Tapestry Topics Feature Article
A Quarterly Review of Tapestry Art Today
page 7
Summer 2004, Vol 30 No 2
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Though not working with nudes, Australian, Vera Hazelgrove has used the body to illustrate "Mother Earth." She states: “Sitting on the ground hugging one's knees is a protection seeking posture to express that we need to care for Mother Earth”. The text is 4 lines of Sonnet VIII by Shakespeare.
Three images spanning the last eighteen years from Polish weaver, Ewa Bartosz-Mazus are very personal expressions. Expectation (below) was created in 1988, Nude in 1996, and Beside Each Other in 2003. (see page 4). “My tapestries are reflections of my life’s episodes - sometimes these reflections are only understandable to myself. I am very attached to my tapestries because they are an inseparable part of me.” These innovative depictions of human experience are refreshingly accessible while intriguingly subjective. The viewer might be left guessing about the specifics but her expressive postures communicate and compel us to interpret her story.below: Ewa Bartosz-Mazus, Expectation, 44" x 24", 1988
Vera Hazelgrove, Contemplation, 28" x 41", 1998
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Part II: From my Point of View
Achieving the kind of communication revealed in Bartosz-Mazus’ work has been a goal of mine in working with the human form. My first encounter with a contemporary tapestry of a nude was by Canadian artist, Ann Newdigate in the 1986 exhibit “Tapestry: Contemporary Imagery/Ancient Tradition.” Three large, colorful females, Faith, Hope, Felicity from her Drawing Towards a Sense of Place series adorned a wall in the museum where I volunteered. I was able to study their expressiveness for six weeks.
It was at a time when my design focus was in transition from geometric to figurative. Despite the fact that drawing came naturally to me, I had no confidence as an “artist”. Moving away from abstract graphics was a leap. I started by portraying figures as calligraphy and natural forms like trees or rock carvings. Nights without Dreams/Passage (See next page.) is one of the rare designs that was conceived, committed to paper and on the loom within 24 hours. It was the first of the soumak line drawing style tapestries I did. Gradually my figures became more realistic and it is now regrettably hard to conjure up the less realistic imagery. I miss the surprise element they provided.continued on next page...