Studio Notes: 'en-plein-air' weaving

By its very nature tapestry weaving is a time consuming and laborious process. The general practice for tapestry weaving is to use a detailed, full-scale image attached to the back of the loom to provide a guide for the weaving. This image is known as a cartoon and it often contains numbers or marks as colour references. 

So the thought of making a tapestry 'sketch' is rather incongruous. 

An artist in Australia who is doing some interesting work is Cresside Collette. She is exploring the concept of 'en-plein-air' tapestry and makes small jewel-like works which convey some of the immediacy of the environment she is working in. She works directly onto a small loom without the aid of sketches or any other preparatory work and the results are captivating and fresh.

She has also written a paper in which she explores the importance of drawing since the Medieval times as the "foundation for and the integrated context of woven tapestry" and looks at the  "the shift in importance of the weaver as artist within the process".

"Found in Translation – the transformative role of Drawing in the realisation of Tapestry"
(www.materialthinking.org/sites/default/files/papers/CressideCollette.pdf)

Whether one attempts to work 'en-plein-air" or not I think it says something about staying focused and creative even while working from a well considered and detailed cartoon. Working on a tapestry need not be a mere multiplicative process, but rather a continuation of the creative process.

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Cresside Collette
"Bundanon Valley", Tapestry 9 x 9.5 cm
"Pulpit Rock", Tapestry 10 x 10.5 cm
"Towards the River", Tapestry 9.5 x 8 cm
"Valley View", Tapestry - 6.5 x 28 cm