This tapestry was inspired by the medieval tapestries I saw during my travels as a Winston Churchill Fellow and the medieval frescos I saw in Bulgaria. Many I saw depicted various Marys weeping over Christ but it occurred to me one would not be caught weeping in front of the murderers of one’s loved one, but as an accuser one would look back with dignity and a spine of oak. The idea had a personal resonance with me and this is the result, I as the weaver, and also a Mary (my middle name) gets to look out through them. The medieval images are known as the Lamentation of Christ, and I have called this The Lamentation as a nod to the original source.
This tapestry was inspired by the medieval tapestries I saw during my travels as a Winston Churchill Fellow and the medieval frescos I saw in Bulgaria. Many I saw depicted various Marys weeping over Christ but it occurred to me one would not be caught weeping in front of the murderers of one’s loved one, but as an accuser one would look back with dignity and a spine of oak. The idea had a personal resonance with me and this is the result, I as the weaver, and also a Mary (my middle name) gets to look out through them. The medieval images are known as the Lamentation of Christ, and I have called this The Lamentation as a nod to the original source.
This tapestry was inspired by the medieval tapestries I saw during my travels as a Winston Churchill Fellow and the medieval frescos I saw in Bulgaria. Many I saw depicted various Marys weeping over Christ but it occurred to me one would not be caught weeping in front of the murderers of one’s loved one, but as an accuser one would look back with dignity and a spine of oak. The idea had a personal resonance with me and this is the result, I as the weaver, and also a Mary (my middle name) gets to look out through them. The medieval images are known as the Lamentation of Christ, and I have called this The Lamentation as a nod to the original source.
Chrissie Freeth
Handwoven Tapestries
What are you working on at the moment?
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I am working toward a new solo exhibition next year, and hopefully I will be able to share the details soon. I am working on a tapestry called I'll tell you a story sometime. You can follow its construction over on Instagram.
Can I buy your work?
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Why yes, yes you can and please do! But because of the hours that go into making a tapestry they are expensive and for this reason I only sell face to face. So keep an eye out for events or get in touch. Because of stupid Brexit and the orange man I do not send work to the EU or the US. As a rough guide smaller pieces range from a few hundred pounds to £1500. Full size tapestries will be over £10,000, more when gallery commission is added.
How are tapestries made?​
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Tapestries are woven on a loom. The image is created at the same time as the fabric is made, rather than an image applied with thread to a pre-existing canvas. Needlepoint embroidery is often described as tapestry, but it is a misnomer. I work on an upright loom. It holds the warp evenly spaced and under tension; dressing the loom correctly is as skilled a process as the weaving itself. The weft, the coloured thread that makes the design, is guided in and out of the warp. The warp becomes completely covered forming a hidden skeleton to the tapestry. The loom helps this process by opening up every other warp creating a gap called a shed. The weft thread is held on a bobbin and the bobbin passes through that shed. By going back and forth areas of colour are built up, creating the design. The technical term for tapestry is a discontinuous weft faced weave.
The cartoon is a full sized image that sits behind the warp and guides the weaver. I draw mine by hand and they will often change during the weaving process, often quite drastically, so they end up like a patchwork quilt with bits added and taken away. Cartoons often get very damaged and few survive historically. Many weavers will have a maquette, a finished image of the design they are turning into a tapestry, often a painting, or photograph or collage. As I tend to respond to what’s happening at the loom I don’t use one, but instead rely on the vague and fluctuating image in my head. It does mean I spend a lot of time reweaving. The image is also inked onto the warps to help prevent any distortion in the eyeline of the weaver.
As the tapestry is woven it is curled around the lower beam of the loom and warp is unwound from the top beam freeing it to be used. This means only a small section of the tapestry is visible to the weaver at any one time. To complicate matters more, tapestries are woven on the side; traditionally they were also woven back to front. I take photographs each morning to help build up a picture of what the tapestry is looking like as it progresses and the videos I make from these are available on my website and social media.
