Tapestry Tour, 2015

"Mastering the Fine Art of Tapestry"

with

Cresside Collette

7th – 26th September 2015

From London to Aubusson - a European adventure to discover the historical context and contemporary forms of this rich, tactile medium and participate in a hands on learning experience of this timeless art in a small exclusive interest group.  

You will see the sublime high points of Mediaeval craftsmanship embodied in the 15th C. suites of The Devonshire Hunts, the Lady and the Unicorn and the Apocalypse of Angers.

A visit to Stirling Castle in Scotland will reveal the re-woven Hunt of the Unicorn suite by the West Dean Tapestry Studio, an amazing exercise in reproducing the art of the Middle Ages. At the V & A in London we will see the magnificence of the Raphael cartoons for the famous Classical tapestries designed for Pope Leo X in 1515, and time will be spent in the new Mediaeval and Renaissance galleries. You will visit the private studios of contemporary tapestry artists working in London and Edinburgh, and for the first time you will have the opportunity to participate in a workshop conducted by renowned Scottish artist Linda Green. We will also be guided through the famed Royal Gobelins Workshop and experience the wonderful Mediaeval delights of the Musee du Moyen Age in Paris.

This exciting study tour will be rounded off with a four day workshop at the Manoir du Bost in the heart of France to learn tapestry technique first hand. Conducted by Cresside Collette, tapestry artist, scholar and teacher, it will include day trips to nearby Aubusson, the beautiful French town that is synonymous with this craft.

The tapestry room, V&A                                                             

LONDON, 3 days

DAY 1 Monday September 7th

Check into Indigo Paddington Hotel. www.indigopaddington.com

Visit to The Victoria and Albert Museum www.vam.ac.uk in South Kensington. Highlights will include viewing the 15^th C. tapestry suite, the Devonshire Hunts, Raphael's cartoons for the Acts of the Apostles, and the Mediaeval and Renaissance galleries.

DAY 2 Tuesday September 8th

A day at Hampton Court Palace, where the collection includes The Story of Abraham, the sumptuous Renaissance tapestries commissioned by Henry VIII. The Tudor gardens are a special delight and a visit to the famous textile conservation studio is being negotiated.

www.hrp.org.uk/aboutus/whatwedo/collectionscare/vrtapestrieshamptoncourt

Then a studio visit to contemporary tapestry artist William Jefferies at Kew Gardens, on the way back to London.

DAY 3 Wednesday September 9^th

Minibus to Rickmansworth to visit artist Anna Ray, http://www.annaray.co.uk whose innovative work is redefining concepts of textiles and tapestry.

Minibus to Hertfordsire to the Henry Moore Foundation http://www.henry-moore.org at Perry Green, the home of Henry Moore for forty years, to view the spectacular tapestries woven at the West Dean studio from his drawings and displayed in the Aisled Barn.

The lovely grounds include his outdoor sculpture, two large studios, a gallery and his charming house, Hoglands. 

Visit with Anna Ray

EDINBURGH and STIRLING, 4 days

DAY 4 Thursday September 10th

Train to Edinburgh, check into Apex Waterloo Hotel www.apexhotels.co.uk/hotels/edinburgh-waterloo-place

DAY 5 Friday September 11^th

Morning visit to the Dovecot Studios www.dovecotstudios.com

The historic Edinburgh Tapestry Company was established in 1912 under the patronage of the Marquess of Bute and originally located in Costorphine, a suburb of Edinburgh. Its internationally celebrated director in the 1960s and 70s was Archie Brennan, who validated tapestry as a vital 20^th C. art form, and whose ideas served as a model for the establishment of the Victorian Tapestry Workshop in Melbourne in 1976. In 2008 the Dovecot Studios moved to their beautiful new premises, the former Baths in Infirmary Street.

Afternoon visit to WASPS Studios. The Tapestry course at the Edinburgh College of Art gave rise to the establishment of the artist/weaver and the proliferation of individual studio practice around the world. Many former graduates are based here and we will visit Jo Barker and Fiona Hutchison.

