Lea Thomas
Name: Lea Thomas
Studio location: Brooklyn, NY
Website / social links: lealealea.com, @lealeathomas, facebook
Loom type or tool preference: Leclerc Artistat 4 Harness 45” Floor Loom, Kromski Harp Forte 24” and 32” Rigid Heddle (for travel)
Years weaving: 6
Fiber inclination: Hemp, organic cotton, peace silk, wool
Current favorite weaving book: Everything She Touches: The Life of Ruth Asawa by Marilyn Chase
1. How did you discover weaving and was what your greatest resource as a beginner?
I was raised to have a natural appreciation for craftsmanship; there are a number of incredible artists in my family. Textiles were particularly central to my family’s story. My father owned his own clothing and accessories label, working with local ikat and batik dyers and weavers in Bali, Indonesia where my family lived for the early part of my childhood. I have adopted many reams of production fabric as well as antiques from that time and they are some of my most cherished items!
On my mother’s side, my grandparents and great-grandparents operated a kimono workshop on the ground floor of their home in a neighborhood of central Tokyo that was once known for its prosperous textile and indigo-dyeing industry. We visited them frequently (Tokyo was not a terrible flight from Hawaii where I grew up) and many of my memories on those trips involve sitting with my great-grandmother, watching her hand stitch the most exquisite silk kimonos while my grandparents managed the cleaning and repair projects.
Despite my early exposure to these art forms, it wasn’t until years later, when I was 24, that I connected the dots and began to see weaving as an option for my own expression. While I was attending a women’s skill sharing gathering, I noticed that free-form weaving was being offered as a creative workshop and something resonated with me deeply. When I returned home, I promptly began searching YouTube for beginner’s weaving videos and started my fiber journey with some yarn a friend gifted me and a thrifted picture frame. The internet was a powerful- and free- resource for me then and still is for me now.
As I became more involved with fiber and started to see the spiritual side of my relationship to my loom, I understood that the intuitive hit at that women’s gathering was guiding me back to a family story. I always keep a photo of my great-grandmother and I up on the wall, so she looks over my shoulder as I work. Dyeing with indigo has also become a mainstay in my practice.
2. How do you define your practice – do you consider yourself an artist / craftsperson / weaver / designer / general creative or a combination of those? Is this definition important to you?
Generally, I identify as a songwriter and musician first and a weaver second. However, in the context of a conversation involving gallery spaces, design, physical/tangible beauty and creation, I identify as a weaver first. For several years, I felt uncomfortable presenting myself as an artist who fluctuated between two different mediums. This was largely due to the somewhat antiquated confines that society places on creative folks—the idea that a “successful” artist must have a signature style that could only be achieved by using the same toolset over and over and over again. But that restriction didn’t work for me.
As I grew more confident in my relationship to my loom, the ways in which other people perceived my artistry became much less important to me. I’ve had to overcome a lot of feelings of imposter syndrome (still do, not going to lie) but I’d much rather celebrate what feels authentic to me than worry about fitting my expression into a more easily digestible artist bio. Music and weaving fulfill very different parts of my instinctive desire to explore ideas and offer totally different perspectives to self and the mysteries of the world around me.
Lately, I’ve been excited by the ways in which I can weave musical elements together with my fiber work. Last year, I had my first opportunity to do so and invited my partner, audio engineer and sound artist John Thayer, to create an ambient soundscape to accompany my solo exhibition “Currents” (Trestle Gallery, NY). I love the idea of transforming a space with the combination of sound and visuals to create an immersive, meditative experience.
3. What is your creative process, from the initial idea to the finished piece? Are there specific weave structures, looms, or fibers that are important to your process?
Sometimes I start a project by making a selection of colors from my collection of naturally dyed fibers then loosely refine that selection based on what kind of textures I am finding desirable. When I work from this color-first process, my projects tend to read more like tapestries, relying on the colors to tell the story, often working with softer textures like wool and loosely spun cotton.
More recently, I’ve been fascinated by the idea of bringing more light through my weavings, focusing less on the color range and more on the texture of the fibers and how they create a structure for the spaces between the threads.
