Natural life tapestries12/10/2023 ![]() ![]() A tapestry is made by repeatedly weaving the horizontal (weft) threads over and under the vertical (warp) threads, then squishing (or tamping) those horizontal threads down so they are very close together, thus completely hiding the vertical threads from view.Īlthough you cannot see them in a finished tapestry, the vertical warp threads are vital components of each piece-they are the backbone of every tapestry, and provide the support for the weft threads. The wefts are actually a collection of lots of separate pieces of wool or silk threads, all in different colors. The vertical threads are known as warps, and the horizontal threads are known as wefts. Think of a tapestry as a grid composed of threads that are fixed on a large frame (known as a loom). Let's break it down: At its core, tapestry-weaving is a matter of simple math. If you are shaking your head in confusion while mouthing the words "weft" and "warp," we understand. Simply weave the warp and weft threads together, and voila-you have a tapestry! It's just that easy! Or not. In the face of all this tapestry confusion, how can you determine what exactly is a tapestry? We here at #tapestrytuesday assembled a short explanation to help you to understand what, in fact, makes a tapestry a tapestry!īy definition, a tapestry is a weft-faced plain weave with discontinuous wefts that conceal all of its warps. ![]() Adding to the confusion is the fact that tapestries may seem to resemble other types of artwork such as paintings on canvas, murals, large drawings, or printed fabrics. Tapestries-particularly European tapestries woven prior to the twentieth century-are relatively rare, and therefore not the types of art usually viewed on a daily basis so, when we do finally see a tapestry, it may be challenging to identify and understand. If you have ever had this experience, you're not alone. the wall label says it's a tapestry! A tapestry? You immediately begin trying to identify the specimen set before you: it's a fabric. You are walking through a museum, your mind lost in thought (your feet perhaps aching ever so slightly), when suddenly you look up and see a fascinating object. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Francis L. ![]() Boreas and Orithyia from a set of scenes from Ovid's Metamorphoses, designed ca. I have cut a caper with the dancing mad god.René Antoine Houasse (French, 1645–1710). It is a work of such beauty that my soul wept. It is complex to a degree that humbles the mind. The plait disappeared into the enormity of possible spaces.Įvery intention, interaction, motivation, every colour, every body, every action and reaction, every piece of physical reality and the thoughts that it engendered, every connection made, every nuanced moment of history and potentiality, every toothache and flagstone, every emotion and birth and banknote, every possible thing ever is woven into that limitless, sprawling web. The fibres stretched taut and glued themselves solidly to a third line, its silk made from the angles of seven flying buttresses to a cathedral roof. The weft of starlings’ motivations connected to the thick, sticky strand of a young thief’s laugh. The crawling infinity of colours, the chaos of textures that went into each strand of that eternally complex tapestry…each one resonated under the step of the dancing mad god, vibrating and sending little echoes of bravery, or hunger, or architecture, or argument, or cabbage or murder or concrete across the aether. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |