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Profile & Exhibition: Hannah Robson

21 February 2018 Company Profile / Exhibitions / General / New weave developments
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Hannah Robson constructs sculptural textile pieces using combinations of weaving and lace-making, exploring how threads can escape the traditional vertical and horizontal pathways imposed by the loom.

She studied at Winchester School of Art before going on to the Royal College of Art to complete an MA in Woven Textiles. During her MA she developed methods for creating three-dimensional forms through textile construction techniques, which continue to inform her experimental practice.

She creates opportunities for threads of metal, paper and polyester to break away from woven surfaces, taking alternative routes through space and joining together in three-dimensions. She exploits the tensions between rigorously controlled constructions and free-flowing loose threads, balancing elements of structure and chaos within her work.

Robson was selected by the Crafts Council and Jay Osgerby to develop new ideas to exhibit as part of Collect Open 2018 at Collect: The International Art Fair for Contemporary Objects.

Her installation Ersilia is inspired by the chapter of the same name in Italo Calinvo’s Invisible Cities, in which strings are are stretched between the inhabitants of the city, creating ‘spider-webs of intricate relationships seeking a form‘.
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Volunteer Opportunity: Warner Textile Archive

21 February 2018 Awards / Exhibitions / General
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The Warner Textile Archive is seeking student volunteers to apply for The Costume Society Museum Placement Award

The Warner Textile Archive is a rich design resource documenting the successes and innovation of Warner & Sons from the late 1800s. Based in Braintree, Essex the Collection comprises stunning textiles and inspirational paper designs, as well as original printing blocks, photographs and other documentary material.

The student Volunteer would be assisting the Archivist, Hannah Auerbach George with the day to day management of the Archive Collection. Duties will include: documenting incoming donations and existing parts of the Collection, assisting with cataloguing, organising storage, answering enquiries, locating items for researchers, assisting with open days, public displays and exhibitions. They are currently seeking expressions of interest from current UK students.

The purpose of this Award is to fund a student volunteer working on a dress-related project in a public museum collection in the United Kingdom. An award of up to £1000 will be offered to the student volunteer applying jointly with an appropriate Museum. For 2018, two Awards of £1000 have been offered.

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Exhibition: Pick by Pick | Margo Selby

12 February 2018 Events / Exhibitions / General / New weave developments / Workshops
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Margo Selby : Pick by Pick. In partnership with Rochester Art Gallery

Dates: 15 December 2017 – 24 February 2018
This exhibition in partnership with Rochester Art Gallery features internationally-renowned textile artist and designer Margo Selby. They are showcasing her  hand-woven framed textiles, including new pieces made especially for this show, along with an archive of her design work which reveals the creative process.

The artworks use a technique called Lampas, a historic woven structure that was developed in the 17th century by Huguenot weavers to create decorative brocade fabrics. Margo is now using these weave structures in a new way to create  geometric framed works with a modernist feel.

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Exhibition | Woven: Unwoven

11 February 2018 Events / Exhibitions / General / News
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Peter Collingwood | Woven:Unwoven

Venue: Crafts Study Centre,University for the Creative Arts, Falkner Road, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7DS
Dates:Time: 10.00am – 4.00pm

In 1950 the young Dr Peter Collingwood decided to abandon his medical career and dedicate himself instead to becoming a weaver.

Collingwood developed a technical mastery over his weaving equipment, and tailored his creative output to what the loom would permit him to do, mindful of weaving at economic speed, with the future ‘repeat’ potential and marketability of a design ever in mind.

He gained a reputation as a teacher, making many teaching visits to America, and produced four important books on the techniques and art of weaving.

Collingwood’s first purchases of woven materials were made in his years as a recently qualified doctor, posted with the Red Cross, to help with refugees in Jordan, and he added to these throughout his life.

This broad ‘Ethnographic Collection’ displaying both completed historic and contemporary objects and samples, from Indonesia to South America, Arizona to Africa, now resides at the Crafts Study Centre.

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Tapestry Course: Morley College

7 February 2018 General / Workshops
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Study the art of tapestry weaving though the interpretation of the artist’s mark.

Learn to design, make cartoons and use colour recognition through flat weave techniques of blending, hatching and half passes. All levels including beginners.

Six Saturdays starting February 17 from 11am–4.30pm.
Course code: VTX006A.
Full fee: £250, concessions available.
Tutor: Caron Penney www.weftfaced.com
Tel: 020 7450 1889
Email: enquiries@morleycollege.ac.uk
Morley College London, 61 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7HT

Weaver Profile: Jacqueline James

28 January 2018 Company Profile / General / New weave developments
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Established weaver Jacqueline James specialises in making hand woven, custom dyed rugs and wall hangings for public and private collections.  Harmonious colour combinations and striking patterns are both strong and distinctive elements of her woven designs.

