Another amazing artist who, like others I’ve been looking at lately, doesn’t exclusively weave but rather represents weaving as 2D art in of itself is Gail Rothschild. I know, I live in New York City, I shouldn’t be so surprised that great works are being made so nearby but I’m still always pleased — Gail is in Brooklyn.
Her works are largely watercolor and gouache on paper and they’re quite sizeable.
I like the way that Gail describes her works — she is a rock climber and as a result it’s as though she sees the intricacies of weaving like the openings and grips of a wall — negative spaces and positive results with texture that all seems to relate to itself.
What she also notes is that in weaving there are so many dimensions, handspun yarn varies in its thickness and then when woven the tension varies as does the density of the weave. Those relationships greatly change how her works appear.
Gail does a minimal amount of actual weaving it seems though obviously enough to see the patterns and repetitive qualities of the form. She has clearly spent a great deal of time weaving and unweaving works to see how the layers fit together and build off each other.
