Exhibition Catalogue - Handwoven Tapestries and Damasks

Exhibition Catalogue

Handwoven Tapestries and Damasks

Viv Davy

30 June - 26 July 2014.

Lysaght Watt Gallery

Union St

Hawera

Taranaki

On turning 30 I made the move to Toronto to take up full time study of woven textiles at The Ontario College of Arts. This marked the start of a new, structured approach to my tapestry weaving which up until then had been experimental playing with fibers and colours. While learning the history and technical contexts of Woven Tapestry in the academic environment I started to grasp the emotive power of the medium.

Made In Canada 1983.

Completed as Part of Undergraduate Studies at The Ontario College of Art, Toronto, Canada.

Responding to a course brief as set by Helen Francis Gregor - Senior Textile Tutor.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Assorted Silks

Landscape 1984.

Completed as Part of Undergraduate Studies at The Ontario College of Art, Toronto, Canada.

Responding to a course brief as set by Helen Francis Gregor - Senior Textile Tutor.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Hand Dyed Silk Buttonhole Twists. Slit weaves exploration

Gondwanaland 1985.

Completed as Part of Undergraduate Studies at The Ontario College of Art, Toronto, Canada.

Responding to a course brief as set by Helen Francis Gregor - Senior Textile Tutor.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Assorted Silks. Twill Weft-faced weave structure

Evidence 1986.

Completed for Graduation Exhibition at The Ontario College of Art, Toronto, Canada. Responding to a course brief as set by Helen Francis Gregor- Senior Textile Tutor.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Assorted Silk Sewing Threads. Woven shaped then stitched

Mapped - Wearable Explorations 1986.

An exploration of maps as a design source was a dominant strand in my graduation work. It was a way of processing my diaspora, which at this stage included not only my birth country, friends, extended family but also my own children. The explorations became intense and emotive for me.

 A series of the designs were assembled in the accompanying hand made book.  Several images were woven. Of these some were finished with mountings. This was part of my search to find a way to support myself making tapestry in a format that would be marketable. 

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Silk Button hole Twist. Mount - Aluminium

Damasks

The damask items in this exhibition were hand woven on a 70-draw harness Swedish floor loom. I embraced this loom in my final year At The Ontario College of Art.

The combination of a draw system and damask weave creates a positive/negative fabric where the pattern is made by reversing the weave structure from the surrounding base material.

My delight in this system was firstly that I could free design for the width module of the 70 units and create a 'graphic' pattern that need never repeat for the length of the item being woven. My second delight was that if I used fine material - 60/2 silks in these instances- the material produced was fine enough that the blocked patterns read as curves. I had encountered the way to 'beat' the grid structure of weaving but still create a useable cloth.

The down side of this loom was its size and complexity to set up and tune. Subsequently the installations of the loom have been limited, the work made being for specific clients.

The loom is currently being re-erected and, as time allows, I should be 'beating' the grid again soon.

Graduation saw the real need to find a way to make money with my skills and knowledge. The tapestries became my 'indulgence' after the bread and butter piece goods weaving. They were predominantly worked on a small, portable scale, which accommodated my unsettled living at this time.

Windows I 1987.

Responding to the ancient live chicken market building in the heart of Chinatown, Toronto. This series of tapestries came from pastel drawings inspired by this 'lost - in - time' building, just seconds from the Ontario College of Art Campus.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Assorted Silks. Mounting - Knitted Copper Wire

Windows II 1987.

The use of knitted copper wire to create a mounting for these woven images resonates with the wire cages of the chicken market and reflects on 'community'. This business was evidence of a

tight-knit community that had cultural practices that had thrived despite diaspora. This was a transfer completely different from my own cultural dislocation. I found it powerfully beautiful at the same time as it made me sad for what I had lost.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Assorted Silks. Mounting - Knitted Copper Wire

Windows III 1987.

My weaving is done with the good face away from the work surface. In other words I always weave backwards. This creates a finished image that is a mirror image of the original design cartoon as can be seen when comparing the pastel drawing to the final woven piece.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Assorted Silks. Mounting - Knitted Copper Wire

My Street. Brooch. 1987.

