Gareth Roscoe – Bucks Art Weeks

33 Gareth Roscoe

Hand weaving
Artists at Leckhampstead

I make handwoven textile pieces using a floor-standing counterbalanced loom of the traditional wooden type. I only use two heddles of the loom, so the weave patterns are simple, but the interest comes from combining yarns of different thickness and texture, and the blending and transitioning of colour. I sometimes add strips of recycled fabric or hand-painted silk.

I usually make a specific article – such as a lampshade or cushion – with the woven textile, and design it according to its end use. So, for example, a lampshade textile would be designed to transmit light in an interesting way. I build the lampshades myself with standard materials, while the cushions are sewn by my wife Tsedey.

I work with a range of natural fibres, favouring wool for lampshades as it filters light better, but mixing cotton, linen and more in my other work.