This month I had the good fortune of leading a retreat all about color use in tapestry in Vermont. Our focus was designing color palettes for our work. I suppose we could say we were playing with the process of choosing colors. Color is a big part of designing and tapestry weaving has its own particular set of challenges and advantages when using color.
We do not have the advantages a painter does in that they can modify colors endlessly by just adding a bit more of this or that hue to the mix to shift a color. But we can use weft bundling to change the perceived color of a weft bundle. That is all about optical mixing which is always a focus in any tapestry color class.
But we can perhaps be glad we do not normally have the interaction of both warp and weft as weavers who are creating more balanced weaves do. Tapestry is generally a weft-faced structure. This means we only see the the weft and we don’t have to worry about the warp color interacting with that weft as you would in a balanced plain weave. This feels like an advantage of tapestry to me.
Color theory can be very helpful when it comes to choosing colors for your artwork. When learning to think like a tapestry artist in the realm of color choice, having a little theory knowledge can really come in handy when deciding which wefts to use. So we always spend some time on some of the most important color theory concepts.
Getting there
Wandering out to the plane and climbing stairs on the way out of Durango.
This was the first time I flew out of Durango which is near my new home. As you can see, it is quite a change from Denver International Airport! But I also didn’t have to be there hours before my flight, so I’ll take Durango any day.
Vermont retreat at Good Commons
I teach at a beautiful spot in Plymouth, VT called Good Commons. It is a lovely old house that was once the general store for the town. There is a large studio we can work in and a topsy-turvy house with quaint bedrooms, living spaces, and a deck in the back yard. We eat the best food and do a fair bit of laughing!
This year was the first time I’ve taught here since the pandemic started and it was good to be back.
Materials ready for the students to arrive
A harmonious jumble of yarn and color in the classroom once things got going
I love seeing the assembled tools and looms people bring. As in all my more advanced retreats, they had to bring their own tapestry yarns. This class brought a very large variety of weft yarn and it was instructive just to see the effects each one was able to create in the weavings. Materials matter!
Gwen brought a selection of Gist Array and another stash of Jamieson wool
There was some Lettlopi and Einband from Iceland in the mix. Esther’s work with these colors was gorgeous.
We had a great group of weavers. It is always fun to watch the weavers work on ideas and share them among themselves. I sometimes think I learn more from them then they learn from me! There is a lot of collaboration, sharing, and wonder.
Betsy, Leslie, and Gwen discussion some design ideas
Esther and Pat working away.
Jane and Mary working through samples for larger tapestries they will weave at home.
We tried a lot of things. I still had trouble convincing most people to try the paper exercises.* But there were some wonderful woven experiments and everyone went home happy.
Ordering tapestry yarns by value and checking it with a camera. Watch out for those saturated colors! Both in the exercise and it your weaving.
There were at least three brave souls who took on the paper exercises and Carol was one of them. It showed in her woven work as well.
Carol working on multiple projects at once and quite successfully!
The studio we work in is most often a yoga studio.
I love the collection of work that collects in the studio during a week-long workshop.
Gwen working on her second weaving
Gwen’s work
Elaine working on ideas about transparency and gradation
Leslie’s color and technique studies
Karen’s ability to take a concept and explore it in sampling is fantastic and she learns a lot in the process because it shows in her weaving!
Karen’s color harmony exploration was fantastic.
Mary and Jane had specific projects they were working on sampling for including creating a color palette. The samples may not tell you what the final project will look like, but they were both fantastic examples of working through an idea, finding things that would work and rejecting others. I can’t wait to see both finished tapestries. It may not be coincidence they were sitting at the same table.
Mary’s second sample for a water reflection tapestry
Jane’s sample for a tapestry about a dream she had. A horse is involved.
Esther brought the Icelandic yarn, Lettlopi. It is a worsted weight yarn so at 8 epi, you would use one strand. It was marvelous to compare this with other yarns and to enjoy the wonderful soft feeling this yarn gives. What a great choice for a particular sort of tapestry.
Esther’s color sampling and weaving with Lettlopi
Some time to relax
One of the best things about these retreat-style workshops is having time to relax a bit. Good Commons is a wonderful place for this as there are plenty of spots to put your feet up and enjoy the deck, hot tub, living room, or balcony when you need a break from the studio.
A group relaxing before dinner in the outdoor living room on the deck at Good Commons
I had a little time to weave a bit during the retreat. In this photo I’m working on a Summer of Tapestry example while waiting for a student in the living room.
Weaving in the Good Commons living room during the Vermont tapestry retreat. Because someone will ask, this is a Handywoman Shop 6-dent loom warped at 12 epi, weaversbazaar fine wool, and a Stephen Willette shed stick. There are resources under FAQ on my website for many of the tools and materials I like to use.
There was quite a lot of laughing especially after everyone got to know each other. I found a couple of tapestry weavers wandering down the street in Plymouth carrying bottles of wine.
Gwen and Jane after a short walk to the store up the road that carries some decent wine.
The food at Good Commons is just fantastic. We were lucky again to have owner and chef Tesha Buss doing our food this week (with the help of Marvelous Marissa). I love going somewhere to learn and having someone make me beautiful and safe food to eat all day every day. It might be the definition of luxury. Leslie had another 29th birthday and Marissa made her a lovely chocolate cake.
Leslie’s “29th again” birthday party
A typical evening gathering, chatting after dinner
One of Good Common’s chef and owner Tesha Buss’ marvelous dinners
One of Good Common’s chef and owner Tesha Buss’ marvelous dinners
The food is always so lovely… like this plate of local cheeses
Below is the group. They were quite the inspiration.
The Vermont 2024 tapestry retreat group left to right: Rebecca, Elaine, Gwen, Esther, Carol, Karen, Mary, Pat, Jane, and Leslie.
*Granted, several of these students have taken the Design Solutions classes and have done the paper color exercises there.