The search for 'a place to belong' that has started in my earlier map based works became more central to my weaving. I began emotive

mapping of my own environment. This was the first piece in that exploration series.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Assorted Silks. Mounting - Hand crafted Silver.

The Route Through Life Is Beyond 1988.

This is the first piece in a series of daily emotional maps. At the end of each day I recorded the day in a small visual diary, then a selection was woven. At this time I was living in Cabbagetown, Toronto - an area experiencing the early stages of gentrification. My dog and I walked everywhere in this community of transition and this nurtured my search for 'my place'.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Assorted Silks

And the Spirit can wander from Sea to Field 1987.

Being landlocked was a big adjustment for me. My childhood was built around the sea and swimming. My soul yearned for the ocean.

I was also in the heart of the largest urban concentration I had ever lived in and the open farmlands that I had left behind in New Zealand seemed a long way away.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Assorted Silks

As the Sun Filled the Day... We Explored 1988.

The winters in Canada were always a period of excitement and learning for me, coming from Auckland, New Zealand. Toronto was grey and bleak most of the winter - too warm from the concrete jungle to get the blessing of a substantial snow blanket. So in the Spring, when the days brightened, it was a cause for celebration.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Assorted Silks

It was a moment of pure pleasure 1988.

Some days in life just bring discoveries that light up the soul and fill the whole being with happiness. It makes you feel like you are expanding beyond your normal boundaries into newness.

This was one such day.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Silk

The Strength of Quiescence 1988

There was a spiritual uplift in the glorious display of the Autumn in Canada for me. The colours sang of hope even though they were the

dying leaves. I embraced the cycle of renewal they showed as I worked to rebuild my own life.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Assorted Silks

Content to be the Observer 1988.

To take a position of observing the lives immediately around me and not needing to be in control or responsible for them was a process of learning for me at this time in my life. Defining my boundaries and learning to live with them took effort but bought a calm to my days.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Assorted Silk

Parting is Not Sweet Sorrow 1988.

There was an extended period of time when my beloved young children were on the other side of the world from me. Their magical Summer holiday visits were the focus of the world I was rebuilding. However their lives were elsewhere and the grief of separation on their departure defied words.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Assorted Silks

Inner Labyrinths 1988.

The struggle of desires and dreams, practical need to maintain existence and the encoded sense of obligations took place in a space of inner emptiness. The search for 'me' and 'my place' was fraught. Warp - Cotton. Weft - Assorted Silk

I had returned to New Zealand but had not found 'my place' to be still here. Things had changed. I had changed. I was now in my second diaspora.

Nudes 1995.

The restarting of my Tapestry practice was exciting. I had a desire to explore natural curved lines, this design developed from life drawing classes. These classes re-opened a world I knew but had long left. I started the rebuilding back at 'home'.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Assorted Silks and Boucle Cottons

Another hiatus, new job, new extended family responsibilities, new partner. My making set aside while life became saturated in 'other'. Then, the settling with a move to Northland marking the revitalisation of my tapestry practice.

Captured Loyalties 2002.

Tensions existed between memories and connections back in Canada, and my new life and I sought a way to express these with the use of differing media from my usual practice. Local driftwood secured my 'core' that was formed and wired as it was woven.

Acrylic on stretched canvas, copper wire, cotton warp, weft- cotton embroidery floss, found wood.

Opito Inspirations 2005.

The start of a new life in The Bay of Islands with the beach below the home, and hours spent watching my beloved ocean bought a sense of healing and growth to me. This allowed for new expressions and visual interests. The consistent obsession with fine detail and emotive colour remained.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Assorted Silks. Wire

On a Still Morning 2005.

From the window of my studio.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Silks

Curves of Life I 2006.

The new life included sailing and diving, interrupted by endless hours of beach walks. Happy, happy days.

Seashells triggered the Curves of Life Series, woven to shape on the loom.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Assorted Silks

Curves of Life II 2006.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Assorted Silks

Curves of Life III 2006.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Assorted Silk

Seeking a like-minded support community to help nurture my practice I joined the New Zealand Tapestry Exchange Network, which organised annual projects. The next works are my responses to those projects.

