Sharon Leeds breaks a few rules in order to interpret her surroundings through woven tapestry.

A few minutes with Sharon Leeds..

A lifetime of creativity and a tendency to visualise my surroundings in textile, for me there was an immediate recognition that woven tapestry was the medium I related to and one that would best express “how I saw my ideas and surroundings”.

An ever evolving and fluid list of things inspire me, artists of all kinds, music, people, words, nature and life experiences.

Elements of social justice, the environment and the child’s voice underpin a lot of my designs, and I am influenced by the politics of the day.

The preparation and processes for a tapestry can be very time consuming. It involves the design and technical approach, warping up the loom, choosing yarns and preparation of colours on bobbins, cartooning of design and marking up on warp threads.

Only now am I ready to weave with the advice, “rules are meant to be broken” always urging me to experiment.

Image details (from L to R): 
1. Cartooning a design;  2. Warped loom with cartoon being marked; and 3. Weaving a design.