Lizzie Ranunculus

Name: Lizzie Ranunculus

Pronouns: she/her

Studio location: Huntersville, NC

Website / social links: ranunculus.studio, @lizzieranunculus

Loom type or tool preference: Saori sx60

Years weaving: 6

Fiber inclination: all natural - especially linen and wool

Current favorite weaving book: Weaving - Contemporary Makers on the Loom by Katie Treggiden

Contact information for commissions and collaborations: email address

 

 

1. How did you discover weaving and was what your greatest resource as a beginner?

I loosely knew what weaving was when I was younger, but it wasn’t until I went to University for fiber arts that I really learned about weaving — and have been obsessed ever since. My greatest resources starting out were all of the books (I love to read), as well as looking at other weavers on Instagram. But overall, I think playing on the loom was the most helpful for figuring out what I was doing.

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?

I define myself as a multidisciplinary artist, a weaver, and a fashion designer. This definition is important to me — how one refers to oneself speaks volumes and tells others what you’re all about.

3. Describe your first experience with weaving.

At some point in elementary school, my art teacher had us make cardboard looms and taught us the basic over/under plain weave and then let everyone play. I vividly remember being obsessed with weaving this piece - an early sign of my future passion and career! I wove all the way around the cardboard to create a bag, using a bright yellow yarn with a few teal stripes mixed in. I finished it off with a long-braided strap. I think I was the only student to make a bag. I found the bag a few years ago in storage and I’m rather impressed with the skill 8-year-old me had to create this.

4. 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?

Most of my woven work I turn into garments, using a zero-waste method I’ve come up with for myself. My initial ideas usually start with a garment design, then I think about colors and materials. The next step involves a lot of math — planning out the warp and pattern design at the same time. The warp is designed with fitting all the pattern pieces I need next to each other so there won’t be any leftover or open space that becomes waste. I also try to be inventive with the garment design for making it zero-waste. All my tie-on or waste yarn gets saved into glass jars, which I then use as fiber stuffing or for sashiko mending. Since my loom is a Saori, I only have two heddles, so I primarily weave in plain weave — which is a fun restriction.

I also enjoy combining vintage or second-hand textiles with my handwoven work.

5. Does your work have a conceptual purpose or greater meaning? If so, do you center your making around these concepts?

A lot of my work has conceptual meaning to it — mostly coming back to nature preservation and sustainability. While I was in university all of my work was very concept oriented, which was very draining by the time I graduated. So now I have been making things that are just fun. But I always have ideas running through my head about larger conceptual projects.

 

6. What is your favorite part of the weaving process and why? What’s your least favorite?

My favorite part of weaving is planning out the colors and materials for a piece, this is where all the fun is for me. I also love washing the cloth after it comes off the loom because it really brings the textile to life.

My least favorite part is winding onto the loom. I don’t mind making the warp or even threading heddles. But the winding onto the loom hurts my back after a bit — and of course I always have a really long warp on!

7. 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 have a website where I sell my artworks and have open commissions for custom pieces. I have also sold some of my work through small shops that I admire. At first my thoughts were consumed by the thought of creating for selling and thinking more about fashion design seasons. As I have grown in my artistic practice, I have been getting away from making for selling and working on creating things that I truly love and would want for myself — not about how many people would buy it. This mindset has helped my mental health as well. If I put my creative energy, hard work, and love into a piece it shows, and that’s what ends up resonating with people. My artistic practice is not my main income, I work as a seamstress at a local alteration shop during the week.

8. Where do you find inspiration?

Nature is my biggest source of inspiration, from the fibers I use to the colors, shapes, and textures. Lately I’ve been really inspired by flowers. I also get inspiration from art history — I love going to art museums. Seeing the color combinations in paintings and the textures in sculptures give me new ideas of how to create.

9. What other creatives do you admire – weavers, artists, entrepreneurs – and why?

I really admire Windy Chien, artist and author of The Year of Knots. I got to work with her and a small team of artists to create one of her knot installations in a restaurant in downtown Charlotte, NC. Working with her was so much fun and hard work! She is extremely talented and knowledgeable, as well as down to earth. She had lots of advice for building a creative arts practice and how to deal with the business side of selling your artwork.

Some other artists I admire are Anni Albers (what weaver doesn’t love her?!), Sheila Hicks, Louise Bourgeois, Ruth Asawa, Lenore Tawney, Georgia O’Keefe, Amy Revier, Rachel Snack, Mimi Jung, Meghan Spielman, Heather Day, Emma Shepherd, Molly Haynes, Calley Morrison, James Gardner, and Sarah Neubert.

10. If you could no longer weave, what would you do instead?

If I couldn’t weave, I would knit, sew, write poetry, or wander aimlessly in a mossy forest or field of wildflowers forever.