The Stirling Tapestries

west dean weaver

Perhaps it was an interesting twist of fate that at the same time I was working on my graduate studies at Goddard College (researching and crafting the design for “Deceiving the Hunters”), across the pond a parallel endeavor on a much grander scale was also engaging the theme of the Unicorn Tapestries. Stirling Castle, home […]

The Case of the Missing Lady

sterling castle tapestry detail

Both sets of Unicorn Tapestries have sustained damages over the years and undergone several rounds of restoration.  Some frayed and missing elements can be replaced with relative confidence, such as mille fleur backgrounds or parts of trees and gowns.  But others are impossible to replicate in the face of lost cartoons (original design) and no […]

Second Study–Fabrics

lady and unicorn velvet detail

My second study when preparing for the “Deceiving the Hunters” tapestry project focused on the representation of different kinds of cloth as draped on the human figure.  Because so many tapestries of this era depict human figures, and most of these figures are sumptuously dressed in the fashions of their day, working realistic textiles in […]

First Study–Verdure

oak leaves in tapestry

Before embarking on the full-sized tapestry project, I knew that I needed to hone some skills and experiment.  My previous tapestry work had been much more simplistic in detail and shading, and there were two areas I wanted to give special focus–verdure (especially leaves) and fabrics (especially velvet). For the first, I started with an […]

The Maiden, the Unicorn, and Symbolic Tranfer

unicorn hunted with maiden

The ancient ties of the maiden and the unicorn (as discussed in the earlier post “Who is She?–The Lady and the Unicorn”) stayed as an amazingly stable narrative from early times through “The Hunt of the Unicorn” tapestry series.  The balance between the wild and the domestic, coupled with the gentle lure of the lovely […]

Visit to Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Laura and Ann at museum

It was six years after visiting the Cloisters that I was able to be close to medieval and Renaissance tapestries again.  During a trip to New England to regenerate and reconnect, we buzzed through Boston to visit family.  On top of my wish list of places to stop was the Isabella Steward Gardner Museum, which […]

Previous Gobelin Loom Projects

leclerc loom

You know that you’re a quirky teenager when your grandparents ask what you’d like as a high school graduation gift and your answer is a really big tapestry loom!  As a homeschooler, I had found great appeal in the textile arts of the Navajo traditions of the American Southwest. While working beautiful geometrics, I also […]

Quest for the Horn–by Land or by Sea

maiden with unicorn

All this fuss with maidens, gardens, hunting.  Why seek the unicorn at all?  Why go to all the trouble?  Surely something else would be tastier and less dangerous?  Wouldn’t the hart make just as pretty of a mount? Ah, but the fleet-footed hart doesn’t have what the unicorn’s got–the magic to purify (no wonder it’s […]

Alternative Narrative: Power, Play, or Involvement?

original sketch

You know the story of the Three Little Pigs, yes?  They each have their little roles to play, along with the “big bad wolf.”  Now imagine that one day, someone is telling you the story, but the wolf is a completely different character.  He’s been evicted from his home because the oncoming urban sprawl of […]

Visiting the Originals

Laura at Cloisters

Living in rural, northern Wisconsin could be considered a challenging location for viewing historic tapestries.  But that means that whenever I do get to travel off the farm, I’m always looking for a chance to experience a medieval textile masterwork. In the winter of 2009, my sister Kara was attending a dairy sheep conference in […]