France-Odile Perrin-Crinière

Weaving colours

• France-Odile’s workshop was labeled Living Heritage Company in 2012
• She made a 42 metre square tapestry with artist Romane Opalka
• Sharing and educating with the new generation are essential to her

France-Odile Perrin-Crinière is a driving force behind the Aubusson tapestry. She created a workshop and a gallery, where she has two employees. She is also a teacher and an artist. She organises internships and gets involved in every aspect of the life of a tapestry weaver. She co-founded Atelier A2, and has exercised her talent as a weaver and artist since 1984, helping to perpetuate and renew this centuries-old craft by designing tapestries and rugs inspired by the universe of the infinitely small such as plants, insects or spots, which she enlarges so that unsuspected details appear. She likes to say that she plays with colours like a musician plays with notes. The recognition of her know-how leads her to work with contemporary designers and renowned artists such as Romane Opalka and Cécile Le Talec and carrying out public commissions for the Cité Internationale de la tapisserie.

Interview

©Gérard Crinière

©Gérard Crinière

How would you define your work?

I am mostly inspired by minerals and plants and also by personal experiences. They allow me to define my style, which is in constant evolution. Like a musician with notes, I rub, mix, shock and harmonise elements so that they become one.

Do you have any special competence?

I collaborate with contemporary artists and I also weave my own creations. I can interpret any kind of tapestry, in volume, double-sided, any kind of chain calibration and use very different materials: natural, vegetable, animal and synthetic. I use both chemical and natural dyes.

Can you tell us more about your artistic collaborations?

Before any weaving, I explain the challenges of the profession to the artist. I receive him or her in my workshop, we discuss the interpretation, the colours and the materials. Then, I usually make some samples to be as accurate as possible when collaborating on work.

What advice do you give a young person who wants to become a weaver?

Transmission and sharing of expertise is very important to me which is why I opened a training centre. I make sure every student has what it takes. Weaving involves a long apprenticeship; it is a commitment of several years. I would also remind him or her of the need for consistency, humility and perseverance.

France-Odile Perrin-Crinière is an : she began her career in 1984

Where