Fleece to Fibre

29th August 2014

Fleece to Fibre - Small Gallery, Inverness Museum & Art Gallery
30th August - 25th September

To mark the centenary of Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh, in 2012, an ambitious project was undertaken to create a contemporary tapestry entirely from un-dyed wool.

Victoria Crowe's celebrated painting, Large Tree Group (1975), from ‘A Shepherd's Life' was chosen by Dovecot Studios to be created into a large tapestry as part of the celebrations. Fleece to Fibre: The Making of the Large Tree Group Tapestry explores the process behind the project, tracing the journey from sheep through to yarn and into the completed tapestry. Some 70 producers across Great Britain, from small-scale crofters to large estates, provided wool from a wide range of sheep breeds and the yarn has been spun by a range of specialists - again from individual spinners and small groups to commercial operations on a semi-industrial scale. The un-dyed wool produced by this remarkable range of breeds has created the entire natural colour palette which has been used in the creation of this unique collaborative tapestry which is the centrepiece of the exhibition. Accompanying the work is a series of commissioned photographic portraits from renowned Scottish photographer, Alicia Bruce, which celebrate the diversity of those people who have contributed behind the scenes to this complex project.

David Weir (Director, Dovecot Studios) said," After some twelve months of painstaking liaison and collaboration with suppliers of un-dyed wools, a range of providers and craftsmen, spinners and growers (both commercial and enthusiasts), as well as careful collaboration with artist Victoria Crowe, and foremost extraordinary concentration, diligence, and expertise of Dovecot's weavers, the Large Tree Group Tapestry was completed in July 2013. The sheer scale of the tapestry is remarkable measuring over 220x270cms. Its embodiment of sheep, wool, and those who contributed behind-the-scenes, provided an ideal opportunity to explore the processes and people involved in the creation of this extraordinary work."

The exhibition was curated by Ben Divall for Dovecot and was part of the 2013 Edinburgh Art Festival, it was funded by The Dovecot Foundation and Creative Scotland.

Since it's unveiling in Edinburgh in August 2013, The Large Tree Group Tapestry has been acquired and gifted to National Museums Scotland by Sir Angus Grossart, and is made available for tour as a result of their flexibility and cooperation.

Dovecot
Dovecot is a specialist tapestry studios at the heart of a landmark centre for contemporary art, craft and design based in the centre of Edinburgh. Dovecot Studios was originally established in 1912 by the Marquess of Bute; the two founding weavers from William Morris' renowned tapestry workshops at Merton Abbey passing on their skills to successive generations of weavers through a formal apprenticeship scheme that continues today.

Dovecot's tapestry studios continue to work to commission, producing tapestries and tufted rugs for private and public collectors working in collaboration with leading international artists, designers, curators, architects and specialist interior designers

Dovecot Foundation, a not for profit organisation, has been established to continue to support and develop the skills of the studios through apprenticeship and an evolving programme of collaborations with both established and emerging artists and designers.

Victoria Crowe studied at Kingston School of Art and the Royal College of Art, London, before being invited to join Edinburgh College of Art in 1968, where she taught drawing and painting until 1998.Over the last 35 years Victoria Crowe, one of Scotland’s leading painters, has established herself as a painter whose work is instantly recognisable. While the full range of her painting covers landscape, still lifes, portraits, self-portraits and interiors, much of her work defies such precise categorisation. She has been described as ‘one of the most vital and original figurative painters currently at work in Scotland.’ Her work is represented in a large number of public and private collections. She lives and works in the Scottish Borders and Venice.