Gyllian Thomson


Statement

My work is my own personal response to what I see in the world round me.  Using textiles is like a tactile literacy. First, I paint then I interpret these into my tapestries using wool, cotton, acrylic, threads, and plastics. I work on an upright scaffold loom and weave painterly marks via warp and weft. 

Tapestry requires an intimate involvement with the hand and eye in an unaggressive way. It has a quiet strength, a gentleness and a fragility, but it also demands a respect and an admiration. This is why I chose it as my way of expressing myself, it feels like part of me. It is unassuming at first but increasingly demands attention. I live with a chronic condition myself and in a way I feel I share some of the fragility of my tapestries. At the same time tapestry gives me strength as I am always in awe of the way it grows from the start to the finished piece. When I look at my work I am caught in a non-judgemental response to the work. It is a happy time and it demands that I challenge myself to create. 

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