ELIZABETH ASHDOWN
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In person Passementerie Masterclass

30/1/2021

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It is my pleasure to announce that I will be teaching a 2-day in person Passementerie Workshop at the Central Scotland School of Craft on the 17th & 18th July 2021.

This masterclass will introduce you to the rare and most beautiful of all textile arts. We will be exploring a variety of exciting techniques through frame loom weaving. At the end of the two days, you will come away with a variety of passementerie samples and all the introductory skills you need to carry on weaving. For further information, please click here.
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August 07th, 2020

7/8/2020

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'One to Watch' - Homes and Gardens magazine - September 2020 issue
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I am very delighted to write that I have been chosen as September's 'One to Watch' in Homes & Gardens magazine. To read the full article, please see the September 2020 issue.
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July 02nd, 2020

2/7/2020

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 New online weaving course - beginning July 21st 2020
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July 21st - August 25th 6:30 - 8:30pm, every Tuesday evening (6 sessions over 6 weeks), £149.00, City Lit Online.

Frame loom weaving has so much potential aside from the usual tapestry techniques. We will be developing elements of frame loom weaving with ‘traditional’ on loom weaving methods in order to create a collection of contemporary, graphic, striking and colourful fabrics that are normally associated with the fashion industry. We will sample these methods on a smaller scale to reach the potential for developing ideas for interior, fine art or for fashion markets.

What is the course about?
Colour and weave is a traditional on-loom technique of creating fabrics that combine particular woven structures with contrasting colour palettes in order to create lively, energetic and optical fabrics.
Using a frame loom, we will explore techniques and experiment with colour, texture, woven structure, yarn, materials, scale and repeat pattern.
We will be looking at how to apply your woven work to a range of applications. For instance: textured tweeds for scarves, fashion accessories and small-scale works; working with delicate yarns to create pieces for jewellery; creating contemporary and graphic furnishing and cushioning fabrics; using the techniques to create a wide variety of art pieces.
Each week you will dress the frame loom with a fresh warp in order to create a varied collection of fabric samples. Tips and tricks, alongside innovative production methods will be given in order to guide you towards creating one finished piece.

For the full course information and to book your place, please visit the City Lit website: ​https://www.citylit.ac.uk/courses/frame-loom-weaving-colour-and-weave-techniques
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Material Source: Louisa Pacifico founder of Future Icons on craft, materials and wonderful people

1/5/2020

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I am very happy to write that Louisa Pacifico, founder of contemporary craft collective Future Icons, has selected my work as her favourite contemporary craft collection in Material Source.
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International Kogei Award - Toyama Prefacture, Japan 2020

26/4/2020

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I am delighted to write that my hand woven artwork Long Loops (2019) (pictured) has been shortlisted for the International KOGEI Award in Japan. Long Loops will be featured in an exhibition in Toyama in September - October 2020. The award 'aims to draw the future vision of crafts by reconsidering the stereotypical concept of traditional crafts once from an unbiased perspective, capturing the global trends in crafts that are becoming more and more borderless and cross-fields, and creating opportunities for international networks and collaboration' International KOGEI Award - https://kogeiaward.jp/en/outline.html
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Homestyle: All the trimmings

19/3/2020

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I am delighted to say that my work has been given a lovely write up by Elaine Markoutsas in the Detroit News article 'Homestyle: All the trimmings':
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'Intricate weaves dazzling in richness of pattern and color... An example of some of the most energetic weaves is the work of Elizabeth Ashdown, a London-based artist. One of the U.K.'s last remaining Passementerie weavers, she uses traditional weaving techniques with an energetic use of vivid color, pattern and material to create contemporary, one-off pieces'

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Ace Hotel Shoreditch - Weaving installation - London Craft Week

11/3/2020

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I am very excited to announce that I will be the weaver in residence at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditch during London Craft Week 2020 (April 29th & 30th). I will be running a weaving installation in the public lobby of the hotel. Come along to see me and Timothy (my 1960s loom) weaving my latest handwoven passementerie artwork.
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Material Source Interview

2/2/2020

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Last month I was interviewed by Laura Connelly for Material Source. I'm delighted to say that the full article is now available to read online (scroll down to find the link for the full article)

You’re one of the only hand passementerie weavers left in the UK - can you tell us how you got started?

