March Program — Zoom and in-person
March 14 @ 10:00 a.m.
presented by Molly Elkind
The world of contemporary work in tapestry is exciting and diverse. Many artists are exploring the potential of texture, creating works that come forward in space or even become completely three-dimensional. In this slide lecture, view the work of a wide variety of weavers who are pushing tapestry beyond two dimensions. Warning: you may leave with a strong desire to weave with weird materials in new ways!
From her blog Talking Textiles — https:// mollyelkindtalkingtextiles.blogspot.com/ — “So . . . what is woven-ness? Over-under-over-under. Interlacement. Warp and weft crossing in specific patterns. All of these, and also: the making of a web, the combining of two or more elements into one integrated whole, the weaving together. Not for nothing do we speak of the fabric of society and the worldwide web. If we probe deeper into the modality of weaving we find an approach, attitude and orientation, that is crucially different from that offered by knitting and crochet, different from surface embroidery, different from felt- and paper-making. All of these connect elements in different ways and moods and for different purposes. All can make images, but those images will be very different from each other because of their modality.
So I continue to read and to make small experiments, seeking to find the magic center place in the Venn diagram where technique, material, form and concept all converge. I am a weaver, and weaving is a beautiful, ancient, and nuanced language. But all languages grow
and change by incorporating “foreign” words and phrases too. Is it tapestry when the weft is plastic? Grass? When the warp includes wire? Is it weaving when strips of fabric are interlaced into metal hardware cloth? I’m about to find out. If you’re still with me, thanks for following along.”