Weaving the thousand shades of Umbria
- Mariagrazia is mostly inspired by colours
- She works with wool, linen, silk and cashmere
- Handweaving is her second career
Born in Lodi, near Milan, Mariagrazia Tonani started out with a career as an accountant, managing an established business. After a time, she felt the need to explore different opportunities in life. She moved to Gubbio with her husband and was eager to take back time for herself and to fully experience family life. In this process, she encountered the world of handweaving on her path: it was love at first sight for Mariagrazia. Since 2001 she weaves scarves, shawls and cloths in wool, cashmere, linen, silk, cashmere-silk, all highly appreciated by those who see her at work in her atelier in the centre of medieval Gubbio. Her very light pieces are an inexhaustible platform for chromatic research, which always brings new combinations.
Interview
- How did you come to devote yourself to hand weaving?
- My generation was taught manual skills: crochet, knitting, sewing. I have always knitted in the evening, after the office. One day, by chance, I saw an antique loom at an annual exhibition and became curious: I attended a professional course and after some years of hand weaving at home, in 2013 I opened my workshop.
- What inspires your creativity?
- Colours inspire me most of all. Playing with them in continuous chromatic research. My creativity is mainly linked to the combination of colours. There are many stimuli in Umbria: the environment, nature, the landscape, classical and contemporary art – from Perugino to Burri – museums, and the historic centres.
- What do you love most about your profession?
- Working with my hands, which is therapeutic and meditative; being able to work with colours; the dynamism of artisanal work, which teaches you to overcome frustration; and also the human relationship with the public.
- Is there a specialty that makes your pieces recognisable?
- It could be the great lightness of the fabric combined with particular colour choices. I rely a lot on improvisation with yarn. In the textures I play with solids and voids, especially in monochromatic pieces. I use ancient techniques but have made some personal modifications to the traditional loom.
Mariagrazia Tonani is a master artisan: she began her career in 2001 and she started teaching in 2010
Where
Mariagrazia Tonani
