Ulrika Leander’s Statement

When I design and weave for a client, the experience must ultimately represent my own design imperative – to ensure that the finished tapestry fulfills the client’s expectations for a work of enduring beauty and artistic worth. Working on my water color design is the gateway to the world of tapestry. Even as I create my images, I am thinking in terms of the fiber experience that is to come – the range of colors and fiber characteristics that will be needed, the technical challenge of faithfully weaving the geometrical details of the design and the intensification of color that occurs when the small watercolor is transformed to a full-scale tapestry. I believe that I am drawn to weaving by the endless fascination in watching the gradual unfolding of the chrysalis that is my design, into a mural-scale tapestry that will uplift the spirit and bring new life to an architectural space.

Ulrika Leander’s Biography

Ulrika Leander studied at Carl Malmsten’s School of Art in Oland, Sweden, the Nyckelvik School of Art in Stockholm, and obtained her MA in Fiber Art and design at HV College of Art and Design in Stockholm in 1971. Subsequently she established and directed the Fiber Art Department at the Course Center of the University of Lund, Sweden. After moving to the US in 1980, Ulrika focused on designing and weaving commissioned, site-specific tapestries for health care facilities, public and corporate buildings, religious settings and private homes – mainly producing large-scale works up to 12 ft. in one dimension and up to 30-40 ft in the other. In addition to her tapestry studio on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Ulrika also maintains The Gallery By The River, producing annual summer exhibits primarily featuring Scandinavian artists working in the decorative arts.