Wendy Lemen Bredehoft / WLB Art

About the Artist

Tapestries are Bredehoft’s medium of choice right now, created from original images that explore place in other media, at other times.

The original images seen here began as on-site research through mixed media field observations, which became acrylic Strappo mono-prints or cut-paper collages. These were then converted into larger Jacquard tapestries on a computerized, digital production loom, courtesy of Quality Tapestries. Jacquard fabric is a process in which the image and its colors are incorporated into the weaving of the fabric rather than dyed onto the fabric surface.

The Jacquard loom is considered the predecessor of modern computers. Created by Joseph-Marie Jacquard in France in 1803, it used a binary punch card system to manipulate individual warp threads to create textile designs on the loom. It generally takes 4-6 weeks for the Jacquard weavings to be completed and shipped to my studio. That is when the slow-stitching process begins.

Bredehoft embellishes the tapestries with hand-stitching, creating new textures and visual emphasis to the imagery of the weavings. This process can take anywhere from 1 month to 1 year, depending upon the size and complexity of the design. She works on these alone, responding to what she sees in the weaving, taking into consideration the color mix achieved by computer selection and the patterning that occurs during the computerized weaving process.

This combination of pairing traditional handcrafted techniques with contemporary digital weaving creates a layered call and response between Bredehoft and the digital processes, providing space and time to revisit ideas to find new associations and meaning that were not originally evident or are newly added. Living and the accumulation of personal interpretations add context. Slow art making provides the time to digest experiences and sort through them, leading to new ideas and transformative ways of thinking and making.

The weaving process itself adds an engaging dimensionality: the path of the threads; the juxtapositions of colors in the warp and weft; or the nuanced details of a 10 x 10-inch print that emerge as fascinating elements in a larger tapestry. This is the DNA of a new creation story. The tapestry becomes the canvas upon which the story unfolds in new ways as the textures and colors of added materials play off woven surface patterns, visually shapeshifting into other directions and dimensions, creating a new interpretation of what was originally expressed.

Time weaves it all together, linking past with present through an intricate evolution of ideas and process.

Learn More

You can learn more or purchase Wendy’s artwork outside of Touchstone by contacting the artist at wendybredehoft@gmail.com. Visit her website at wlbart.com, follow her on Instagram @wlbartstudio, or on Facebook at facebook.com/wlbartstudio.