Katharine Swailes

Katharine Swailes’ Colourfield works investigate the desire to uncover the hidden mark—a mark that a painter might create. She explores what this mark might look like as a weaver. Swailes begins by considering the movements of the hands in weaving—the fluid, continuous motions. The resulting works are visual expressions of an unbroken, minimal tapestry weave, created through the random introduction and adjustment of a carefully considered palette of colors.

Swailes’ Colourfield works delve into the meditative nature of handwoven tapestry, drawing on the long tradition of the medium, one of the oldest global technologies. Her practice connects her to this history, as she sits and weaves in a manner akin to tapestry weavers of millennia ago. The equipment and materials she uses remain fundamentally unchanged. Swailes enjoys the rigorous, methodical planning process and the use of natural materials that respond to hand production. She works with worsted wool and cotton yarn, dyeing all the wool herself. Dyeing is central to her work, with each palette inspired by visits to the Piet Oudolf field in Somerset. Swailes translates the essence of the garden into visual memories, which then evolve into dye recipes. By mixing pigments to create a liquid dye solution, she prepares the dye baths for her worsted wools, which form a cohesive family of colours for each project.

In her weaving, Swailes employs minimal tapestry techniques, avoiding shaping, slits, or sewing. This approach ensures the process itself mirrors a continuous, uninterrupted walk through the Oudolf Field, echoing its perpetual cycle of growth and decay. Her colourfield works evoke a herbaceous quality, bringing the outside in while simultaneously exploring the inner landscape. She weaves with many discontinuous wefts, limiting the area woven at any one time to the span of her hand. This method ensures a harmonious and rhythmic repetition.

The movement within these works becomes visible through individual bundles of harmonious weft, plied from seven different strands of hand-dyed wool. These strands include dyed wools and a single strand of mercerized cotton, added to enhance luster. The plied wool is wound into butterflies, a traditional method of holding the yarn while weaving. At the loom, Swailes focuses intently on the weft passing through the warp, creating a calm and meditative rhythm. This process results in a visible, serene path for the viewer’s eye to navigate, with ever-changing hidden details reminiscent of a brushstroke on a canvas.