Each piece is exclusive and custom made in her York studio using a large Glimakra countermarche floor loom.

Durable and natural wool or cotton weft and linen warp are used to create rugs which are colourful, contemporary and functional.

She applies a variety of traditional, flat weave, weft-face weaving techniques, including shaft switching invented by Master Weaver Peter Collingwood OBE.

Her recent collection features several rugs made with hand dyed cotton weft yarns that are ‘painted’ with permanent dye before the weaving process to create interesting, yet unpredictable, unrepeatable colour and design effects. Continue reading →

Grants: The Theo Moorman Trust

27 January 2018 Awards / General / Scholarships
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The Theo Moorman Trust aims to encourage and support weavers in the United Kingdom to enjoy artistic freedom so that they may contribute to the development of handweaving and the education of future weavers.

Biennially they award grants to younger weavers in the early stages of their careers who show potential and commitment as well as to more experienced weavers for a particular project or for time out to develop their work.

The Theo Moorman Trust for Weavers has been in existence since 1990 and aims to be a valuable resource for both young and experienced weavers. The Trustees want to ensure that the grants that are made enable individual weavers to maintain a high standard of work, and through this, to promote weaving as an art form.

Often a small grant can make all the difference at a key stage of development, by allowing time to think through ideas, train in a particular technique, or through the provision of a physical space or equipment. Short-listed applicants are interviewed, so that they can talk through their work in detail with Trustees.

Who may apply
Weavers living and working in the United Kingdom may apply. Whilst the Trust may fund some specialist weaving courses formal under-graduate and post-graduate studies will not be funded. Applicants need to have at least two and a half years working experience of their weaving independent of higher education (including post graduate courses) before applying. Applicants must be able to supply images of work done in the last two years. Continue reading →

Exhibition: Cathedral of Cloth

24 January 2018 Exhibitions / General
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Stroudwater Textile Trust is committed to maintaining Gloucestershire’s rich textile heritage, whilst promoting past and contemporary textile art and craft.

Cathedral of Cloth at the Museum in the Park, in Stroud, celebrates the life and times of Ebley Mill over a period of 200 years. Images, artefacts, and sound. Ebley Mill, still standing and renewed as the local council offices, was the largest in the South West.

The exhibition is made possible by a significant grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Dates: Feb. 3rd 2018  to March 4th 2018 –
Time: Tuesday – Friday: 10am-4pm (closed Mondays) Saturday, and Sunday: 11am-4pm

Text and image: Stroudwater Textile Trust

Exhibition: Soft Engineering | Textiles Taking Shape

13 January 2018 Exhibitions / General / New weave developments / News
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Three leading textile artists will be exhibiting their innovative work in Winchester Discovery Centre, City Space from 13 January to 18 February 2018.

Having pursued separate careers in knitting and weaving, Deirdre Wood, Ann Richards and Alison Ellen found they had many common threads that have now inspired them to work together on this joint exhibition.

Their different approaches interconnect and cross over in intriguing and sometimes surprising ways. Soft Engineering introduces a central theme of textiles taking shape through the interplay of raw material and structure, and the exhibition shows how this plays out in varied ways, with spontaneously emerging shapes, the repetition/shifting of simple shapes, pleating, folding, twisting, and double-sided fabrics.

These three makers create work on widely different scales, encompassing large wall pieces, garments, scarves and textile jewellery. Continue reading →

Opportunity: Action Through Enterprise Project | Ghana. 16.1.2018 vacancy filled

9 January 2018 General / Jobs
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A Handweave graduate/technician, or similar is required for a three week Ghana-based project.

Action Through Enterprise  is a charity that operates in the far north of Ghana.

The charity helps local entrepreneurs set up in business by providing micro grants to enable them to buy equipment and materials to start trading.

Amongst those that the charity has assisted are a number of weavers who produce traditional fabric to the local market.

The environment of northern Ghana is particularly harsh, made more so by climate change, and as a result the local weavers are finding it increasingly difficult to sell their wares.

A private UK company ‘Milou Textiles’ has now been created to employ the local weavers and market their produce in the European marketplace.

Milou Textiles will return 25% of all profits from sales to Action Through Enterprise.

Milou are looking for a UK based weaver with good technical knowledge of hand weaving processes to help the weavers to adapt their practices from using their present rudimentary looms to using wider floor looms.

The successful applicant will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Lawra in Upper West Ghana for two to three weeks in May or June 2018. For more information please contact Jonathan Hall of Milou Textiles. Vacancy Filled 16.1.2018 – please do not send applications in.

Text & images: Milou Textiles

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