Japanese technique meets Croatian heritage
- Vesna specialises in the Japanese ondulé technique
- The colour combinations she uses in her dyes are inspired by nature
- She is influenced by her painter mother and furniture restorer father
On her hundred-year old loom, Vesna Pleše weaves yarn that she dyes herself. Born into a family immersed in the arts, she studied weaving at the School of Applied Arts and Design in Zagreb, where she has been sharing her expertise as a weaving professor since the early 2000s. Vesna balanced her career as a skilled costume designer with her devotion to weaving for several years. "Hand-weaving requires patience, love and plenty of time," she says. While she embraces a variety of techniques, Vesna holds a special fondness for the Japanese ondulé method. In parallel, she maintains a connection with the incredible heritage of traditional Croatian weaving by making throws and shawls.
Interview
- When did you know you wanted to pursue weaving?
- As a child, I always drew or made something with my hands. I drew a woman at a loom when I had to draw my future profession in elementary school. I grew up among paintings, threads, fabrics and knitting. My mother was a painter, and my father worked as a furniture restorer.
- How did your journey with your craft begin?
- I started by learning to weave at school in 1972. For my 18th birthday, I received my first loom so I could weave at home. One of my proudest achievements was having my work exhibited at the prestigious International Triennial of Tapestry in Łódź in Poland.
- What do you love most about what you do?
- I can take a white thread, dye it, weave it and create a unique object. This fills me with happiness and satisfaction. I am proficient in various weaving techniques, but I especially love the ondulé technique, which is rarely woven around the world.
- Do you have advice for people interested in weaving?
- Patience and dedication pay off in the end.
Vesna Pleše is a master artisan: she began her career in 1975 and she started teaching in 2000
Works
Where
Vesna Pleše
