Final Weaving – Alina Kramkova

Intention 

My weaving is a multi-generational gardenscape (or softscape). I was thinking about my Russian peasant heritage – in particular, how I position myself in relation to my mother and Garden Grandmother. The weaving is a very literal landscape interpretation of greenscape practices that connect my mother’s side of the family. I had constructed the larger piece of three smaller distinct weavings, one for my grandmother, then for my mother, and then for myself. Garden Grandmother lives in a tiny little Russian village very off the grid. Her life is structured by the routine of maintaining her garden – her source of food, medicine, and overall lifestyle. I rendered her for this reason in a vibrant and orderly green hue – the weaving very resolved with few loose openings. In class, the color was brought up as representing a sort of washing out of culture, and in many ways, I think that is true throughout my piece. My mother, who left her home in Russia to move to the States, formed new relationships with her landscapes, and so, I sought to render that as it transitions from a greenscape into warmer floral hues. The treatment of the shag in the middle warps her weaving, creating a more dynamic transitioning landscape. Mine hangs last, perhaps the most unresolved and rushed of the three. After the fact, I noticed how mine seems to have more extensive, more winding paths, and I believe it somewhat speaks to my constant unwinding and redefining of identity as a first-generation immigrant.

Process / Learning 

Though not recognized in the review, I was concerned with the specific connections between the three weavings. Although the color allows it to seemingly flow seamlessly together, I wanted to convey the tension between them: a warp edge is left raw on the side of my grandmother’s landscape when colliding with my mother’s – acknowledging displacement or a few strings of my mother’s attach unfinished into mine – a relationship in the process of change. Since this wasn’t acknowledged too much across the group, I definitely can see myself exploring that more – the post-processing of the textile after it is taken off the loom. While my sample weaving had little conceptual connection to my final – it definitely established softer texture making, warp manipulation, and organic shapes as an interest of mine. With regards to my specific process intent – and also reflecting on the latter half of my sample weaving, I found the wayfaring process of weaving to be both more intuitive and rewarding. By this, I mean making some more extensive plans of shape but filling in those shapes as an on the spot decision. I enjoyed filling my space with all the colors of the palette and moving from line to line.

I felt that as I moved along each landscape, I developed more control over the structure of the warp, allowing parts of the weaving to give in to the weight of itself. The push and pull of the warp is something I hope to engage with more in the future. As part of this weaving, I also spent a decent amount of time on the side, collecting and preserving various flowers and plants (a hobby of mine) to integrate into the landscapes. I found this to work quite well, without appearing too folksy or cheesy. I see that as another area that I could have taken some more risks with.

final weaving already occupying space in my childhood home 

garden “in use”

 

sample