Renditions 2020: Weaving for the Environment and Little Blocks of Color
This is the third post in a series on Renditions 2020, the Unjuried Small Format Exhibition put together by the American Tapestry Alliance. The first post was It’s in the Details in case you missed it, followed by this one on Movement and Texture.
The show was originally scheduled to be at the HGA conference, Convergence, but as a result of Covid-19 restrictions, it is now being shown online. Lucky you! You can view all of the entries here.
There are certain themes and elements in art that we find ourselves responding to on a personal level. Two that always draw my attention are 1) a strong environmental theme and 2) little blocks of color. While these two “categories” might seem odd to throw together in a post, just know it is purely subjective reasoning on my part!
As in the previous posts, below are photos of the pieces, followed by quotes from the artists.
Starting with the environmental theme:
Susan Gaire, “Save the Birds, 1 in 4 lost since 1970”
I love how Susan was able to pop so much symbolic imagery into this piece. Keep in mind, it is only 8 by 10 inches.
I wove “Save the Birds, 1 in 4 lost since 1970” to increase awareness of the current situation affecting our nations wild birds. Audubon cites recent studies that the wild bird population is declining due to several manmade threats. This tapestry depicts a vanishing backyard goldfinch trying to escape some of the major threats to birds. Tree stumps symbolize deforestation and loss of habitat. Windmills and their cross shaped shadows symbolize their threat to migrating birds and raptors. A yellow feather fixed in a cracked window pane symbolizes bird strikes and the toll they take upon our wild birds. The entire scene is viewed through a picture window with a domesticated cat sitting indoors to symbolize the idea of protecting birds by keeping pet cats inside at all times.
The sett is 14 epi using 20/6 cotton seine twine. The weft is single strand fine wool from Weavers Bazaar. The size is 8 x 10 inches.
To see more of Susan’s work, visit her website here.
Bonni Opt-hof, “Save the Bees”
Bonni’s piece could have easily fit on the “It’s in the Details” post! There’s a lot of imagery in a small space here.
Save the Bees is 9 1/2 X 7 1/2. It was woven on a Mirrix Loom, using cotton seine twine as warp at 8 epi and 5 strands of Weaver's Bazaar Fine Wool for my weft. I like the fine strands, it allows me to combine colors for gradation and more color effects. I like to weave scenes from nature. I had lots of photos of wild flowers. Last summer I went to France for the Tapestry tour with Cresside Collette. There I fell in love with Dom Robert's wild flowers. So it inspired me to do a little one for the show. Now I plan on making a bigger one.
You can see more of Bonni’s work on her ATA Artist Page. Bonni, Joseph, and Kate (below) all exhibited in the Rebecca Mezoff’s Tapestry School group.
Joseph Wigon, “Recovering Environment”
Recovering Environment is one of those weavings I just kept coming back to. I’ve long been drawn to rock formations (my father was a geologist) and maybe it’s a pull toward that. It might also be the simplicity. I’m not sure, but there is something here I can’t quite put my finger on! I look forward to seeing more of Joseph’s work in the future.
My piece is approximately 10 inches wide and 5 inches long. 8 epi. Cotton warp and various wools for weft. I have been making tapestry for the past two years. I consider myself a novice. The theme of most of the tapestries I have made is social justice This piece is based on the hope that weavers can help the environment recover.
Kate Colwell, “18.8 Million People Displaced by Extreme Weather“
Kate’s piece is 8 epi, 8.25" x 7.5” with seine twine cotton warp and (mostly Paternayan) wool weft.
The tragic wildfires of the past few years in Northern California have made it clear that climate change is not something that will happen but rather something that is already killing us. The idea for this piece came from a UN High Commission on Refugees report that there were 18.8 Million people externally displaced by extreme weather just in 2017 .*
Rising waters, desertification, wildfires and pollution and millions of people are displaced but have no where to escape this devastation. This was sampling for a larger planned piece but doesn’t quite express the level of disaster I want it to expose.
And now for those little blocks of color…
Nancy Crampton, “Autumn Confetti: In Memory of My Mom”
I love the contrast of the cotton squares with the blending of the wool background in Nancy’s piece. Her tapestry is approximately 9.5 by 7 inches.
I wove this piece on my copper pipe loom 8 epi using 8/3 linen warp. The weft is commercial two-ply wool that I dyed in shades of peach/rusty pinks. The confetti is woven using six-strand cotton embroidery floss from my mother's stash.
Autumn was my mother's favorite season and the season in which she was born and married. She lived with us the last five years of her life and seeing her doing cross-stitch is a memory my siblings and I will always have. She did stitchery until she see could no longer see the needles and the colors of the thread. I live in the Midwest and the fallen leaves in autumn are always a riot of color (at least until the first snow). I see this small tapestry as a sketch for a larger piece I may do in the future.
Visit her website to see more Nancy’s work.
Arlynn Abseck, “No Walls Only Open Doors”
As I write this, I’m noticing how most of these pieces have such descriptive titles. This one brought a favorite artist of mine to mind: Friedensreich Hundertwasser. (I’ve written a little about him in this post).
I wove this Fringeless 4 selvedge piece 3.5" x 7" at 8epi. Using Weavers Bazzar worsted yarn fine. Mixing the colors with 3 strands. It was woven on a copper pipe loom of my own construction.
Arlynn also exhibited as a part of the Rebecca Mezoff’s Tapestry School group. She told me that she attributes the success of her piece to being a part of this group. And speaking of Rebecca…
Rebecca Mezoff, “Love From Colorado”
Rebecca’s piece is 4 x 5 inches, 8 epi, cotton warp, hand-dyed wool weft.
This piece was woven as part of an alternative image for the cover of my upcoming book, The Art of Tapestry Weaving. The image on the final cover is a small tapestry on a copper pipe loom and the colors for the cover were in question last fall, so I wove another piece intending to send it on the loom to the photographer for the cover of the book. The creative designers of the book did not like this color scheme and it was rejected before the piece was even finished. Fortunately for me, that meant that I could use it for Renditions. It was woven on a copper pipe loom that I made and reflects my feelings both of stability as I finished the book project and disjointedness as I moved through parts of the process that were new to me, namely the long editing process. The piece is finished neatly with a little braid because the book project did finally come to the end.
See Rebecca’s website for more of her work. Info on her book (and other tapestry books new this year) here.
Aruna Reddy, “Landscape”
I especially love the balance of little squares and rectangles here with the undulating shapes in Aruna’s Landscape.
The sett I usually use is 8 epi number 9 cotton warp from Handweavers Studio. Weft is a mix of rug yarns 80% wool 20% acrylic, silk and rayon.
It’s 10’’x10’’ and the idea is a result of a textile workshop I did at the City Lit in London exploring a variety of materials using tin foil, torn paper, oil pastels and stitch to create collages which was pared down to basic shapes for weaving. I enjoyed weaving tapestry and used some soumak for the outlining.
Aruna is a member of the British Tapestry Group. You can find more of her work there.
These are just a small example of a wide range of wonderful tapestries in this exhibit. Each time I write these posts, I notice others that I could have included. Please have a look for yourself!
*Report referred to above by Kate.