I rarely plan my designs, or if I do, my guidelines are pretty loose. I like to leave room for the unexpected turns.
I never used to weave samples but in the last few years, I’ve started to see sampling as a form of expression in and of itself. I’ve been doing a lot of studies with metal threads and hemp fibers, which feel totally different than the softness of wools and cottons that are more familiar to me. In this phase of material studies, I like to give myself simple instructions to build a rhythm and see where that takes me. Sometimes this means seeing what a combination of fibers would like in a honeycomb weave, other times it translates as alternating the textures of different fibers in a simple plain weave. Generally, my focus is on the materials and less on the complexity of a weave structure.
4. Does your work have a conceptual purpose or greater meaning? If so, do you center your making around these concepts?
I do center my creative process around a greater meaning, even if the concepts are only apparent to myself. I try to always approach my loom with my full attention with the goal of reaching that trance-like state that just feels so rich with the possibility of discovery.
Sometimes, the meaning of a piece isn’t revealed until I’ve hung the piece. Other times, I start the process with a specific intention in mind.
Because I am already a storyteller through the songs I write, I approach my weaving practice as an opportunity to explore a concept through relative abstraction. Of course, there is rhythm in the undulations of warp and weft and poetic personality in the fiber selections but, without words to dictate a particular narrative, a woven piece will always feel more open to universal interpretation than a lyric-based song--- to me anyway.
Lately, I’ve been most interested in very universal themes: hope, connection to the muse, grief, awe. I’m slowly opening up to large-scale projects with the intention of focusing more on the invocation of a feeling rather than a particular narrative.
5. What is your favorite part of the weaving process and why? What’s your least favorite?
My favorite part of the weaving process is the weaving process! Meaning, I’m really not crazy for the physical strain required to dress a floor loom but I really get into a trance with the rhythm and motion of weaving the weft in. Because I don’t plan my work out in detail, this part of the process allows me to connect with my intuition and consistently return to the moment.
Dyeing my fibers would be my second favorite.
6. Do you sell your work or make a living from weaving? If so, what does that look like and how has that affected your studio practice?
I do sell my work but I don’t earn my living from weaving alone.
When I was couple of years into my practice, I hit a point where I felt like I was limiting myself to creating works that would fit a certain aesthetic because, subconsciously, I knew it would sell. I think it’s natural to stick with something that is ‘working’, especially because the market for art can be so unpredictable but it wasn’t the right approach for me and when I brought my attention to it, I spent some time reorienting myself and pushing myself into new territory.
These days, I am decidedly more excited by sitting down at my loom for the sake of exploration. I like the idea of picking up a conversation with some energy that is much greater than me and I want to be free of expectation of the end result so I can see where intuition leads. Even though I take more time with each piece now, I’m grateful that people seem to be resonating with my work as I continue to push myself into creating larger-scale pieces and installations. They might not fit into the average living room layout but I’m inspired by the process and that’s most important to me now.
7. Where do you find inspiration?
Nature. Water, light, leaves, sky, bark, clouds, seasonal shifts… Listening to music that fits a mood or era that I’m specifically interested in connecting with.
8. What other creatives do you admire – weavers, artists, entrepreneurs – and why?
I admire community organizers (thinking of a few friends in particular) because they play such an important role in unifying a group of people with similar interests who may have never found each other otherwise. I am in awe of their selflessness, dedication and ability to eloquently communicate what an entire network of people may be feeling but are unsure of how to express themselves.
9. If you could no longer weave, what would you do instead?
I will always have a home with my musical instruments.
Do you have any upcoming exhibits, talks, or events the community should know about?
I have a song coming out on August 18 called Cry Baby. I’ll be sending an update when it is officially release through my newsletter or follow my artist page on Spotify or Bandcamp. More singles to come this year.
Photos by Hannah Rosa Lewis-Lopes
Creative Direction by Sara Golden and Colleen Dodge
Fiber Art and Installation by Lea Thomas
Photos by John Thayer
