Taryn Slawson

Name: Taryn Slawson

Studio location: Santa Fe, New Mexico

Website / social links: tanuart.com, @tarynslawson_

Loom type or tool preference: custom built standing floor loom

Years weaving: 5+

Fiber inclination: 100% hemp

Current favorite weaving book:  Brent Wadden - Two Scores by Brent Wadden and Kimberly J. Phillips

 

 

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

I was first introduced to weaving around the age of 4, there was a simple standing floor loom, similar to the loom I use today, in my preschool classroom. I remember being especially drawn to it, and I can almost re-live the feeling of my little fingers pulling scraps of fiber over and under over and under the warp threads- I was captivated.

It wasn’t until my late twenties that I felt called to the loom again. It was such a strong call, it was almost like there was no time to try and learn, so I quickly built a simple frame loom and began experimenting. I am completely self taught in my weaving practice, I have never referenced a book or any other resources to teach me the craft. My greatest resource has really been my own ability and determination to problem solve. When I am met with an obstacle or challenge in my work it forces me to create a new way of doing things. My entire weaving practice has really evolved into what it is today from a series of experiments and failures, and feels really unique to me.

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 consider myself an artist and a designer- depending on what I am working on or through.

3. Describe your first experience with weaving.

I briefly mentioned my very fist experience with weaving which obviously had a profound impact on where I am at with my creative practice today. 

In the past I have taught weaving workshops, mostly for adults, and I’d like to re-cultivate this offering specifically for children, to be able to install that same creative seed of potential that I was given at a very young age. I am simultaneously immensely inspired by a beginners mind and approach to the loom and feel strongly that as my weaving practice evolves a whole element of involving children and community will be key.

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?

My process begins with inspiration. I see pattern in everything, and my mind tends to understand things in series and sequence. Pattern, series, sequence, and repetition form the foundation of my work. I translate patterns first on paper using paint or pastel or whatever medium I feel, and then I might manipulate the same shape or motif in many different combinations until I see a pattern emerge that is able to hold the energy I am looking to transmit. My weaving technique is actually very simple, it is just the patterns that I am working with that can seem complex. I break most patterns down into a series of panels to make the work more achievable in a step-by-step process. I weave one panel at a time and then hand stitch the panels together to create a larger whole. 

My self taught technique led me to build a custom loom that accommodates my process and my fiber. I work solely with hemp fiber and hand-dye all my material using a combination of plant and other dyestuffs.

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

My work is largely a translation of patterns of energy - a system of communication I am bringing forth that weaves together many realms. Simultaneously it is entirely meaningless.

 

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

I love packing each row of weft fiber down, one on top of the other, with my comb and watching something slowly emerge that wasn’t in existence before. The way the patterns come together and spaces for shapes are created and filled feels like a game of Tetris - I just really love that, making space for things to just fall into place.

The finishing work, the sewing in of all the loose ends and finishing of the edges can be really agonizing, especially on the bigger pieces. Sometimes standing for hours when I am weaving taller panels can be really difficult as well, I keep saying I am going to devise some sort of bench system which I can raise and lower depending on the height at which I am working.

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 do sell my work and make a living from weaving. The majority of the work that actually supports me financially comes through commissioned work. I think there is always the struggle between making work that I know will sell and making the work that comes through following my own curiosity. Often it takes me making work through a space of pure experimentation, with no specific outcome, to open the door for new opportunities to bring in the financial support. It is imperative to make time and space to express my own creative energy even outside of the structure of my loom and studio practice. 

8. Where do you find inspiration?

In order to be inspired I need to be open. To be open I need to be vital and present in my body. To be vital in my body I need to feel well. To feel well I need sleep / nourishment / movement / play / exploration / loud music / love. To do any of these things I need to stay focused on my mission so that I can remain present and more easily recognize when I’ve lost myself. When I am in alignment inspiration is endless and can come from anything. 

A lot of inspiration comes through my observation of technological systems - specifically in the power grid systems. The geometry in the infrastructure of most power lines and transformers is really captivating for me right now. I think a lot about energy, and I am really intrigued by how the technology of the current grid systems on this planet seem incredibly archaic and outdated, yet something about the geometry seems to hold the most power - Geometry as an untapped power resource.

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

Talia Migliaccio, an incredibly gifted artist and futurist who I have had the pleasure of living in community with for the past year. She is one of the most expansive humans I know and is constantly inspiring and challenging me to be the fullest version of myself .

Marina Abramovic, a wildly inspiring female artist. Her film, The Space in Between, spoke through my heart and soul. She has developed a creative method, The Abramovich Method, which explores being present through the medium of performance and immaterial art, that I find to be absolutely brilliant!

Andrea Zittel, and her ongoing creative explorations of how to live, as an artist, as a human, in todays world have been a major source of inspiration for me. I really love when an artists work is an all encompassing expression of every aspect of one’s lifestyle. Her ability to explore conceptual ideas to the depth that she has and translate these concepts into interesting displays of visual art continues to blow my mind.

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

Re-design the energy grid systems on this planet / implement ancient-future technological systems to replace our current reliance on fossil fuel consumption.