Debbie Barrett-Jones
1364 Threads Pulled One at a Time
Passing Though
Weaving is an art that emphasizes process. 1364 Threads Pulled One at a Time and
Passing Though represent the tension between control and happenstance during the process. From the start of a project – drawing out the plans, drafting the pattern, dyeing yarn, and using a gradation percentage process – these pieces let go of some of control. Deconstructing what would normally be a complete, clean project shows the viewers a glimpse of the pre-weaving process, much of which can be painstakingly tedious. However, this attention to detail is equally essential to the actual work on the loom.
Each woven panel came from the same warp threads on theloom. I paired each colored thread with a white thread. In1364 Threads Pulled One at a Time, half the threads were pulled from the piece at varying lengths. The left panel was woven in all white with the colored threads pulled from the piece at varying lengths. The right panel was woven in color with the white threads pulled. The deconstructed panels reflect the process in imperfect form, ideas of which we must let go.
Passing Though exemplifies the same concept in a much cleaner, more controlled context. It, too, came from a warp that had a colored thread paired with a white thread. Instead of pulling the thread one by one with my finger, I used a needle to slowly pull each thread halfway down the woven panel. The top half was woven in color, and I alternated pulling white thread and colored thread to create smaller stripes. The bottom half was woven in white, with the same process in larger stripes. All the pulled thread met in the middle, threaded through a loom reed.
1364 Threads Pulled One at a Time
Passing Though
