Fleece to Fibre: The Making of the Large Tree Group Tapestry
29th of October 2014 - 14th of February 2015
The Fleming Collection, 13 Berkeley Street, London W1J 8DU
Fleece to Fibre: The Making of the 'Large Tree Group' Tapestry comes to the Fleming Collection from Dovecot Studios and is based around Victoria Crowe's celebrated painting, Large Tree Group (1975) which was selected by Dovecot in 2012 to be transposed into tapestry as part of their centenary celebrations. Evolving from the William Morris tapestry studio at Merton Abbey in Wimbledon, Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh was founded in 1912 by the Marquess of Bute. Completed after hundreds of hours of careful work by Dovecot's master weavers in collaboration with Victoria Crowe, the Large Tree Group tapestry uses only un-dyed wool sourced and donated from around the country.
Curated by Ben Divall, Fleece to Fibre explores the process behind the project, tracing the journey from sheep through to yarn and into the completed tapestry. Some seventy producers across Great Britain, from small-scale crofters to large estates, provided wool from a wide range of sheep breeds, the yarn spun by a range of specialists including individual spinners and small groups as well as commercial operations on a semi-industrial scale. The finished undyed yarn formed an entirely natural colour palette with which the weavers could work to create this unique collaborative tapestry.
Go to event website: http://flemingcollection.com/fleece-to-fibre-the-making-of-the-large-tree-group-tapestry/