Why so quiet?

After the excitement of the opening of Weaving the Century it was back to work for a few weeks until I was off on holiday to Antibes in the Cote d'Azur, hence the lac of blog posts. There are many associations with weaving in the area, including tapestries in the Musee Leger, Biot and, most relevant to me, the purple herons that inspired Graham Sutherland's design for Wading Birds (woven by Dovecot in 1949).

Musee Picasso, Antibes

As is the case every summer, Edinburgh is heaving with tourists here to sample the brilliant offerings of the Fringe, Edinburgh International Festival and Edinburgh Art Festival. The City Art Centre's exhibition of the work of Leslie Hunter who spent many years in the Cote d'Azur. The exhibition features watercolours of Juan les Pins and Villefranche, both very close to Antibes.

Juan les Pins, George Leslie Hunter, c.1927-1929, National Galleries of Scotland

I would also really recommend a visit to the Edinburgh College of Art Postgraduate Degree Show (18-26 August) if you have time. I have been tutoring some of the students and their work is outstanding.

If I had to choose...

If I had to choose a favourite tapestry in the current Dovecot exhibition it would have to be Sky Cathedral II (1974) designed by Lousie Nevelson and woven by Gordon Brennan, Fiona Mathison, Neil McDonald and Jean Taylor.

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This tapestry took me completely by surprise. Before seeing the exhibition, I would have chosen Claire Barclay's quick, slow (2010) or Overall (1967) designed by Harold Cohen. I had only ever seen images of Sky Cathedral II and though keen on Nevelson's work the pictures of the tapestries she designed weren't really doing it for me. I think the nature of my encounter with it in the gallery had a big impact. Before reaching it in the exhibition, you come across an altarpiece designed by Joyce Conwy Evans. It is dazzling full of rich gold and bronze and bejewelled with embroidery. As you walk past it and round a corner you are suddenly met by the cooler, enveloping Nevelson.

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Photos rarely do a tapestry justice (the ones above certainly don't). They can't convey the deep vibrating blue yarn contrasted with the technically complex pale areas of weaving. This is a tapestry outstanding not only in its design and conception, but in its execution. The sense of texture, a reference to the three dimensional quality of the maquette on which the design was based, is achieved through a variety of techniques which are captivating in their delicate detail.

It is captivating.

 Details from Sky Cathedral (1982), Lousie Nevelson, Smithsonian Collection, Washington DC

Dovecot Centenary Exhibition is OPEN

Weaving the Century Exhibition, photo by Antonia Reeve

Weaving the Century Exhibition, photo by Antonia Reeve

 The exhibition is open (details here) AND a September symposium has been announced!

Interweaving – Future Trends in Making, is Dovecot’s International Symposium for makers, doers and thinkers to come together to discuss and develop new practice and thinking.

Speakers will include:
Siobhan Davies – Choreographer and Dancer
Deirdre Nelson – Textiles Artist
Ruth Little – Dramaturg and Writer
Cat Rossi – Context Lecturer, Design School, Edinburgh College of Art/University of Edinburgh
Grainne Rice – Dovecot, Project Manager, Weaving the Century and Curator
Julie Brook – Visual Artist
More speakers to be announced shortly

Interweaving – Future Trends in Making is hosted at Dovecot as part of our 2012 centenary celebrations, and is brought together by Dovecot Studios and V&A at Dundee

Early bird price £70.00

Please call 0131 550 3660 to register your interest tickets will be available to buy online soon.

Dovecot's Namesake

This morning I visited Dovecot's namesake on Dovecot Road. The Doo'cot, as it is known by most Scots, is all that remains of Corstorphine Castle, thought to have been built around 1390. When Marquess of Bute built the original tapestry studio, which began operating in 1912, the Dovecot was included within the plot of land. This is why the studio was often referred to as The Dovecot even when its official name was Edinburgh Tapestry Studio.

It is also the inspiration behind the Dovecot symbol which is woven into every tapestry woven by the weavers. In some tapestries the symbol takes the form of a dove, but it most it is the Doo'cot itself. Though the studio has since been turned into a residence, you can still see the Doo'cot form the street. Hidden inside are 1060 nesting holes for pigeons.

The main purpose of my jaunt to Corstorphine was to visit the Corstorphine Trust. The trust is registered Scottish charity and does amazing research and outreach work to stimulate public interest in the Corstorphine, an area with a vibrant and fascinating history. Their website includes details of the opening hours of the Heritage Centre. The Trust has recently been gifted a Dovecot tapestry (which you can see here) and kindly invited Elizabeth Cumming and I to have a look. It is beautiful. It was woven around 1953 by Harry Wright as an apprentice piece and is very much influenced by the style of Sax Shaw. The Trust is currently deciding where to display it so that members of the public may view it.