Once the tapestry is completed and cut off the loom, the slits that form where one colour butts up against another have to be stitched so they do not gape open with the weight of the tapestry. The selvedge and warp ends are also secured and Velcro is added to the top so it can hang from a batten on a wall with the corresponding velcro
What loom do you use?
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I am very lucky to have a loom built by George Maxwell. He was a carpenter associated with the arts and crafts movement in Ditchling between the wars. It is the only tapestry loom he made and was purchased thanks to a grant from the Eaton Fund. I also have a smaller loom but there is no make for it. Like the George Maxwell loom it is an upright loom.
How long does it take to weave a tapestry?
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Tapestries can take a vast number of hours to weave. For example, Courage Calls took 3000 hours to mak. Smaller pieces can take a week or so. The amount of time it takes to make tapestries is why they were so prized historically. They are a chance to value slowness and craftsmanship in an otherwise fast paced, throwaway world. Tapestry is also one of the few art forms that cannot be mechanised or replaced by AI. I am obsessive and I'll work 14 hour days until a tapestry is finished. I only work on one project at a time. Weaving is a medative act so whilst this may seem excessive it is a way to keep my mind calm rather than overwhelmed by malevolent intrusive thoughts.
Where do you get your ideas? What are your influences?
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I take whatever dilemma I am facing, memory I am confronting, relationships I am questioning, and I dig into them until an image is formed. Whilst my tapestries are intensely personal, such experiences are, as is often said, the most universal. My vocabulary is rooted in medieval imagery, mostly tapestries, wall paintings and manuscripts. I also love the simplicity and control of woodcuts. Conversely I also love the freedom of the female surrealists, fairytales and folklore and I do try to mine the subconscious for imagery and inspiration. Recently I have been looking a lot at the work of William Morris, Edward Burne Jones and Henry Dearle, to look at how they approached and interpreted medieval tapestries. I am a follower of Jean Lurcat who argued tapestries should be monumental in size and looked to the techniques of medieval tapestry to revive the form. For me the design of the tapestries, the making of the cartoon is the hardest part. Every tapestry has to drive me forward and to try something different. ​​And the weaving of the tapestry is always the resolution to the story I am telling, the act of survival and often defiance.
Why don't you weave blokes?
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Because they just don't interest me artistically. Even as an archaeologist it was the legacy of the women that came before me was a driving force. The strength of women who navigated the obstacles and difficulties society put before them. It is that legacy, often in relation to my own named female ancestors that interests me as an artist. I also often get asked why don't my gals smile. Really, why should they.
I do tapestry too, but with a needle, is it the same thing?
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No, that is a type of embroidery called needlepoint or canvas work. Tapestries are woven on a loom. The term tapestry is often wrongly applied to large embroideries, for example, the most famous tapestry, the Bayeaux Tapestry, is an embroidery.
Do you give talks?
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Yes, I am always happy to give a talk to your group either on my work, my Fellowship or the history of tapestry. I can't travel much but am happy to give presentations virtually.
Do you do commissions?
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It is unlikely, I am afraid. I generally weave towards an exhibition. The amount of time it takes to weave a tapestry would mean it is economically ridiculous even at minimum wage and to give up that time I would have to have a personal connection with what I am weaving. But hey, it s always worth a try, so get in touch.
How can I learn to weave too?
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It takes years to learn how to weave well. You need to learn with a qualified and experienced teacher. In the UK you can check out the classes by Caron Penney and Katharine Swailes and in the US those offered by Rebecca Metzoff. Tapestry is best learned face to face but both Rebecca Metzoff and Tommye Scalin have recently published books you can check out. I've not seen them myself but I am sure they will give you a taste and see if this is for you. You will never be a good weaver if you are not a good artist. Check out classes at your local college. Life drawing sessions at Bradford College were revelatory for me.
Got other questions? Contact me​