Barbara Flint talks us through our Tapestry workshop
The workshop was a wonderful opportunity to experiment and discover a new craft technique.
The tutor, Philip Sanderson, from West Dean College, was an extremely knowledgeable and experienced tapestry weaver and a fantastic teacher. He included a very interesting introduction to the history and work of the West Dean Tapestry Studio and followed it by giving us a clear
step-by-step guide to a few of the basic techniques of tapestry weaving, from making simple blocks of colour to creating diagonals, dots or ‘beads’, stripes and other linear patterns.
The time flew by as we all concentrated on trying to produce professional looking samples in a calm and relaxing atmosphere, resulting in a small example to take home. The techniques of tapestry weaving are sophisticated and become ever more complex the more complicated the design, however this felt like a very comprehensive introduction and I for one, am inspired to make a loom and keep on weaving!
By Barbara Flint