica Collins

63 x 107 cm; silk, hand dyed wool
vt_collins@btinternet.com

The concept and colour palette from The Maria de Padilla Baths in the Alcazar in Seville.

This stripped bare underworld inspired me. Enormous stone ribs soared upwards bathed in a golden glowing light while the reflections in the water below were dark and sinister. The vaulted ceiling reminded me of a great tree canopy, strong, still, protective.

Then and now this story is that every life contains Shade and Light and we need a refuge in dark times.

The Silk Road
Monica Ward

85 x 29 cm; wool, silk weft; cotton warp
anthonyward361@btinternet.com

Woven at 11epi the black background represents a map of the route travelled transporting the silk from China to Europe and is woven in wool. The design showing modes of transport and creatures met on the way is woven with two thirds silk and one third wool in each colour bundle.The design shows the different modes of transport, the cities visited and the animals met on the way.

Test/100/25K
Anna Wetherell

34 x 22 cm; wool, silk, flax, paper weft; cotton warp
annawtapestry@btinternet.com

Watersheds. The lie of the land. A Chalk landscape. A sense of place.

Water, springing from the ground. Groundwater. Winterbourne. Water of life.

Clear, gravel-bedded streams, rich in life. Rare and fragile habitats.

Sheds of time and history. Rivers that last flowed soon after the ice. Go back in time.

Ancient landscapes. Barrows, tumuli. Harrow Way. Herewag. Heargway.

Travellers, traders, Romans. Tin. Routes to Stonehenge. Pilgrims from Winchester. Priors.

From the PUP
Alastair Duncan

33 x 32 cm; wool, silk weft; cotton warp
alastair@acmd.co.uk

Plain weave throughout with a Borgs Faro single-ply wool and silk weft on a cotton warp at 10 epi. The lustre of the silk is important for the parts of the design where it is used - yellow, blue, red and the blue/purple mix.

I was interested in the idea of illusion as a potential. I worked on another tapestry simultaneously with each relating to a perception of a different environment - in this case a working environment.

Silken Blue
Suzanne Osborn

29 x 50 cm; course silk, wool, silk tape, Tencel
suzosborn10@gmail.com

Silk is often spun very finely, so it was pleasing to discover the extremely course yarns from India. To maximise the quality of this yarn I designed an abstract piece that would not be dominated by fussy shapes to show that the luxuriousness of silk does not have to rely on intricate pattern. The textures are deliberately not too disparate, despite strong colour contrasts. My piece aims to show a more modern appreciation of the potential of silk in all its qualities.

Wild Silk
Rosemary Reeves

30 x 30 cm; recycled sari silk yarn and ribbons, kibiso silk, fine silk ribbons, undyed banana yarn; black linen warp

A basket of brightly coloured silk threads beckoned - recycled sari silk yarn and ribbons, kibiso silk, fine silk ribbons - and some undyed banana yarn.

A black linen warp completed the image forming in my mind's eye - and from there, the yarns led the way. The recycled sari silk ribbons and yarns when used in a plain weave and twining create a vibrant, textured surface reminiscent of the water in the Mill Race reflecting the sun light.