Mary Rugg || Weaver

OVERSHOT COVERLETS ~ BLOOMING LEAF  

BLOOMING LEAF PATTERN ~ ADAPTED FROM M.P.DAVISON A HANDWEAVER’S PATTERN BOOK 1977. BLOOMING LEAF OF MEXICO PATTERN - DOUBLE WEAVE (E.LEWIS).

24 EPI COTTON WARP, WOOL & COTTON WEFT

WANDERING VINE COVERLET

WANDERING VINE ~ OVERSHOT COVERLET DESIGNED & WOVEN IN 4 PANELS 22”X 88” AND PIECED TO COMPLETED SIZE 80”X 88”

IN 2017, I SUBMITTED MY DESIGN FOR THE INTERNATIONAL CALL FOR COMMISSIONED WORKS CONSIDERING OVERSHOT GEOMETRIC PATTERNING USING A MODERNIST COLOR SCHEME OF BLACK, WHITE AND GREY (FOLD UNFOLD). I FOUND IT A UNIQUE CHALLENGE TO ADD TO THE DIALOGUE CONCERNING LIMITED RECOGNITION OF THE HANDWOVEN COVERLET AS A LESSER TEXTILE TO ITS RIGHTFUL ROLE AS AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF SOUTHERN MATERIAL CULTURE. THE FINISHED PIECE, “WANDERING VINE” DEPICTS AN OP ART, MODERN INTERPRETATION OF THE 19TH CENTURY OVERSHOT WEAVING PROCESS. THE COVERLET PIECES WERE WOVEN ON A SCHACT BABY WOLF LOOM, USING 4 HARNESSES. FIBER CONTENT: 5/2 BLACK PERLE COTTON WARP @20 EPI WITH THE PATTERN WEFT 3/2 WHITE PERLE COTTON AND A PLAIN WEAVE 10/2 GREY COTTON. 4 PANELS OF 22”X 88” WERE SEAMED TO FORM THE COMPLETED COVERLET OF 80” X 88”.

‘WANDERING VINE” WAS FEATURED IN FOLD UNFOLD AN EXHIBIT OF CONTEMPORARY COVERLETS AT THE LYNDON HOUSE ARTS CENTER, ATHENS, GA AND THE GRAY GALLERY AT EASTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY., GREENVILLE, NC. COVERLETS WERE DISPLAYED FOLDED IN COLUMNS, TO DEPICT THE MANNER IN WHICH THE CURATORS FOUND THE 18TH, 19TH AND 20TH CENTURY COVERLETS, OFTEN FOLDED UP IN CLOSETS, DOUBLED OVER BENEATH BEDS, OR STUFFED UNSEEN IN CHESTS RATHER THAN BEING EXHIBITED AS HIGHLY RESPECTED ART WORKS. A PUBLIC PERFORMANCE WAS HELD TO UNFOLD EACH COVERLET, ALLOWING VIEWERS TO PERCEIVE THE SKILL, MATERIAL, VISION AND MEANINGS CONTAINED IN EACH COVERLET INDIVIDUALLY AND AS A SET.

THE CATALOG, FOLD UNFOLD A project by Susan Falls & Jesica Smith WAS PUBLISHED TO ACCOMPANY THE EXHIBIT. S. FALLS IS PROFESSOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND J. SMITH IS PROFESSOR OF FIBERS AT THE SAVANNAH SCHOOL OF ART & DESIGN (SCAD). 2017. RESEARCH ON THE HISTORY OF OVERSHOT COVERLETS IN THE SOUTH IS HIGHLIGHTED AS WELL AS A VIEW INTO THE INDIVIDUAL DESIGNERS AND WEAVERS OF EACH COVERLET.

AN ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTING FOLD UNFOLD The American Coverlet IS ALSO PUBLISHED IN selvedge THE FABRIC OF YOUR LIFE, JULY 2018, A UK publication of International Textiles.

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