Patricia Armour
Inspired by the human form, ancient mythology, legend and the art of the Pre-Raphaelites, Trish’s tapestries are bursting with symbolism. She realises her designs through photography, drawings, paintings and prints, assembling them into collages revealing a narrative. Using multiple fine yarns, she develops colours, shades and textures to develop an ethereal quality of light and atmosphere.
Trish expresses human emotions and experiences through her tapestries using the human figure and nature to convey a contemplative tranquillity. The result combines the authenticity of tradition with the vitality of contemporary life.
Background
Trish lives and works in Wellington, New Zealand and has been weaving tapestries for over 30 years. In the early 1990s Trish worked in collaboration with leading NZ artists. However, after attending a tapestry module at West Dean College, UK, she began developing her own style and designs.
Trish has held successful solo exhibitions in Wellington, and has tapestries in private collections in the USA, Japan, UK and New Zealand. She teaches tapestry weaving, and has established, along with a group of her students, a very successful weaving group which meets regularly in Wellington. She is the convenor of New Zealand’s Tapestry Network and publishes the group’s newsletter. She is a member of the Professional Weavers Network of NZ, the American Tapestry Alliance and British Tapestry Group. She has written articles for weaving magazines, and has curated an online exhibition of work by Maximo Laura for the American Tapestry Alliance.
She is passionate about the weaving process, and conveying human emotions and experiences in the face and form through tapestry. She is currently exploring textural techniques to interpret the cloth of garments.