Inspirational artists

This week I’ve dyed some more yarn with natural dyes for my William Morris tapestry  (this time some finer yarn) which I’m doing as part of the current weave-along.  So, since I haven’t got any weaving progress to share I thought I’d share some inspiration today.  This week I received two late birthday gifts in the mail.  They were worth the wait: Sheila Hicks: 50 Years and Eva Hesse 1965.  I have long loved the work of both these artists but today they feel more pertinent to my practice than ever as I weave on my Mirrix and think about the installation work I’ll be spending more time doing in the city soon.  I saw a studio work retrospective on Eva Hesse in Toronto a few years back and the volume of work that she did in the studio was overwhelming; we’re talking only things she never deemed showable, this was just her studio research/play.  Ever since then I have never worried about the weird things that have come out of my own practice, knowing that every “meh” piece informs a future well-loved one.  How freeing.

Sheila Hicks is a textile art pioneer (I know I don’t have to tell you! – Mirrix people are so well informed), and this book is an unbelievable record of her work and therefore a great tool for weavers.  Today I thought I’d share one particular piece (well, two) that I thought those of you who are taking part in the current weave-along might enjoy.  Ever since my first design class in textile art school I have been a huge fan of white-on-white textured, well anything – textiles, architecture, ceramics… so naturally this is one that jumped out at me.

The piece on the right is titled White Letter woven by Sheila Hicks in 1962 (46.5″ X 38″), and features some weft faced areas (the finer woven areas) as well as some balanced woven areas where she has woven over three warps at a time using three weft strands.  The result is an unbelievably richly textured piece. This is an interesting technique to consider incorporating into a piece that is woven on a Mirrix using two shedding devices.  Below is a better detail.  Are you participating in the Double-shedding device weave-along?  I’m pretty excited about it.  Next week I’ll share my weaving progress.

On the left page is a similar approach using two colors.  Equally as stunning (I love the counterchange relationship they have with each other).  The diptych is titled Quadrado Obscuro-Menos Obsuro, 1961 (11 X 11 3/8″)

Until next week,

Janna Maria Vallee

(past posts by me)