04 April 2014

A piece of handwoven history

Happy Fibre Arts Friday!

A member of our spinning group, Liz, brought along two pieces of wall hanging to the Wednesday night meeting. They were woven by her mum's friend, Liz told us, and because the friend's husband didn't like them she wanted to give them away but preferably they went to people who really appreciated them.

Here are the two pieces:
I liked them both. One of the other ladies claimed the one on the right so I got the one on the left. It's actually a double weave, the back looks like this:
Isn't that gorgeous? There is a label on the back:
The artist's name is Lilija Duks, woven in March 1984, on a draw-loom with double harness set-up and 20 shafts (20!). The craftsmanship is incredible.

So I did a little research when I got home... guess what I found? Museum Victoria has a piece of Ms. Duks' wall hanging in their collection;

Craft Australia also has a piece among their collection.

And there's more... I found a record for the Education Committee of New Zealand Spinning, Weaving and Wool Craft Society.  Lilija Duks was listed as one of their overseas tutors, among the likes of Peter Collingwood, Kaffe Fassett, and Elizabeth Zimmermann. Well, how about that!

I feel so honoured to have this piece of handwoven history in my possession, it now hangs proudly next to my 8-shaft floor loom as inspiration... I will update you on the progress on the loom when I finally make some, erm, progress.

Thanks for dropping by, please hop over to Andrea's at Wisdom Begins in Wonder for more fibre fun. 

6 comments:

  1. Both pieces are gorgeous! I love how the artist note was on the back so you would have some knowledge of its history.

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  2. Wow! Those are incredible! And an incredible story... very, lucky you. :-)

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  3. How special that you have this amazing work, along with documentation. Lovely.

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  4. This is amazing! I wonder if the husband knows anything about his wife's value in the fiber community, doesn't sound like he appreciates her work very much. But it's great for this piece of history to land in your hands, what a treasure! Look forward to hear about the progress on your loom too.

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  5. Wow, that's amazing! Glad it found its way to you.

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  6. Wow! It's beautiful and to know it has that history behind it as well is wonderful

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