DAY 6 Saturday September 12^th

Full day Workshop with Linda Green. http://www.studiogreen.me

A unique opportunity to create an individual Artist’s book with a renowned tapestry artist in her own studio, and see a presentation on her work.

DAY 7 Sunday September 13^th

A studio visit to textile conservator, Alison Docherty at Hopetoun House en route to

Stirling, to view the re-woven Hunt of the Unicorn tapestry installation in the refurbished Queen's bedroom at St. James' Palace. www.stirlingcastle.gov.uk/tapestries

Hunt of the Unicorn Tapestry

                                              

PARIS, 4 days

DAY 8 Monday September 14th

Fly to Paris.  We will be met on arrival and transferred to the left bank Hotel Central St. Germain, 3, Rue Champollion, 75005, Paris. http://centralsaintgermain.com/

DAY 9 Tuesday September 15th

A stroll down the colourful market street, Rue Mouffetard, for an afternoon visit to The Gobelins Tapestry Workshop, www.museums-of paris.com/musee_en.php?code=349, the most important and long running workshop in the world, situated in the 13th arondissement. The Manufacture des Gobelins was founded as a dye works in the mid 15th century by Jean Gobelin. In 1662, Louis XIV purchased the Gobelins manufactory and his minister Colbert united all the royal artisans to create a royal tapestry and furniture works specialising in tapestry from 1697.

A special guided tour by arrangement.

DAY 10 Wednesday September 16^th

A walk around the corner brings us to the wonderful treasures of the Middle Ages housed in the Musee du Moyen Age www.musee-moyenage.fr/ang/index.html

This year we will enjoy the newly created front entrance and celebrate the return of the sublime La Dame a la Licorne to a renovated setting. Other suites of Mediaeval tapestries including The story of St. Stephen, The Offering of the Heart and Aristocratic Life are also on view.

A free afternoon follows to lunch and wander the Left Bank and the environs of the Seine.

DAY 11 Thursday September 17th

A morning at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs  www.lesartsdecratifs.fr enjoying the best of the decorative arts, from Mediaeval to Modern. Walk across the manicured gardens to the courtyard of the Louvre and marvel at the art or stroll in the adjoining Tuileries to fill in the afternoon.

     

                                    

Musee du Moyen Age

ANGERS, 2 days

DAY 12 Friday September 18th

Train to Angers. This historic town in the Loire Valley yields one of the most exciting experiences of the tour, viewing the 100 metre long 14th C. Apocalypse tapestry, the Book of Revelations made visible. Housed in the fortress chateau it is an overwhelming sight.

After booking into a quaint country style hotel, The Hotel du Mail, http//www.hotel du mail we stroll through the Mediaeval town to make an afternoon visit to the Cathedral that houses the Mediaeval Story of Saint Maurille. Woven in 1378-81 for the Cathedral, the designs were drawn by Jean Bondol based on illuminated manuscripts, and the weaving was overseen by Nicolas Bataille whose workshops also produced the Apocalypse.

DAY 13 Saturday September 19th

A morning visit to the Chateau www.francethisway.com/places/chateauangers.php to see the Apocalypse and explore the many delights of the garden and buildings, then a stroll along the river to see Lurcat's answer to the magnificent Apocalypse, his Song of the World suite of ten tapestries woven from the mid 1950s to the mid 1960s reflecting on the atom bomb, the apocalyptic event of the 20^th C.

They are displayed in the heritage 12thC. St. John's Hospital, adjoined by the Museum Jean Lurcat http://musees.angers.fr/index.php?id=52338 that exhibits contemporary tapestry.

