Final Weaving – Lisa Leung

Intention:

My starting inspiration was water, and I tried to recreate that in my sample weaving, making small, subtle changes that were inconspicuous along with larger, more chaotic sections. I especially enjoyed the different shades of blue I was able ton incorporate into the weaving along with splashes of color, which represented oceanic flora and fauna. After I had found a rhythm with weaving, I began to be more adventurous, trying new techniques, many of which became far more disorderly than I had anticipated. With my final weaving, my initial inspiration of water became a reflection of my short time here at CMU: the rapid change in perspective I had before the school year had even started, the large adjustment I had to make, the increasing number of obligations I had, and the stress culture.

 

Process:

A large portion of my material was secondhand from Creative Reuse; I had an appreciation for the varying textures and size of the material, especially the ones that had an aesthetically appealing effect without using complicated techniques. Since I was dissatisfied with my sample, I wanted my final to be more polished, and to be able to have controlled moments of disorder. I began to experiment with having several shuttles on the warp at a time, playing with instances in which the warp was exposed and making gradual curves to call back to the fluid nature of water and my new mindset at CMU. The more rigidly defined shapes at the bottom of the weaving eventually became sweeping arcs and hill-like shapes to signify future obstacles, with an eye-catching break using soumak knots as a symbol of the sudden change I went through.

 

Learning:

I learned to be more patient while doing this project; with today’s society being extremely focused on yielding immediate results, creating something that took an enormous amount of time and effort made me more appreciative of how difficult making textiles was before industrialization. I was surprised to hear how some people viewed my final piece as a landscape or a journey in nature of some sort, but it made me happy that I was able to communicate my personal feelings—conflict, stress, separation of thought—through my weaving. My final result was also far more abstract than I had intended, but I had a lot of fun thinking about new color combinations and how to communicate certain experiences in the context of the piece. If I were to continue, I think I would like to weave concrete images, such as a scene in nature, and have smoother transitions between colors and sections of the piece. After reflecting on how both of my pieces turned out, I found that my final was more disjunct than my sample. There is definitely room for improvement, but I think the experience was worth it.

Sample Weaving:

Final Weaving: