Immodest [AND] Self Effacing Textiles

This protea flower is h u g e. It’s 22cms in diameter. A totally immodest flower. I bought it at our local market. What a great find.

It got me wondering about how I could create immodest and yet quietly self effacing textiles. This protea really doesn’t need to say anything more – it is just fantastic.Overdone, bold and yet exquisitely beautiful. There’s no need for it to explain itself or its existance, it’s just ‘out there’ in every way.

As I worked through Alice Schlein’s Network Drafting book I found myself understanding much more about drafting than I thought. Well I should know something after 27 years! It’s just that my knowledge is scattered, incomplete and a bit hit and miss style.

So I had a go at developing a network pattern that is out there! It’s based on a five end satin initial. I’m very happy with the pattern and its possiblities but I want the colours to be more subtle and richer withthe use of multiple painted warps – which are difficult to emulate in my weaving software. I am going to try Arahweave on a Linux platform to do this. I’m also going to add areas of plain warp faced weave and some traditional block areas of satin weave. Having 24 shafts allows – 16 for the network pattern, 5 for the block satin and 2 for the small amount of plain weave.

The protea reminds me that’s it is OK to be brave in my approach to colour, scale and texture at times. These can work together to create beauty. The protea gave me with courage to experiment.