Miranda Lin Weaving

Intention

I wanted to create a weaving that told a story, but in more of an indirect way. I wanted my weaving to depict a sort of struggle with darkness, that fades into a dark but calmer beauty. The intention was for the piece to represent chaos, turmoil, and inner struggle, but then transition into a more ordered and beautiful part. When I was weaving, I wanted to focus more on the emotion that the piece should evoke than the specific techniques and look, so I wove without planning and more intuitively based on the emotion. I intended the black part to feel chaotic and troubled, yet intriguing and magnetic. I wanted the upper blue portion to be more ordered and traditionally beautiful, reminiscent of the night sky. The story behind the piece is of struggle, but finding beauty in the darkness.

Process

I used a lot of black yarn for the dark portion, and added in feathers and ribbon to create texture and vary the black portion. I also included some wool roving as well as brushed out yarn, to add to the unsettling feeling of the dark portion. I added the ribbon to contrast with the feathers and interest the audience and draw them in. I mixed dark blue roving with black roving to create a sort of gradient. I also added in used dryer sheets to the blue section, because I wanted to represent the ordinary life and regular parts of life that one might overlook, but that can be beautiful when viewed in the right way. I cut up the dryer sheets into strips and wove it throughout the blue section, but also created a balled up segment to emphasize the material and also refer back to the more chaotic section. I also used black kohl to paint some of the warp so that it would have a rougher feel and blend in more with parts of the black. I also chose to tie off my weaving differently—the top is very ordered and braided neatly, while the bottom near the dark portion is haphazardly tied off, emphasizing the change more. In terms of technique, I made the beginning portion very textured and dense, then spaced it out and then added more dense portions. I tried to vary the density of the portions but also manipulate the texture and openness to evoke different emotions and draw the eye.

Learning

I learned a lot of different weaving techniques through this project, but the most important thing was how to evoke different emotions with different textures and techniques. I discovered that I was able to convey my emotions through weaving and that it was quite successful—quite a few others interpreted my piece the way I intended it to represent. If I were to continue, I might explore more of how to better depict the night sky—I feel like that specific imagery was lost, though the feeling was still there. I might change some of the techniques I used and try even more intricate things like patterns in the blue section.