                                                                                    

                    Lurcat's 'Song of the World'

BOURGANEUF and AUBUSSON, 7 days

DAY 14 Sunday September 20th

Drive through the Loire Valley to Le Manoir du bost http://www.amivac.com/site34079

A week's accommodation in this splendid, secluded manor house in central France offers a unique opportunity to learn the basics of Tapestry Weaving and develop a real understanding of its brilliant technique. Beginners will learn to set up a tapestry frame and weave basic shapes. More advanced students will be encouraged to experiment with Mediaeval tapestry techniques such as hatching to achieve colour gradations, and to adapt them to a contemporary style. Or just relax, read, paint and draw in a beautiful setting.

All materials and looms provided.  All meals catered by professional chef, Valerie Largorsse.

La Demeure du Bost

DAY 15 Monday September 21st

Workshop commences

Full day

DAY 16 Tuesday September 22nd

Full day workshop  
                                      

DAY 17 Wednesday September 23rd

Day visit to Aubusson. www.aubusson.fr

Located a thirty minute ride from the manoir, this pretty town in the heart of France has existed on its weaving industry since the 14^th C. Under the guidance of Susanne Bouret, conservator of textiles and local resident, we will stroll its streets and visit the individual ateliers open to the public as well as visiting more formal centres such as the Musee de la Tapisserie.www.cite-tapisserie.fr

France Odile Perrin-Crinere and Martine Stamm run studio Atelier A2. www.ateliera2.fr

Thierry Roger is the last traditional dyer of yarn in Aubusson. www.aubusson-teinture.fr

Chantal Chirac restores tapestry cartoons and has built a cartoon museum for their display and preservation in a picturesque building on the Pont de la Terrade.

The conservation studio of Susanne Bouret is at the Terrade, next door to the Chirac Musee de Carton.

  

Studio visit, Aubusson

DAY 18 Thursday September 24th

Full day workshop

                                         

DAY 19 Friday September 25th

Day trip to Felletin

We will travel to Felletin, a small town 10 km. from Aubusson to view the historic workshop of Ateliers Pinton, www.ateliers-pinton.com one of two remaining manufacturers that employs teams of weavers to make tapestries and also produces rugs.

A lively street market operates on Friday mornings, so we will indulge in a picnic lunch.

Then an afternoon visit to the Eglise du Chateau to see the annual tapestry exhibition that incorporates the most innovative work produced in the previous year.

Farewell dinner with Susanne Bouret at the Manoir.

Atelier Pinton Freres, Felletin

DAY 20 Saturday September 26th

Return to Paris by train from Limoges, end of tour.

Read about the 2012 Tapestry Tour at tapestrytour.blogspot.com

        Group at Stirling, 2012

TOUR DETAILS

Date and length of tour: 20 days starting in London and finishing in Paris from September 7th to 26th, 2015.

Cost: $6,950.00 (AUD) for twin share, $8,695.00 (AUD) for single room.

Group size: 6 minimum, 10 maximum.

TOUR DETAILS

Tour price includes:

All accommodation

All breakfasts

All museum and gallery entry charges

All meals at the Manoir du Bost

All taxis and transfers

London Oyster card

1st class rail from London King's Cross to Edinburgh

Return transport from Edinburgh – Stirling

Tutored 1day workshop with Linda Green

Minivan transfer to Edinburgh airport

Air France flight from Edinburgh to Paris

Minivan transfer from Paris Charles de Gaulle to hotel

Paris Visite Pass - 3 day/ zones 1- 3 Metro pass

Paris Museum Pass - 2 day

Minivan transfer from Paris hotel to station

1st class rail from Paris to Angers

Private coach transfer from Angers to the Manoir du Bost

Two excursions to Aubusson and Felletin

Private coach transfer to Limoges station

1st class rail from Limoges to Paris

French speaking guide in Aubusson and Felletin

Tutored 3 day tapestry workshop with Cresside Collette

Loom hire and materials.

Tour price does not include:

Airfare to London and from Paris

Travel Insurance

Meals apart from breakfast, except at the Manoir

Lunch at Aubusson and Felletin (2 days)

Hotels mentioned in the itinerary are subject to availability and others of similar quality may be substituted.

