We have several collectors who have deep collections of textiles from all over the world and I benefit greatly from being able to examine these works – fronts and backs. Through this group we look closely at textiles that are significant (and sometimes insignificant) historical and cultural artifacts from around the world or works we have made ourselves.

LBC:I am not a collector of textiles, but I am an active member of Gerhardt Knodel’s Textile Group that meets regularly in Metropolitan Detroit and is a group of active collectors and makers of textiles. TSA: Are you actively collecting textiles? Please share something about this collection or about the process of collecting in general The structure of the threads could be interpreted as the architecture of the drawing just as the building’s brickwork is the textured substrate for graffiti. I was curious to see if I could bring a graffiti aesthetic to weaving – something that looked fresh, spontaneous, and renegade. I love to draw and I love to weave, so the Handwoven Drawings developed from my trying to merge these two loves. The Handwoven Drawings defy categorization – are they textile? Are they drawing? Are they sculptures? Visually, I believe the drawing is what makes the first impact and the woven aspect comes second. LBC: I purposely equalized two mediums – drawing and weaving. TSA: Do you encounter any misconceptions about your work and how do you address these? Our psychology is held within ourselves and ourselves resides in homes and amongst trees. To me, this is where our psychology resides, it starts and develops in very specific addresses. The homes and trees are the architecture where lives are lived and have exact addresses on a map. They are created from real places where people live and interact with in their day-to-day lives. They are not abstract nor are they a chance image. However, unlike a Rorschach test, these images have specific locations and addresses on a map. I want these images to be psychological and the response something that could be analyzed and thought about psychologically. The images start to become something else in our imagination and personal associations – there is a slippage and opening up through the back and forth of seeming equal parts. The similarity to a Rorschach inkblot test is intentional. The repeated images usually are just one repeat and don’t go on forever. I employ mirroring quite a bit and think of the drawing as a cartoon for a tapestry, but here the cartoon is the weaving itself. My drawings are very much inspired by basic textile design strategies using repeat patterns. Handwoven Drawing with wood, cotton, acrylic, ink, and inkjet print The three dimensional works have drawings on both sides of the wood and once woven are flexible and curve around while standing up. I hope to create a rewarding visual experience through these various layers and components.

Shadows also play by projecting the work’s basic structure on the wall behind. The handwoven drawings are installed to float away from the wall and they often glow a color from behind giving them a sense of floating in space. I often work into the surface of the Handwoven Drawing once it comes off the loom: coloring warp threads to match the color of the drawing behind, embroidering, and sometimes collaging images of human-things suspended in air. The drawing combines with the woven structure that overlays the drawing. The materials I use are wood, cotton, lurex, acrylic, ink, graphite, inkjet prints, metallic paints, silverpointe, metal leaf, etc. The strips are then woven back together into the warp on the floor loom.

The hand cutting gives the wood a gentle undulation that mimics thread. Once the drawing is finished, I hand cut the wood into thin strips using an exacto knife. My process is to draw on the wood first which takes me the longest time. The Handwoven Drawings are basically weaving with strips using wood instead of soft materials like ribbon. Currently, I am working mostly on the Handwoven Drawings that have evolved from two dimensional wall pieces to include sculptural works or screens. Lynn Bennett-Carpenter: I have several bodies of work that include Handwoven Drawings, interactive elastic installations, touchable sculptures, and drawings on paper. Textile Society of America: Please tell us a bit about your work process and inspiration In this month’s conversation with TSA News, Bennett-Carpenter shares her explorations into textiles as architecture, graffiti and psychological tools. Our September Featured Member is Marcelyn (Lynn) Bennett-Carpenter, an interdisciplinary fiber artist and educator.

Inklet weaving length