Textile art comes in all shapes and sizes and Paola Idrontino’s piece Evanescent measures a very impressive 200 x 400 cms! Check out the Evanescent page on her website https://www.papayapie.com/pages/evanescent/ to see a fantastic film showing the making of this remarkable piece.
Previous entries from left: Barb Cove, Which Way; Irene Evison, Weaving the Flotta Air; Anna Taylor, Thankfully the Sun Came Out
If you’re trying to establish yourself as an artist it can be a challenge to find venues to take your work. Competitions are one of the best options to exhibit your art. The Tapestry Showcase based in Edinburgh, Scotland is currently calling for submissions. It is linked with the more well known Cordis Prize and we caught up Becca Pollard to find out more about both competitions.
What is the difference between The Cordis Prize and the Tapestry Showcase?
The Cordis Prize is the biggest international award for tapestry weaving. It rewards ambition and scale and is aimed at professional weavers worldwide. The Tapestry Showcase however is a celebration of our aspiring tapestry community here in Britain. We reach out to weaving tutors across the country to encourage their students to apply for this opportunity to exhibit their work in a venue of national prestige. The Scottish Cafe is the hub of the National Galleries of Scotland’s flagship complex in the heart of Princes Street Gardens. Weavers of all ages and stages are encouraged to apply, self taught weavers are as welcome as those who have taken classes, and many of our exhibitors have in fact been first time weavers. The point that the Showcase makes is that weaving is for everyone. Anyone can pick up a small loom, and weave with whatever material they choose, and engage with the resurgence of this classical medium.
When were they started and why?
The Cordis Prize was inaugurated in 2015 in conjunction with Visual Arts Scotland’s annual exhibition at the Royals Scottish Academy. The Showcase followed the year after, and was staged to coincide with the main Cordis Prize happening within the RSA galleries at the same time. The presence of the main prize in the country’s flagship exhibition venue had shone a spotlight on Edinburgh’s standing as a hub of tapestry making. The purpose of the showcase was to encourage aspiring weavers to get creating, and to establish a place for the amateur weaving community to convene, and to be celebrated. The two went hand in hand until the Cordis Prize upscaled and moved to Inverleith House at the heart of Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Gardens in early 2019. The Showcase however has found its home in the hospitable surroundings of the Scottish Cafe, and we are very much looking forward to returning to their newly refurbished premises this winter.
What are you looking for with applications for The Tapestry Showcase?
We are looking for works by skilled non professional weavers, who show competence in both design and weaving. We ask that weavers work to their own design rather than copy from an existing image. The weaving community continue to astound us year on year with their innovative use of materials and compositional skills, the standard of artistic merit and technical competence increasing year on year!
What are the requirements to apply?
Weavers of all ages and stages are encouraged to apply, self taught weavers are as welcome as those who have taken classes, and many of our exhibitors have in fact been first time weavers. The point that the Showcase makes is that weaving is for everyone. Anyone can pick up a small loom, and weave with whatever material they choose, and engage with the resurgence of this classical medium.
The Tapestry Showcase is open to UK based amateur artists. Applications close on 29th October. For more details visit http://thetapestryprize.org/project/showcase-2019/
Textile Curator Selector is my new monthly column for Mr X Stitch! Check out my article on the diverse and sometimes quirky world of contemporary quilts. It also gave me the opportunity to see new work from four of my favourite quilters – Tara Faughnan (Morning Star); Sara Impey (Iris Recognition); Luke Haynes (Japan Series) and Ben Venom (Blue Collar). If you are unfamiliar with their work all four have been featured on this website so take a look at their interviews. Have a creative week!
https://www.mrxstitch.com/quilting-diversity/
It is well known that the path to becoming an artist can be long and through out which you often have to diversify. After studying glass, then turning to portraiture to help support her family, it wasn’t until Lesley Wildman opened a yarn shop that she turned to textiles. ” I fell in love with the textures and colours,” she explains. “I was able to play around with yarns and fabrics both recycled and top-end quality. I never gave up having a studio space even when it was shared so I was able to discover new ways of using threads.I started to experiment with the colours by hand dyeing my own yarns to create a colour palette similar to those I use in my painting.” Read the whole interview here.