My weaving process - part one
A few insights into what inspires and helps me create
I always love learning about how other artists create - their processes, how they overcome hurdles, any rules they follow to help guide them. I think, for artists, their creative process provides a unique insight into their brain, into how they turn a dream or concept into reality. So here’s a little bit about me and how I create my woven pieces. And stay tuned for more which I’ll share in the coming months.
I pre-plan my colour palette
When I’m planning a piece, I have a colour palette already in mind. It may be rough, like hey, let’s see how purple and yellow could work together. Or it might be more specific, e.g. I want to create a piece using only mustard yellow in a variety of fibres, textures and stitches. So I choose all my fibre in advance and I loooove that process. I pull out my stash, pick out what calls to me, and then arrange in colour groups or in a gradient to help me see how the colour balance may look.
I use the rule of three for abstract designs
The type of weaving I do is on a frame loom, usually a bamboo circular hoop. This style of weaving is unique in that it doesn’t require you to weave in a way that ensures the piece to hold its flat structure when it’s removed from the loom. Because frame weavings remain on their loom, you can use a lot of textural and loose stitches without having to use a plain weave stitch around them to hold them in place. It also means you can start your weaving wherever you like, and move your fibres around a bit too. When I weave, I often put stitches in randomly through the piece to build it out. But abstract designs can be tricky sometimes, so I often use the rule of. Repeating the same fibre/stitch three times helps me create balance & flow - so I will often do weave one area with a specific fibre, and then weave two others randomly on the loom, and then repeat with a new fibre, for example the below work in progress image of a rose and gold weave I made last year.
I do my best to leave a light environmental footprint
As a fibre artist to me it’s important that I minimise my environmental footprint so I work with 95% or more natural biodegradable materials (bamboo, wool, cotton) and minimise using synthetic products, and I try to use as many recycled products as I can such as sari silk ribbon, t-shirt yarn, chiffon silk ribbon, recycled cotton macrame string & cord etc.. My waste is minimal. I weave using short sections of yarn which I cut to length before I weave them in, so my main waste is tiny offcuts snipped at the back once the ends are woven in. I keep these for future use although I’m not too sure what that is yet… I also have some longer lengths from pieces I’ve taken apart which I store & reuse ongoing in my woven pieces.
So, that’s a little insight into a few of my processes that form how I create. If you’d like to see more, follow me on Instagram @lushlittleloops or browse my fibre packs & woven wall hangings here.
