Veronica Pock | Handwoven textiles

Riotous colour

October: a month of abundance and plenty. The trees laden with apples, nature’s bounty; the flowering plants now heavy with seed, preparing for the future, ripe with possibilities. The full moon of the month, the Hunter’s moon gives a sense of the season to come. The cold grip of winter when food becomes scarce. Now is a time to revel in the colours of autumn, their names so evocative, whetting the appetite: puce, amber, olive green, Indian yellow, vermillion, madder, orchil, nightshade black, russet brown. New beginnings with the start of a new season.

Studio view

The colours of this season particularly influence my woven work, especially the scarves and other woollen items that I weave for this time of year. I’ve recently been working on a new collection of scarves which use a more open weave structure. They are still warm and soft, made from tactile merino lambswool but also incorporating more robust Icelandic and British wools, and have a lightness and airiness. There’s a sherbet sweetness to them reflected in the soft pinks paired with vibrant ochres and russet. Something to brighten the darker days ahead.

Waking up the world to contemporary textile art 

It was a great privilege to be featured in @textilecurator Helen Adams’ Instagram campaign ‘100 Days of Amazing Textile Art’ showcasing fine art textiles and waking up the world to contemporary textile art. Currently on day 23, you can follow Helen’s selections on Instagram by following @textilecurator and the hashtag #100DaysofAmazingTextileArt2023, or click here to go to her website.

Paris in autumn

Just a short hop from The Hague on the train brings you to the heart of Paris, and I spent a few days there during half term. As well as visiting the Eiffel Tour (with great textures on the stairs, see the image below) and seeing many of the sights, a highlight for me was visiting the Musée d’Orsay. Packed with an incredible collection of impressionist art, the gallery is currently hosting ‘Vincent Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise: the final months’. This exhibition is the first to be devoted to the works produced by Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) during the last two months of his life, in Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris.

Van Gogh spent a little over two months in Auvers, but produced an amazing 74 paintings and 33 drawings, including some iconic works: The Church at Auvers, and Wheatfield with Crows, Wheatfield Under Thunderclouds and Landscape at Auvers in the Rain. The latter three, from the series of paintings in elongated double-square format, are particularly stunning to see in real life – the colours and textures so vibrant and full of movement. I was also very taken with Portrait de jeune femme, the combination of orange with blue marks in the fabric of the model’s dress, and the soft pastel pink with lime green dots of the background is exquisite.

Mixed media and embroidery on canvas

As part of my creative process, I make mixed media collages and work on paper and canvas, often incorporating embroidered details. These help me to explore new colour combinations and textures. The piece pictured below, Flow I, is currently available at the Kunstuitleen in Voorburg. The ‘Flow’ series of work attempts to visualise the sensation of being fully immersed in a creative activity, a state of ‘flow’, and the feeling of serenity and positivity that results. You can see more of my mixed media artworks by clicking here.

Thank you…

…so much for your support and for joining me on my creative journey through the seasons. Your support and interest really does make a difference. 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 and Saatchi Art. I also have a mailing list; if you would like to keep up to date with latest events and updates you can join by clicking here.

Looking forward to seeing you again in late November,

with warmest wishes, Veronica