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@schoolofweftfaced

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#Tapestry Weaving courses run by Atelier Weftfaced | WestSussex
Caron Penney Tutor | Master Weaver | Artist Mentor
Accounts @weftfaced @caron.penney

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Over the weekend I spoke to a student who raised an important question - one I’ve heard many times before:

When is the right time to study Artist Development?

Many people feel they should wait until they have developed more technical skill, building their knowledge through lots of different skills-based learning first.
I’m not going to deny that skills are important.

But I don’t agree that skills necessarily come first.

For me, ideas are the rudder for your learning and skills development.

If you have no sense of focus or direction in your weaving practice, then what direction are you travelling in?

Are you moving from one technique to another, collecting skills without knowing where they might take you?
If so, you may be spending time and money learning techniques that you never actually use.

Think about any well-known tapestry artist. How many different techniques do they actually use?

Probably not that many.

But what they do know, they know deeply. They have developed the skills that serve their ideas and their practice.

This is why I believe Artist Development isn’t something you need to wait for until you have mastered more techniques.

Understanding your direction can actually help you decide which skills are worth learning in the first place.
And that can save you a great deal of time, energy and money.

What are your thoughts?

If you would like to have an informal chat please email contact@weftfaced.com, DM or comment.

Image: Samples for artist-led project by @schoolofweftfaced

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8 days ago

ARTIST DEVELOPMENT 1

What happens in ‘ Artist Development 1 - Finding Your Focus’

Working with six students every Monday, exploring their ideas, finding out what motivates them has been a joy and honour. We all learn together in a bespoke group, talking direct to each other, in one to one discussion and exploration.

I believe that the group speaks about their experiences so much better than I do, here is how @creative_naturescape felt about her experience.

“Prior to starting the Artist Development course, I was pursuing a change of direction within my creative practice. It was a challenging time and I felt that it would be beneficial to attend such a course. The course exceeded all expectations, but most importantly it gave me the opportunity to examine myself as an artist. Well planned guided activities, both individual and as a group, aided me in gaining greater clarity to my creative practice. Moving forward, I now feel much more confident within my work and further development as a tapestry weaver.”

Pictured: “Flight of the South Downs Curlews” by @creative_naturescape

#artistdevelopment #tapestryweaving by @schoolofweftfaced

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10 days ago

Having some fun with colour today!! by @schoolofweftfaced

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15 days ago

IS ARTIST DEVELOPMENT ONE (AD1) FOR YOU?

Maybe you’re only a few months into developing your practice, but already finding yourself with questions about your work and where you might take it.

Sometimes a practice reaches a point where questions become more important than answers.

Where ideas need time to develop.

Where something feels ready to shift, but its direction isn’t yet clear.

Where stepping back from the work can reveal something that wasn’t visible before.

Artist Development One creates the space to explore those questions, develop ideas and consider what might come next.

For artists ready to look more deeply at the direction they’d like to take, please get in touch via DM or click the link in my bio. by @schoolofweftfaced

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a month ago

WHAT DO I BRING TO THE PROCESS?

I’ve spent more than 30 years working with artists - as a weaver, educator, mentor and artist myself.

Over that time, I’ve learned that there is no single route to developing a creative practice.

Every artist brings different experiences, ideas, ambitions and questions.

My role isn’t to tell you what your work should become.

It’s to look closely with you.

To ask questions.

To challenge assumptions.

To recognise connections.

To help you articulate what you are doing and why.

And, perhaps most importantly, to create a space where you can begin to see your own work more clearly.

That’s the approach I bring to Artist Development One.

Starting January 2027

More information via the link in my bio. DM if you have any questions!

Images:
1. @studiodanfontanelli
2. @steve_speller
3. & 4. @katharineswailes
5. at West Dean Tapestry Studio
6. with artists Martin Creed & Katharine Swailes by @schoolofweftfaced

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a month ago

What might change if you study Artist Development One?

AD1 doesn’t necessarily mean arriving at a neat answer.

Sometimes the most valuable shift is beginning to see your own practice differently.

You may find greater clarity around your ideas.

You may recognise connections within your work that you hadn’t seen before.

You may become more confident in articulating what you’re doing and why.

You may discover new possibilities - or realise that something you thought was important isn’t any more.

And sometimes, the most useful outcome is simply having the space to ask better questions.

