Wall Hanging

The Musqueam, and other Coast Salish peoples, come from a long tradition of weaving. Although contemporary weavers weave for a variety of reasons, several of the weavers at Musqueam have expressed that their weaving enables them to connect with their ancestors and at the same time leave a cultural legacy for future generations. Many weave primarily for personal use and for gifts to family and friends, while others weave as a profession and sell their work to art dealers and museums. In recent years, Musqueam weavers have also received commissions from large corporations, such as Paramount Studios and the Vancouver Airport.

Roberta Louis provided the following information about this weaving. When a selection of twill weave is inserted it normally pulls to the centre, but she figured out a solution. She grabs the individual warps and pulls them over, and then it doesn't pull in. In addition, some of the designs used in this weaving are original to her, specifically the design in the centre of this weaving and the design of repeating small black angled lines. Roberta saw the latter design in her sleep and got up to note it down. The colours she used for this weaving are the natural wool, most of the weavers at Musqueam prefer those.

contemporary art; weaving

This weaving is made with single strand s-spun wool. Reverse warping was used to create the looped ends, and flat, rectangular appearance of the fabric. The weaving is predominantly done with double strand twining, although some sections exhibit the twill weave technique.

Wall hanging made with s-spun wool and a reverse warping weave. The textile has looped warps at both ends, and the warp yarns are off-white in colour. A central design field is bordered on both sides with identical patterns. The weaving is done with double strand twining in off-white with occassional grey and dark brown accents. A band of chevron design at each end is created with twill weave, followed by more twining in white. There is one row in the centre of this off-white portion where one of the strands is grey, resulting in alternating white and grey stitches. The design field in the centre of the textile has a grey background, with two inward facing arrow-like designs in off-white bordered with dark brown wool and an x at the centre in dark brown and grey.