This itinerary has been prepared with the assistance of Ian Jane at Bentleigh Travel who will be making all tour bookings.

BENTLEIGH TRAVEL CENTRE

Telephone: +61 3 9557 5898

Fax: +61 3 9557 4786

Shop 7, 271 - 275 Centre Road, P. O. Box 20, Bentleigh 3204, Victoria, Australia.

Email: ian@bentleightravel.com.au

Tour designed and authored by Cresside Collette, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015.

Contact: cressidecollette@gmail.com

Felletin, Aubusson, Farewell

On Friday our minibus driver took us to the  town of Felletin, to view only one of two viable workshops left in the area, the historic Ateliers Pinton. It happened to be a day off for the tapestry weavers, so unfortunately we did not see them at the loom but this is a workshop run in the traditional manner where they copy the artwork in faithful reproduction from a carefully numbered cartoon. On my first visit we were fortunate to meet and speak with the "cartonniere", an attractive young woman who was sitting on the floor laboriously outlining the areas of colour for the weavers to follow. The designs, by British artist Ahmed Moustafa, were intimidatingly large and complicated but alive with luminous bands of colour enlivened by gold thread. Also destined for the Cite, they will be a stunning addition to the collection.

Cartonnier at work numbering the cartoon

A Moustafa on the loom

Completed tapestry being unrolled

This time there were two finished tapestries hanging in the foyer that had been commissioned by their designer, Tissot. Two cubist cockerels woven in single and double weave in a very dated, 1950s style. I was horrified to find that they had been nailed up to wooden battens for hanging.

 Tissot tapestry nailed up for hanging

The workshop also makes tufted rugs and carpets, so we started our visit there, first in a showroom full of samples that catered to hotels and other public buildings. Sample books illustrated the variety and extent of their range of sculpted finishes in neutral colours. We went on to see the making, cutting and finishing in various studios. Once again we were agog at the lack of health and safety regulations. Two women were working with tufting guns without masks, punching wool and cotton into a fabric made of synthetic material. The air was dense with floating fibres that caught in the throat, and the floor a minefield of tangled cords and deep chasms between concrete slabs that act as drains. We asked about occupational health and safety and they assured us that no such thing was enforced.

Rug tufting studio

Downstairs, in the quiet of the tapestry studio we were able to examine in detail the pieces that were on the looms. There was an edition of a Leger and two Moustafas, impossibly detailed. Characteristic of French weaving the warps were spaced very closely, creating a warp based rather than weft based fabric woven with two, three or five strands of fine wool. The weavers are definitely skilled artisans, closely following their numbered cartoons with no individual creative input.

Susanne with Leger edition

Afterwards we walked up the hill to the centre of the village where the traditional Friday market was in full swing, meandering through the cobbled lanes of the town and bursting with local produce. We had a lovely time investigating everything and buying some food for a picnic lunch that we ate sitting in the grounds of the church.

Friday market at Felletin

In the Eglise du Château there was a very interesting exhibition called “Licornes et 

bestes etranges” (the S in bêtes is not a spelling mistake but the medieval spelling of the word). 

A combination of ancient and contemporary tapestry around the theme of animals, the 

unicorn tapestry, Peau de Licorne, that we saw on the loom last year at Patrick Guillot’s workshop being the focus. Designed by Nicolas Buffe, it is displayed as a floor piece and is a contemporary version of the hallowed unicorn, shaped like the flayed skin of the animal complete with Limoges porcelain head and hoofs! Woven in black and white, the design is incredibly complex with highly detailed vignettes throughout, which, when observed closely draw inspiration from amongst other things, Japanese Manga cartoons. Old and new combined in an absolute collision of ideas. Patrick's hands flew deftly over these finest of details and we learned a new stitch (derived from Soumak, I think) that outlined beautifully the most delicate forms.