There is no single outcome for every artist.
Your practice is your own.

AD1 is about creating the space to explore it, understand it and consider where it might go next.

Artist Development One | January 2027
More information via the link in my bio. by @schoolofweftfaced

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a month ago

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS IN AD1?

Artist Development One is structured across three progressive parts.

Part One - Exploration, Ideas & Finding Focus

We begin by looking closely at your practice - developing ideas, identifying what matters to you and beginning to recognise the questions and concerns that sit beneath your work.

Part Two - Vision, Connection & Emerging Direction

We start to make connections. Ideas are explored, challenged and developed as you begin to recognise new possibilities and a clearer sense of direction.

Part Three - Aspiration, Planning & Future Steps

We look ahead. What do you want for your practice? What are your aspirations? And what practical steps might help you move towards them?

Throughout AD1, you work within a small group, with sustained conversation, reflection and independent enquiry between sessions.

You will be encouraged to research, test ideas, talk about your work, develop your ability to articulate your practice and begin to build a stronger sense of where your work might go next.

• 15 online group sessions.
• Three progressive parts.
• One-to-one mentoring session.

Artist Development One begins January 2027.

More information via the link in my bio. by @schoolofweftfaced

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a month ago

Sometimes the next step isn’t making more.
It’s looking differently.

There are moments in an artist’s practice when making more work isn’t necessarily the answer.

Sometimes we need to pause.

To look at what we’ve already made.

To notice what keeps returning.

To question what we’re drawn to - and why.

To allow ideas to develop before deciding where they should take us.

This is a big part of what Artist Development One is about.

Not telling you what your work should become, but creating the space to explore what it might become.

Artist Development One | January 2027
More information via the link in my bio. by @schoolofweftfaced

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a month ago

WHAT IF YOUR PRACTICE NEEDS SPACE TO DEVELOP?

Artist Development One isn’t about learning how to make more work.

It’s about taking a step back and asking:

+ What am I actually trying to say?
+ What is important within my practice?
+ What keeps returning in my work?
+ What might happen if I gave those ideas more attention?

AD1 is a three-part online artist development programme designed to help you develop your ideas, find focus, recognise what is emerging within your practice and begin to think about where you want to go next.

It isn’t about telling you what your work should be.

It’s about helping you understand your own work more deeply.

The January programme begins soon.

If you’ve been feeling that your practice is ready for a shift, perhaps this is the time to explore what that shift might be.

Artist Development One | January 2027
More information via the link in my bio.

Images: from my recent students work.
@jude_pearson_artist (UK)
Olive (USA)
Jenny (UK)
@andcool_artist (France)
@annawhite.textiles (UK)
@kathleenkingtextiles (UK)
Sandy (USA)

#tapestryweaving #textileart #artists by @schoolofweftfaced

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a month ago

Hi 👋 I am Caron Penney, I haven’t introduced myself for a while. I am part of Atelier Weftfaced (not Italia Wear Faced - didn’t know you could edit subtitles) !!!!! 😬.
I thought it would be a good idea to do so while introducing Artist Development my online mentoring group.

If you would like to have a one to one chat about this course please contact me and we can talk online. I love chatting to makers and artists so please feel free to make contact.

Speak soon. by @schoolofweftfaced

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a month ago

Picking Up the Thread @morleygallery @britishtapestrygroup
Final day of an amazing exhibition. by @schoolofweftfaced

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2 months ago

Fabulous to have the pleasure of meeting so many amazing people at the Meet the Makers event @morleygallery for the final day of ‘picking up the thread’ exhibition for the 20th Anniversary show of the @britishtapestrygroup.

There were so many awesome tapestries which I cannot do justice to here but nevertheless here is a small selection.

1. Katharine Pulford @katharinepulford_cmf
2. Gallery shot
3. Misako Nakahira @nakahira_misako
4. Anna Olson @vassberg13
5. Bridget Lane @bridgetlaneweaving
6. Joan Baxter, Caron Penney, Fiona Hutchinson @caron.penney
7. Susan Mowart @susmowatt
8. Soon Yul Kang @soonyulkang
9. Olga Owczarek @texturetapestries
10. Lee Jenner @leejenneruk

Congratulations to everyone and special thanks 🙏 by @schoolofweftfaced

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2 months ago