Blues and greys

As the saying goes, if March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb. So far this is holding true with the violent storms at the end of February making way for a long period of milder weather throughout March. With the longer days, warm sunshine and blue skies, and all the plants have taken on a mantel of green, tulips are pushing through, and in the woods anemones and celandines are raising their starry faces to the sun.

Exhibition: Zeven x weven

Just as the March skies have been blue, so have these colours been reflected in the work coming off my loom for the exhibition ‘Zeven x weven’ [Seven x weaving] which opens at the Katoendrukkerij in Amersfoort, The Netherlands, on 13th March and runs until 10th July. I feel very privileged to be part of this upcoming group exhibition together with six other contemporary Dutch weavers, Daisy van Groningen (guest curator), Theo Rooden, Christiane Maurer, Mirjam Hagoort, Babs van den Thillart and Marieke Kranenburg. The exhibition will showcase our work, demonstrating the varied weaving techniques possible as used by exemplary craftspeople and artists currently working in The Netherlands who are constantly pushing the boundaries of their specialism. Below you can see the many samples that I wove (pictured top left) before settling on the final warp with which to create the wall hangings that will be on show during the exhibition. The four final pieces came off the loom at the beginning of the month, and each has its own distinct characteristics as a result of the materials used and the weave structure. This is one of my fascinations with weave: one warp can lend itself to so many different effects. The possibilities are endless. I’m looking forward to being able to share more images once the pieces have been hung: keep an eye on my Instagram for more details!

Commissioned work

Once the very slow paper weaving for the exhibition had been finished, my loom wasn’t empty for long before I began work on two commissions that have been waiting for attention. I’d already planned the warps for both, mixed yarns (mainly wool) in warm colours combined, in the first case, with a beautiful Alpaca/organic wool yarn ‘Echos’, by the Italian company Sesia, in the weft. The second scarf uses a mixture of yarns in the weft in a simple tabby weave, and relies on the changing of the colours and textures along its length to give the distinctive effect and vibrancy of the colours. The weave structure doesn’t have to be complex to give interesting results. Wool is such a versatile material and still my favourite to weave with – it’s so forgiving on the loom and its inherent stretchiness makes it easy to handle and tension. A real pleasure after working with the temperamental mixed warp I used for the exhibition pieces.

Colour and textural inspiration

I get a lot of my inspiration from nature and my surroundings. However, often it’s the materials that can spark an idea. The beautiful slubby silk yarns (shown below left) from Bart and Francis have a mix of colours that I combine with wool or linen in the weft to add interest. I use anywhere between five and 20 different yarns in the warp, combining them intuitively as I make up the warp. I’ve recently started using a British wool from Uppingham Yarns, spun in Yorkshire by Z. Hinchliffe. This doesn’t shrink and felt as readily as merino lambswool, and when combined with a silk/linen mixed yarn in the weft it gives the resulting fabric more weight and a beautiful drape. The scarf shown below was woven with the remainder of the first commissioned warp (above) using the British wool in the weft and a different weave pattern. The result is quite different, again showing the variety of effects that can result from the same warp depending on the materials used and the weaving draft.

Until next time…

Thank you for reading this far; I wish you all the very best and hope to see you again for my next blog in April. If you’d like to see more of my work and inspirations, I post regularly on Instagram @veronicapock. I hope to see you there.