Studies of colour with a splash of tradition
- Katharine specialises in handwoven abstract tapestries
- She has a background in costume making
- Research and wool dyeing are central to her creative process
Wool has been an integral part of Katharine Swailes’ life since childhood, as she grew up in a remote sheep farming town in Cumbria, in the North of England. After pursuing an initial career in historic costume making, Katharine fully embraced tapestry weaving in 1998. She enrolled in a post-graduate course led by tutor Pat Taylor, and later worked for West Dean Tapestry Studio. Over the years, Katharine has developed two distinct bodies of work: colourfield tapestries, and glyphs and loops. She works on a traditional high-warp tapestry loom. Katharine is a skilled colourist and dyer of wool yarns, who creates unique colour ranges, for each series of tapestries. She also studies historical and ancient techniques, and reinterprets them in her contemporary practice.
Interview
- What are your sources of inspiration?
- Yarns and materials, processes, memories of light and feeling, reflections on our woven past in combination with humanity's shared past with natural woven materials, as well as the systems that we continue to use today, for our wellbeing, decoration, and enjoyment.
- What do you love most about your profession?
- When I weave I feel I am time-travelling and connecting to the weavers and a shared practice over past millennia. Little has changed within the practice of tapestry weaving, with no mechanisation. It is the contact of the yarn in my hand and the muscle memory that drives my pieces forward.
- Has there been a memorable moment along the way with your craft?
- I exhibited my first series of colourfield tapestries in January 2020 at a fine art fair in London through studio Atelier Weftfaced. The public response was overwhelming, so heartfelt, and positive. I felt had found a new space where my work spoke strongly.
- In what way is your craft linked to the land?
- I live and work in rural West Sussex, the same area where I first studied the craft in 1998, at West Dean College. I am involved in the local arts activities and exhibitions. I am also assisting Caron Penney in Atelier Weftfaced programmes for education talks and commissions.
Katharine Swailes is a master artisan: she began her career in 1998 and she started teaching in 2004
Works
Where
Katharine Swailes
