Sue Weil wraps up our Artist interviews on CA-based artists who were accepted into American Tapestry Biennial 13. The exhibition was originally scheduled for Fall 2020 and will be postponed to July 2021.
Sue was in the American Tapestry Biennial 11 at SJMQT and will also be in the upcoming exhibition MORE IMPACT: Climate Change in 2021. Continue reading for more information on her work:
What are materials and processes utilized in your body of work?
I began my weaving practice in the mid 1970s while taking a floor loom weaving workshop. At the time, I focused on cloth and clothing, though I also wove some tapestries. Nowadays, I almost exclusively weave tapestry. Ordinarily, my warp is of cotton seine twine and my weft is a combination of wool, cotton, linen and sometimes bamboo or paper. I tend to work with whatever materials best suit my design. In 2016 I attended a workshop in the pulled warp technique. I found the possibilities to be endless – I continue to explore and experiment with what’s possible using this technique. I also incorporate sumac, twining, eccentric and plain weave, wrapping and occasionally off-loom embellishment.
What are you currently reading/ listening to?
I’ve been reading “The Splendid and the Vile,” by Erik Larson (nonfiction that reads like fiction) about Winston Churchill’s first year as Prime Minister. One of my favorite activities on the weekends has been to tune in to Conversations with Authors, offered online through Book Passage Independent Book Store (Corte Madera and San Francisco). I strongly recommend going to their website to register for these sessions. They’re free and tremendously compelling.
What advice would you give to other creatives at this moment in time?
Continue to create – at times like these, it is tremendously therapeutic to make art when the world as we know it is in such flux. Create – but don’t expect or demand perfection. Now is a great time to experiment – shake up your artistic practice and remain open to whatever it reveals.
What drew you to the fiber art medium over others?
When I was a very young child, my mother taught me to knit and crochet. I was fascinated with the ability to make something from nothing. Over the years, I also learned weaving; first making potholders using stretch loops on a peg loom, then I learned the backstrap principle of weaving on a popsicle stick loom. Next I experimented on a frame loom, and finally began weaving on a floor loom. Once I turned to tapestry, I continued working on my floor loom – it was a method comfortable to my practice as well as my design sense. Working with yarn seemed to be hardwired into my being. From the early days, I was drawn to the simplicity involved in working with yarn; it was a warm and welcoming medium, easy to transport and inviting to wear and to adorn my surroundings.
What non-art related activity do you do to invigorate your body/ mind?
I walk a few miles to start my day – it helps keep me fit mentally and physically. Fresh air and the beauty around me help my spiritual well-being, too. My daughters returned from the East Coast to work and wait out the pandemic from our home. We’ve had the best time together in the kitchen; trying new recipes as well as the old. I have always been comfortable in my own company, often spending days on my own. The pandemic hasn’t changed that, but I’ve become more aware of consciously reaching out to my family and friends through email, text, phone or Zoom meetings. Thank goodness for Community!
