I’ve recently been working on and finishing two weavings that use different kinds of letters in their design.
The first is of the word PERRIRHANTERIUM, the title of a poem by George Herbert. He uses it as a word for the church porch but it is a Greek word meaning the instrument that sprinkles holy water. So it is a word associated with entering and approach, purification, beginning anew.
This piece is small, measuring 310mm x90mm. The letters are 20mm tall and woven on its side, the letters stacking up on top of each other as they are made. The surround is woven in fine linen on a cotton warp and the letters are in silk.
The second isn’t quite finished as you can see in the image below and it is for exhibition at the Lettering Arts Trust at Snape Maltings later in the month. The letterforms are free-flowing and are partly woven and partly sewn into the weaving as they have been made (not added afterwards). I’ve also been thinking about texture in a way I’ve not done before, this is about the raging sea so I wanted it to show movement. The finished size will be 300mm square. Making this one has been like painting with threads of wool, silk and linen. I’ve used a drawn cartoon for the wave and letter shapes which I’ve had behind the weavings as I’ve worked.
It’s an interesting way of working and one that seems to allow for all sorts of future possibilities. I’ll post an image of the finished work and write more about it later, when it is blocked and backed ready for hanging.
