The Subversive Stitch
The Barnsley Linen tapestry was a community project for the Cooper Art Gallery in Barnsley in 1989, to complement the group textile exhibition The Subversive Stitch. There was a core group of about five people working voluntarily on the tapestry a few days a week, for three weeks. The design was by James Stuart Mitchell.
Linen mill owners in South Yorkshire were often Quakers. Weavers wove in their terraced cottages. Linen weaving needed damp conditions so looms were positioned in the basements that very often damp. This is in contrast to wool weaving in other parts of Yorkshire where drier conditions were needed, so looms were positioned at the top of cottages. Once woven the linen cloth was laid out in fields to naturally bleach under the sun.
The whereabouts of this work is unknown, so I would love to hear about it if anyone has any information, info@vickyellisweaver.com
My Mark rug 1985
This was the first piece I made in 1984 in response to an artist’s work, inspired by the work of Mark Rothko. I used the full 5′ width of my loom to create a pile rug using the Rya technique.
I Want to Go to West Africa 1984
I’ve always loved West African textiles, particularly Kente Cloth. This was my version of strip of weaving with interjections of blocks of colour and signed VM 1984, different initials then 🙂
Bathroom Seaside rug 1983
I lived in Devon in the 80s not that far from the sea, although not as close as I live now. I’ve always loved sea colours. This was designed for a bathroom. Varnished matchboard walls and baskets were all the fashion then!
Off loom Weaving
In 1981 I was due to have an exhibition at the Mill Gallery in Winchester. I was pregnant and had been ill up to about six weeks before the exhibition opened, which prevented me from doing what I’d planned for the exhibition. I needed to weave something big and quickly! I had been given some time in the past a reel of farmer’s sisal. I started experimenting with it just using a frame loom. I think I must have been influenced by the weaving that was going on at that time by artists such as Tadek Beautlich, and maybe even Magdalena Akbanowicz, although I wasn’t consciously aware of her name at the time. The main image is made from one continuous weft of sisal.