Treble Clef 2006/07.

The challenge.

Project - Design and Weave a Tapestry to fit into a CD case

Subject - Music (of course)

Size: Limited by the CD case but may be smaller. The CD case should be 10mm in depth (standard size case is 125 x 142mm x 10mm) to allow room for the tapestry. This will become the frame to later display or hang the work. The plastic section inside the case and any papers are to be removed to fit in the work. Note that the case needs to be able to close so check this when you are planning your sett and yarn thickness.                

This piece was woven as two, both loom shaped. The clef was then positioned over the main circular weaving. Achieving this level of curving on the loom was a real benchmark for my technical explorations.             

Warps - Cotton. Wefts - Assorted Silks

Joy Germs. I found them in my garden 2008.

The challenge.

Inspired by Gardens

Tapestry Size - Any shape up to 20cm x 20cm.

Weave your own design and someone else's as well. Someone else will weave your design and you get returned both copies of your design.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Cotton Embroidery Floss

Reckitts Blue 2008-09.

The Challenge.

Tapestry Blues

Project - Weave a tapestry using the colour blue in it. The whole tapestry does not have to be blue, but you may like to weave the tapestry completely in blues.

Theme - Tapestry Blues

Tapestry Size - Any shape up to 20cm x 20cm.

Reckitts Blue source http://adrianwinter.co.uk/logbooks/204Logbook/pages/reckitts.htm

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Cotton Embroidery Floss

Volatus Avium I 2010.

The Challenge.

Travelling Suitcase Exhibition - Within the Square. Any shape up to 20cm x 20cm.

This work explores the world of birds and flight. My interest in this has come from two directions, my fascination with, and love of birds, and my daughter becoming a glider pilot and sharing her skies with me. The work is an emotional interpretation of a beautifully developed natural mechanism. A salute to freedom.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Cotton Embroidery Floss

In tandem with meeting these 'set' challenges my own explorations continued. These works are the outcome of that.

Life Form 2008.

This joyous celebration of life was formed by my abiding interest in working outside of straight lines, pushing the technical boundaries of shaping on the loom.

Merit Award winner for Creative Fibre

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Cotton Embroidery Flosses, Metallics

Asunder-Torn 2006/07

Reflecting on a period of turbulence, the feeling of tension is carried into a woven expression.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Silks, Cotton Embroidery Floss, Metallics.

And the Thunder passes the Light to the Earth 2008.

One of a series of reaction to experiences of the natural world.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Assorted Silks

An Old Friend completed 2013.

Currently at Puke Ariki in Home Work.

Warp - Cotton. Weft - Assorted Silks, cottons, synthetic fibre.

Scape I Damask Weave Kimono

Scape I.  Kimonos are the ideal format for damask explorations. The weave width resonates well with the number of design blocks available and the weight of the fibre used. Traditionally the kimonos often emulated the continuum from earth to sky, this was the concept I employed in developing this design. The graphic components were sections of maps, continuing with that work I was also exploring in the tapestries.

The process for completion of this particular kimono was after the design was woven in white silk damask, the inverted blocks were hand painted with silk dyes, the garment was steamed to set the dyes and then it was lined with a commercially woven silk. The garment is hand stitched and created to specific traditional dimensions.

100% Silk.

(Scape II is held by The Ontario College of Art in their permanent collection.)

Fans Damask Weave Kimono

The design for this weave was based on Gingko Tree Leaves which have the organic form of 'fans'. The area of Toronto where I was living was blessed with many of these trees which would create a carpet of 'fans' on the sidewalks just as winter started - magic in the heart of a large city.

100% Silk, hand dyed weft.

Trellis Damask

For this more peasant style kimono top I derived from graphic design from architectural features in my neighbourhood, often glimpsed through trellis type fencing.

100% Silk. Hand-dyed weft.

Arrows of Pain Damask Panels

These panels are a reflective piece that also explored the use of insertions into the base damask weave structure.

100% Silk

Scarves.