Textiles As Life

This blog is assigned to exploring my world of textiles. 
I visit this world episodically as the shape of my life allows. 
At this period in time I am very engaged with my woven tapestries as the final stages of preparation for my retrospective show of Woven Tapestries and Damasks at Hawera's Lysaght Watt Gallery. This show is installed on the weekend and will be viewable until the 26th July.

In preparation for the hanging I am reviewing all the works, checking they are ready for viewing and perhaps more interestingly for me, going back into my very poor and scattered records to find the support material.

Over the next little while, I am going to post this material along with some associated images onto this blog site so viewers of the show can access the info at their leisure and those who can't see the show can get the nuts and bolts of it virtually. 


So initially I am preparing the Biography and CV to accompany the show. The CV is going on a blog page as support material but I am posting the biography here. 

Biography

Davy grew up in the working class environment of 1950's New Zealand where everyone "made do". The household's textile items were home sewn from the bed sheets to the dance frocks with all the hand knitted sweaters and gloves in between.

Not only were textile skills a domestic necessity in this era, they were also the established, albeit unacknowledged, female art form. Techniques, pattern reading and material knowledge were learned from an early age, passed down through the generations. Davy's very talented Mother, who clothed herself and five children with her trusty Singer sewing machines and her knitting needles, gave a love of fibre and its special qualities to her daughter.

On establishing her own family, Davy went beyond the private domestic textile practicalities to initially explore hand spinning, then weaving, developing a boutique weaving studio producing custom yardages for clothing and upholstery, floor rugs, wall hangings and other accessories. Teaching the skills to others was always an important part of this business.

Emigration to Canada triggered a deep desire for Davy to communicate her diaspora experiences and for her, weaving was the natural vehicle. Studying under the Master Tapestry Artist Helen Francis Gregor and Senior Multi Harness Weaver William Hodge at The Ontario College of Art, Toronto, Davy discovered the powers firstly of tapestry and then of damask weaving.

This was the springboard for exploring more intimate messages in thread, to push the boundaries of these two traditional techniques, to convey the complexities of life as a constantly evolving passage. The normal grid format of the woven expression has lent itself to challenging - conveying life's irregularities and unpredictability, while responding to the organic environment of the living world.

The two different woven formats - tapestry and damask - respond to differing aspects of Davy's life. The scale of the tapestries is mostly small, intimate. They are woven on very basic portable frames that move with the shifts of life, allow for transporting through many changes. On the other hand, the damasks are woven on a very large, traditional, complex Swedish Draw Loom that takes weeks of work to assemble then thread and requires a large designated space to be set up in. These works can only be created in times of being 'settled'.

In common both woven expressions use very fine natural threads predominantly silk, often hand dyed by Davy. Cotton is the warp thread for the tapestries. Using such fine materials Davy can build intricate details into her work so they resemble woven thread drawings. Working within the geometrics of the woven structure the fine scale of the weave enables the creation of optically curving and fluid lines - the hallmark of Davy's work.

Why WovenTapestry?

Why Woven Tapestry? 

Notes from 'Beyond the Square' Workshop 2007.

This workshop was organised by Creative Fibre New Zealand as part of their Conference. 

I conducted a workshop about loom-shaped tapestry weaving called 'Beyond the Square' . This was for weavers with some experience of tapestry techniques. These notes come from my introductory talk. I post them today as they still resonate with my tapestry practice. 

I've been weaving for over 30 years now. I've always made tapestry on different scales but in the last few years have become interested in small works partly because they are portable to work on.

For me the reasons to make a tapestry are a combination of achieving a complex technical challenge and conveying a part of my soul in a durable manner. I feel because tapestry is very slow, it is very precious. The result must be worth the effort in that it needs to be a unique emotive statement with technical strength but spiritual brilliance.

For me, a mimicry of a visual reality is not what it is about. I must fall passionately in love with any design I choose to execute, as I will be absorbed by it for many hours.

As I start I am rock solid about the concept in my heart. As I weave I go through many stages when I love it, hate it, can't stand to look at it, can't leave it alone, feel like it will never end, doubt if it will look right when it is finished, long to cut it off and of course at the end, be scared to cut it off. Creating a tapestry is a long emotional process, very intense and very focused for me. This is enhanced by working on a small, fine scale.

What I hope to achieve with you today is a release from fear of breaking the rules and disciplines that are around traditional tapestry weaving to allow you to use this wonderful medium to sing your soul's songs. We have as far as we know, one life so it is one chance, so that is precious, unique. We should be striving as cognoscente people to use our creative energy for unique work that is not an imitation or repetition of others'. Our uniqueness is our emotional view of the world we share with everyone. I feel this is what we are here to explore and share - our uniqueness.

The beauty of tapestry is that it is such a simple rugged system that if you break out and risk trying something different it is usually tolerant and accepting.