Exhibition in Eglise du Château

Peau de Licorne with Limoges porcelain hoofs and horn 

Peau de Licorne being woven

Other works in the exhibition included a conceptual piece by Bernard Battu and the artist Jacques Harambaru. It comprised a large "filet"net hung from the wall, weighted shells and rocks caught in its folds. An embroidered needlepoint three dimensional unicorn dragged a male torso in its wake, quite bizarre and very brightly coloured. A very curious inclusion was a cartoon for La Dame a la Licorne, dating from the 1940s and ostensibly created for the weaving of editions, upon which the little animals were pasted on separate pieces of paper for ease of shifting them around.

 Needlepoint Unicorn

 Painted cartoon with animal cut outs

We then boarded our bus and headed to Aubusson for our last visit there. Our first stop was to meet Patrick Guillot who was working in the ENSA building on a large commission for a Government building that is decorated in 18th C. style. Patrick was quite effusive and talked at length about his contribution as creative collaborator on the project. The design was an unusual amalgam of fruit, flowers, shells and story book creatures cavorting on a background that mimicked a pattern of green moire silk. Ribbons of text also wound their way around the subjects. The loom was warped in two different warp settings with some very closely spaced bands of warp inserted to cope with the fine detail. Patrick's skill is consummate as he interprets the impossibly difficult work with alarming speed.

 Patrick showing Susanne the project on the loom

 The cartoon hanging down behind the loom

The re-invigorated tapestry school has produced its first batch of ten graduates and we briefly viewed their samplers and projects that were on view in another building. It was great to see the budding future of a real tapestry revival in a town that is synonymous with this craft.

 A walk through the old town brought us to the atelier and shop of Chantal Chirac, perched on the side of the river on the Pont de la Terrade, and stuffed with the most amazing array of artwork and furniture which seems to cheerily overflow from the constraints of its surrounds. She restores old tapestry cartoons and we observed roll upon roll of them, mostly 18th C. designs in full colour from which exact copies would have been made in tapestry. A large building next door has been built in sympathetic style to house a private cartoon museum. The charming Musee des Cartonnes has been skilfully designed with views out to the river, and is comprised of four or five rooms of painted cartoons from the last three centuries in an interesting display. A downstairs area exhibited a retrospective of tapestries designed by Antonia Bory, who is now in her nineties. Chantal's husband Bernard treated us to an amusing overview as he grappled valiantly with English translations of his very French expressions.

Chantal Chirac's studio with new Musee des Cartonnes on the right.

 Studio interior

And so back to the Manoir on our minibus, and our final dinner cooked by the lovely Valerie. Susanne joined us for a delicious farewell dinner of delicate coquilles St. Jacques, one of the most classic French dishes. There was much happy chatter, giving of gifts and very emotional goodbyes. My fondest wish is to return in 2013. Our meals were so special that I have listed Valerie's menus here. 

Valerie's Menus

Filet mignon of pork cooked with sage - fresh pasta - pear tart with caramel sauce
Filet mignon sauté à la sauge –pâtes fraiches- flan poires sauce caramel

Poached fish – vegetables - crumble
Poisson poché – julienne de légumes –crumble 

Marinated chicken with a confit of ratatouille - white chocolate and raspberry dessert
Poulet mariné  -confit de ratatouille-verrine chocolat blanc framboises

Vegetable lasagna – salad - cooked pears with spices
Lasagne de légumes-salade-poires aux épices.

Roast beef – vegetables - poached fruit with ice cream
Roti de bœuf-légumes-fruits pochés –glace.

Spring lamb casserole - mango carpaccio with spices
Navarin d’agneau printanier-carpaccio de mangue aux épices douces.

Scallops with a fondue of leeks - baked peaches with pistachio and speculoos
Saint-jacques-fondue de poireaux-pêches rôties pistache spéculoos

The next morning we tidied up and packed our bags. Francois came over to say goodbye and I promised I would be back. Our coach appeared beyond the hedges and swept us off through the picturesque countryside to Limoges and our train to Paris.