"I’ve always loved textiles and trimmings and I’ve always collected scraps and bits and bobs. It wasn’t until I was a student at Central Saint Martins that I learnt about passementerie. We undertook a short project to produce trimmings and I was hooked. For the rest of my time there I taught myself the basics of passementerie.
"I continued to teach myself techniques, mainly by studying drawings and looking at antique examples. I worked for two years between CSM and the RCA (freelancing and selling passementerie samples). At the RCA I continued to teach myself more skills and I also experimented with scaling my designs."

In your view, why is this skill dying out?

"I believe there is a number of reasons for this: 1.Tastes – The use of passementerie surges in popularity in times where ornateness and maximalism were popular – such as the 1980s. Good passementerie is also expensive to purchase/commission and I think a lot of people are unsure of how to use it.
"I also believe it's dying out as there isn’t anywhere you can actually go to learn the skills. You can learn to create a simple tassel easily but anything more than this is very complicated. The creation of passementerie is also so time consuming and laborious – you need to be extremely patient and happy to sit at a loom for hours on end on your own!"

​https://www.materialsource.co.uk/elizabeth-ashdown-on-passementerie-weaving-instagram-and-the-importance-of-colour/ 





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Elizabeth Ashdown at the London Art Fair VIP Lounge

8/1/2020

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I will be exhibiting two of my latest framed hand woven passementerie artworks at the London Art Fair between January 22nd - January 26th 2020 at the Business Design Centre, Islington. The fair showcases contemporary, museum quality fine artworks to the capital and  'connects the best galleries from around the world with both seasoned and aspiring collectors, providing a unique opportunity to discover and champion the most outstanding modern and contemporary art of our time.' (London Art Fair).
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'Last year the London Art Fair launched Platform, a new section focusing on a single theme or discipline. For 2020 it will capture the breadth of different artists working in textiles and the growing appreciation of the medium as a beautiful and collectible art form. 

 Future Icons has chosen 6 leading textile practitioners to create exclusive artworks to displayed within the VIP Lounge for guests to enjoy and buy. These will be accompanied by a selection of ceramic installations, metal sculptures and wooden vessels. To compliment our collections we are proud to be supported by British furniture manufacturer ercol and Ptolemy Mann Rugs supplied by The Rug Maker.'
(Text courtesy of Future Icons).


 Two of my latest framed fine art textiles, Loop (2019) and Arthur (2019), will be available to view and purchase as well as the work of Claire Coles, Jo Davies MA RCA, Kate Lewis MA RCA, Katja Angeli MFA RCA, Lee Borthwick MA RCA, Remy Dubibe, Sally McGill, Zuzana Lalikova.

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Over Under : Under Over exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy

20/12/2019

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I am delighted to announce that four pieces of my work will be exhibited in the Over Under: Under Over exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh alongside artists Celia Pym, Dail Behennah, Sue Lawty, Sarah Jane Henderson and Sadhvi Jawa.

The exhibition, arranged by the Cordis Prize and Visual Arts Scotland will explore contemporary weaving within its widest context. Cordis writes:

‘Straying from their usual adherence to the traditional principles of woven Gobelin tapestry, this project aims to explore the wider applications of the woven form. Cordis have selected six artists whose work is constructed in a similar way to tapestry, or whose techniques resonate with the principles of weaving, whether that be through the interlacing of materials or of repetitive gesture’.

Over Under : Under Over
Royal Scottish Academy Upper Galleries, Edinburgh
22nd December - January 30th 2020

Exploring Weave in its widest context. Presented by the Cordis Trust.






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