A loom of one’s own: contemporary weaver Laura Woodhouse

Laura Woodhouse is one of the best young textile designers working today. On receiving The Arts Society Greater London Area Award, she now has a funded studio for 12 months at Cockpit Arts, London

I am a hand weaver.

I’m fascinated by pattern: the more intricate, detailed, even mathematical, the better. I make scarves, wall hangings, rugs and table runners, using very fine, natural fibres, including cotton and bamboo yarns. The delicacy of these enables me to achieve close detail.

I thought I was going to be a printer.

I studied at Nottingham Trent University and achieved a First Class BA (Hons) in Textile Design, graduating in 2016. Print was my prime interest, but during the first-year rotation we tried out different textile disciplines: print, knit, embroidery and weave. The moment I was introduced to the latter, I fell in love with the process. The complexity and time that goes into a woven fabric makes the finished product such a beautiful thing – but you have to have patience. I have a lot of patience.

The chief influences for my patterns…

…come from the natural world and from architecture. For my degree show collection I was inspired by photographs taken by Hans Silvester  of the people of the Surma and Mursi tribes of the Omo Valley, who adorn themselves with elements from nature. I also gleaned ideas from the winter garden at Anglesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire – it’s so vibrant. I love the sandy grasses, fiery dogwood, golden willow, the silky copper bark of the Tibetan cherry tree and the purity of the Himalayan silver birch.

Being given a loom was a turning point.

I was given my loom by my university; without it, I would never have been able to afford to continue with my weaving so soon after graduating. It’s a very old Bonas Griffith, which the department was no longer going to use. To have bought just a simple table loom would have cost me in the range of £500. For something more complex, I could have been looking at a figure of £10,000–£15,000 – completely out of my reach.

To start a new collection…

…I sketch, paint and gather a selection of imagery. I then design new patterns – often around 20 at a time – and translate those onto graph paper. After drawing up those designs, I transfer them onto special computer software, which essentially is like a piece of graph paper on a computer. I save those on a floppy disc that then goes into my computerised loom to determine which shafts will be lifted as I treadle. Each thread is woven by hand.

The Slow Movement chimes with handcraft.

The world is so fast-paced that sometimes what we own and do seems to have no real substance.

It is no surprise that, as a result, there are high levels of depression and anxiety in society. It’s important to me that things slow down. I have always felt nostalgia for a simple way of life; immersing myself in a traditional craft is my way of working towards this. Putting time and effort into creating an object gives it a value far beyond something that is determined by fashion and will
be in the bin by next year.

I applied for The Arts Society Award…

…as I was looking to progress my weaving and move to London to connect with a greater audience. The award was set up for people working with a traditional craft that is at risk of dying out.

The interview with representatives from The Arts Society, Cockpit Arts and The Heritage Crafts Association was nerve-wracking, but they liked the pieces I had lugged from home in Cambridge. They recognised, too, that I needed help.

Having a studio at Cockpit Arts has boosted my confidence. There are workshops to help with the business side, and working among other makers is so energising. Good things are starting to happen, including a recent commission from the interior design company Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler. I’m now thinking about developing some of my fabrics for clothing; they would be beautifully cut, simple silhouettes in natural colours.

Weave as a medium is not always well understood.

People don’t always see it as being the art and craft speciality that it is. I’m so pleased that Tate Modern is holding its Anni Albers exhibition this autumn. Shows such as that help the medium gain recognition and, for a young weaver such as me, the chance to see the work of someone who was such a trailblazer for textile design will be inspiring.

Meet Laura Woodhouse at Cockpit Arts’ London Christmas Open Studios, 23-25 November

For Laura Woodhouse, see wovenbylaura.com

For information on our grant giving, visit theartssociety.org/grants

Anni Albers is at Tate Modern from 11 October–27 January 2019

Photography: Cristian Barnett