Layers

Starting with some new pieces using paper weft and linen, cotton and hemp in the warp, I’ve been using a double warp set up, something that I’ve not tried before on my current loom. I realise that I’ve not been exploiting the full potential of my loom, which has a double back beam to accommodate two separate warps, and this has set my mind to work on new designs and structural forms. These first three pieces (above) are made using vintage papers and natural fibres, and I’m looking forward to seeing what else can be achieved. In my next blog, I’ll have more photos and an explanation of how this technique works, and hopefully many more woven pieces exploring the different effects.

On the loom

As you can see below, having two separate warps facilitates the weaving of layers and their interlacing. With 24 shafts, I can also weave different patterns across the two separate warps; similarly, two completely separate fabrics can be woven.

Remnants scarves

A project I’d been itching to attempt for some time now is the using up of ‘waste’ warp threads, the small section of warp at the end that can’t be woven, as weft in a new warp. Now off the loom, the result is two unique and intriguing scarves; the first is woven in a mixture of charcoals, greys and ecru, and the second (shown top right below) is in a warm palette (and has already gone to its new home in France). Click on the image if you wold like to see the grey scarf in my shop LiminalWEAVE.

Textile bienniale at the Museum Rijswijk

Every year I look forward to the alternating biennales, paper and textile, held by the Museum Rijswijk in Rijswijk, The Hague. This year was the turn of the paper biennale; the theme of Transition reflects the time of change that we currently live in, where there is talk of a paradigm shift, and resistance in society is increasing. Change is in the air, but we don’t yet know where it is headed. Transition is an international exhibition with 20 contemporary visual artists working primarily with paper. The emphasis is on the visual and substantive quality of the works.

As usual, this exhibition didn’t disappoint. Beautifully curated, the works shown below by Layla May Arthur, Bea van Der Heiden, Anita Groener and Arno Kramer are just a small selection.

The exhibition runs until 13th November, so if you’re in the area you still have time to go and I would definitely recommend a visit (Paper biennale 2022, Museum Rijswijk)!

Open studios: de Spanjaardshof, The Hague

Also a favourite outing of mine that takes place in early October is the open studios event at de Spanjaardshof ateliers in The Hague, who open their doors as part of the Open Ateliers Den Haag. This year, I particularly enjoyed the work of Elizabeth van Vreeswijk, Anna Rose Regenburg and Jurjen Ravenhorst.

Anthony Gormley at Voorlinden Museum

Anthony Gormley has long been one of my favourite sculptors since experiencing the haunting ‘Another place’ at Crosby, UK. The retrospective exhibition ‘Ground’ at Museum Voorlinden in Wassenaar, brought together work spanning Gormley’s career, from his early lead sculptures to new installations that were custom made for Voorlinden.

In his words: ‘Sculpture is no longer a medium of memorial and idealisation but a context in which human being can be examined. Sculpture is no longer representational: it is an instrument of investigation and questioning. I have called this exhibition Ground to make this open invitation of sculpture clear. Without the viewer there is no show, without the gallery there is no context. The joy of this kind of exhibition is to allow the richness of the context itself to become activated by sculpture. For me, the body of the viewer is often the activating principle in a ‘ground’ of contemplation: the works become catalysts for awareness and grounds for physical and imaginative inhabitation.’

As well as occupying internal gallery space, the works extended out to the beautiful grounds of Voorlinden; a walk in the woods would result in a chance encounter of one of Gormley’s cast iron (iron because ‘this is the element that brings oxygen to our blood’) figures in a natural environment. It was fascinating to see Gormley’s sketches and to read that he begins each day by sketching.

Studio view

Working with paints on paper, card and found materials, I can easily explore how colours and textures interact with each other using collaging techniques. The pieces on the wall (left) are small collages inspired by the pebbles I collected on Gylen beach, Isle of Kerrera in Scotland earlier this year. I also have some new vintage maps sourced from my local antique shop in the UK. The colours and lines on the Himalayan trekking maps are a great inspiration (right), and a selection of materials waits for me as a prompt to my next work on and off the loom.

Thank you…

… for joining me on my creative journey through the seasons. If you’d like to see more of my work and inspirations, I post regularly on Instagram @veronicapock and my work is available online at LiminalWEAVE on Etsy.