Encounters with the Powerful
In 1982, I got my dream job – the Artistic Director of the Edinburgh Tapestry Company, also known as the Dovecot Studios. Before being confirmed in the role, I was invited to lunch by its owner, the Marquess of Bute, at his stately home,…
Juried exhibitions – why should artists subsidise them?
I have previously fulminated on the subject of open-call commissions, when artists were asked to provide designs to a brief, often in a short timescale and without payment. I composed a sample: ‘The tapestry for Borchester City Chambers should be on the theme of ‘caring…
Why is it so hard to sell tapestries?
No one becomes a tapestry weaver with the expectation of making their fortune. We all supplement our meagre incomes by teaching or other activities, from waitstaff to dog walking. But why don’t people buy our beautiful works of art? Tapestry suffers from a number of…