#TAPESTRY WEAVER FULL#

On a Mirrix loom, you also have the option of adding on a shedding device. On a basic frame loom or a Mirrix without a shedding device, you weave by bringing your weft (horizontal threads) over and under your warp (vertical threads). There should be no compromise on this.Ģ) Provides some kind of shedding device that is easily operated and keeps the shed open.ģ) Stands sturdily in place either on a table, in your lap or on some kind of stand.Ĥ) Provides the length you need relative to the width you require.ĥ) Accommodates the option of a variety of reeds for various warp setts.Ħ) Has the ability to add a foot treadle.Ĩ) Is beautiful, which is why we say “Because the loom you weave on should be a work of art”. What are the exacting requirements of a great portable tapestry loom?ġ) Provides great and even tension. Just like you would purchase fine water-color paper and not newsprint to paint with watercolors, you require a dedicated and highly functioning tapestry loom to weave the best tapestry possible. Forget even selvedges, forget evenly spaced warps and if you have an inferior shedding mechanism or none at all, forget weaving your piece in a timely fashion. But if you deny her the simple requirement of a dedicated and worthy tapestry loom, she can be quite the adversary.

If you give her what she wants, she is as lovely as can be.

#TAPESTRY WEAVER FULL#

Tapestry is a demanding medium full of must-have requirements. If you’ve ever tried to weave tapestry on a loom either not intended for weaving tapestry or not built to provide great tension, you understand how frustrating it is to not have the kind of tension necessary to weave a tapestry that will not look like something you imagine might have emerged from weaving day at summer camp. It is weft-faced (ie: the warp does not show at all), the wefts are generally discontinuous (they do not go from selvedge (edge) to selvedge (edge)) and it is generally pictorial (like painting a picture with fiber). With rare loans from the Mobilier National, this major international loan exhibition presents a selection of grand tapestries that evoke the brilliance of the Sun King’s court.Tapestry Weaving Basics What is Tapestry? The legacy of tapestry weaving as a national endeavor continues in France today, with state commissions from contemporary artists such as Raymond Hains who designed Diptyque/I. Displayed within his palaces while in residence and in outdoor courtyards on feast days, these monumental hangings embodied and proclaimed his magnificence. Extraordinary resources of time, money, and talent were allocated to the creation of these works, which were meticulously woven by hand with wool, silk, and precious metal-wrapped thread, after designs by the most esteemed artists.Īs patron, heir, and collector, Louis XIV vastly augmented the prestigious French royal collection of tapestries. “The Sun King, Louis XIV of France, who reigned from 1643 to 1715, formed the greatest collection of tapestries in early modern Europe. Tapestries made at Gobelins are in collections at the National Library, the Elysée Palace, the Luxembourg Palace, the Pantheon, Versailles, Palais Garnier, and Musée Nissim de Camondo.

It would take up to four years to create a single tapestry that matched the lushness of color canvases from the prominent painters of the day, such as Charles Le Brun, Jean-Baptiste Oudry, Charles-Antoine Coypel, and Francois Boucher.Ĭontemporary tapestries produced at Gobelins have been based on paintings by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Joan Miro. The color choices available to their weavers allowed them to create subtleties with wool thread that could imitate the shadings of paintings. The Gobelins were a family of dyers who created a variety of 15,000+ tone and hue choices. Here, tapestries are handcrafted using the same historical techniques as when they were first introduced in the time of Louis XIV. The Getty Museum's video The Art of Making a Tapestry (below) walks us through the various steps of making a tapestry at the Gobelins Manufactory in Paris.

Tapestry weaver