The weavings of Guatemala and Peru knocked me out when I was 16, and I am still inspired by traditional cloth and the women who weave it. A feeling of connection to all weavers past and present, abroad and at home, strengthens me and keeps me coming back to the studio.
Structure and Color inform my work
I have always been fascinated with complexity and pattern. My designs flow naturally out of my awareness of repeating patterns, interesting juxtapositions, and interlocking tiles. Texture comes not so much from changing yarns but from contrasting types of pattern. In the weaving techniques respectively known as color and weave effect and network drafting, I line up interlocked geometric shapes with swirling, organic-looking patterns. Recently I’ve added Echo weaves and iridescence effects to my design tools.
Color
Colors, like the notes in a musical composition, can be continuous, with tone and hue fading into each other; or discrete, jumping from one note to another, one color to the next. Both uses of color are important in my work, and I like to use a wide spectrum in each piece.
Color and Structure
“Color and weave effect” is a weaver’s term for what is really a visual trick. A multi-colored warp and two shuttles carrying contrasting weft threads create alternating stripes in both warp and weft. As color is placed into a woven structure, patterns emerge: squares, circles, squiggles, diagonal ramps. The simplest form of color and weave effect is the hound’s tooth check. Lots of my patterns look like ribbons weaving together: a weaving of a weaving.
