Sue Weil signed textile "Seeking Balance" ~ fiber art

Description

Sue Weil
Seeking Balance
textile, signed, dated, and titled on verso label
measures approximately: 13 5/8" W x 14 7/8" H
Sue Weil's Artist Statement
I’ve been drawn to creating with my hands from early childhood. Having explored many different mediums, I have found that weaving provides a wonderful balance of structure and freedom. The ‘canvas’ begins as blank warp ends threaded on my loom, while the design builds line by line in a slow reveal until the piece is finished. It’s not until I’ve cut it free from the loom that I see the work in its entirety and it takes on a life of its own.
Early in my career, I wove one-of-a-kind fabric to use in my line of women’s fashion. This early exploration of color and drape in wearable art continues to inform my work in tapestry. I’ve been told that the weight, line and balance in my pieces reflect an architect’s sensibility. Because I feel that often less is more, my designs are intentionally spare, exploring rhythm and asymmetry in bold compositions.
As an artist, my goal is to weave tapestries that lend beauty and a sense of quiet to the places they inhabit. While some of my pieces reflect an inner call for peace, other works may address the intensifying discord in our world. Through my work, I seek to find balance between active engagement in events surrounding us, and the periodic need to retreat for reflection and self-renewal. Through this exploration I continue to find and hone my voice.
I earned my Bachelor of Arts, Cum Laude in Social Anthropology from Harvard University, taking many studio art classes alongside my studies in anthropology. Combining my interests in anthropology and art, I find myself especially drawn to weaving’s cultural universality. So many modern and ancient cultures have solved the need for warmth and beauty through manipulating fiber to create cloth, rugs and tapestries. I’m especially drawn to the sensual, tactile warmth of the fibers and the way the image draws the viewer beneath the surface.
Weaving attracts me for its simplicity: two opposing sets of threads twining together to create a whole. Working at the loom provides me the opportunity to sit in the stillness of my thoughts, allowing my hands to think.