Weave Tiny Masterpieces Anywhere with Sketch Tapestries

A loom . . . outside? Absolutely! Think, plein air—but with yarn. Sketch tapestry involves spending unstructured time outside or in an inspiring environment, making notes about what I see and then weaving a response to the experience in a small tapestry. This practice of absorbing a place and responding to it through weaving provides a powerful reminder to engage deeply with my environment—so much so that I now teach workshops on sketch tapestry.

What do I mean by sketch tapestry?

Tapestry weaving is often taught with lots of rules and techniques. While these guidelines are important, they can also act as a hurdle between makers and their joy in realizing an idea. What if, from time to time, we let the rules and technique fade to the background? Could we just play with yarn, color, and image in simple ways?

Sketch tapestry is all about stepping back from my formal practice in the tapestry medium, allowing myself to pay attention to interesting surroundings, and to express a moment in time in woven form. It is an untethered way to explore and to create art that captures a bit of those moments of inspiration. Sketch tapestry might become something else for you. You get to decide!

A small sketch with watercolor in Rebecca’s sketchbook along with notes about the inspiration.