Linda Giesen

Linda Giesen’s Artist Statement

The complexity of weaving tapestries, and mastering the techniques of making images with yarn, fascinates me. It is a journey through color, form, and structure. In weaving tapestries my goal is to capture the essence of nature in an abstract way, creating movement through the subtle blending of color. I like weaving tapestries for many reasons: the feel of the soft fiber in my fingers; the meditative quality of moving the weft back and forth through the warp; the challenge of making all the choices in color, design, fiber, and technique to bring the image alive on the loom. Weaving for me is a journey of self-discovery and self-expression through color and form. When I create tapestries, I arrive at a deeper understanding of myself.

Living in both New Mexico and Minnesota, I am influenced by the starkness and beauty found in the New Mexican high desert and by the serenity and lushness of the Minnesota lakes and wetlands. What inspires me is a desert mesa at sundown, a stretch of glistening sand against a dark sky, mist rising from a still morning lake, and the flaming red and orange foliage during the fall. The contrast and change of going from the arid and stark high desert of New Mexico to the lush greenness of Minnesota and back stir me to design new moments. For each tapestry, the design process is similar, but the images are so different. It is these moments I want to capture on my loom.

Linda Giesen’s Biography

Linda lived most of her life in Minneapolis and St. Paul and discovered New Mexico in 2003 after retiring. She learned to weave when she moved to the remote and beautiful Magdalena Mountains of central New Mexico and fell in love with everything weaving. Her first weaving teacher not only taught her about weaving but also about sheep ranching, lambing, shearing, and wool processing. Her weaving was enhanced by time spent at her teacher’s wool processing mill experimenting with fiber and creating yarn.

Linda was introduced to tapestry weaving by James Koehler, one of New Mexico’s premier tapestry weavers when she took one of his workshops in 2006 and then studied with him for five years. Since then, she has been exploring texture in tapestry, mastering new techniques, and experimenting with different fibers and yarns.