Deborah Weir’s Statement

Shroud is a piece I wove on my tapestry loom with a variety of white yarns: silk, cotton, hemp, rayon and whatever other scraps I had around. Once it was finished and I got it off the loom, I buried it for several weeks in the garden. When it was dug up I ripped it up in the manner it indicated by where it was disintegrating where the discontinuous warp was weakest or least compatible with the next yarn. I then rusted it for several days in a vinegar solution. By the time it was rinsed it had fallen into three segments. I laid these on a piece of hessian, stitched them down and added antique hand made lace from the 19th century and some rusty old metal which I keep around for just such a project. I felt it still needed a little more rust to tie it all together so I used a rusting product from a hardware store which is strong and almost paint-like. I then ordered a length of Thai silk, tea dyed it, stitched the piece to it and sent the composition off to my framer who stretched over a frame. Voila!

Single Malt is a wedge weave piece that has a mind of its own – once off the loom it curled up into this fabulous column so I built it an armature out of a malt whiskey tube and stitched it up.  Alex, my nephew, has a particular interest with mind-bending substances, this is one he has not ingested!

Deborah Weir’s Biography

I started out as a costume designer, had a career as a linguist for 34 years, but never stopped making art. Since I retired in 2006, I’ve gotten a boost of creative energy. I love the process of making, but my work is always idea driven. I work in series so that I can pursue themes of importance to me: cave paintings (early mark making), pomegranates (fecundity), the detritus of the Industrial Revolution and the lack of usable water on our planet. The objective of my artwork is to awaken the mind of the viewer by means of visual seduction. I show my work extensively around the world. Please see my website and blogs (see link above).