Publisher Description

"Weaving Tapestry in Rural Ireland", this account of the Donegal weaving co-operative features accounts of the various processes; as well as interviews with weavers, spinners and dyers; and has 103 colour photographs of tapestries. This book brings into focus key aspects of our heritage and shows how traditional skills were adopted to produce modern tapestries of great beauty and originality. "Weaving Tapestry in Rural Ireland" contributes to the preservation of regional culture in the Gaeltacht, the Irish-speaking sections of western Ireland. The weavers believe their work is of importance because "large chunks of our cultural heritage have been lost with the passing of just one generation." Traditional methods of wool production are presented in this book along with folklore, myth and local archaeology which influences the weavers' practices, tapestry design, self-perceptions and identities as artists and mentors within their communities. Also included is a documentation of the natural materials-plants and sea life-that their ancestors used in dye recipes for the yarns in their sweaters and tweeds.

Author Biography

Meghan Nuttall Sayres writes and weaves in Eastern Washington where she lives. Laurence Boland, Dublin, is a member of the Press Photographer's Association Ireland, the N.V.J., and contributes to Ireland's Sunday Tribune newspaper

Table of Contents

Dedication Acknowledgements Prologue An Introduction to Taipeis Gael Founder of Taipeis Gael, Monica de Bath Mentors Mary McNelis Con O'Gara Rose Hegarty Jimmy Carr Taipeis Gael Administrator, Annie McGinley Taipeis Gael Weavers Margaret Cunningham Dermot Cannon Maire McGinley Conal McIntyre Gallery of Tapestries St Colmcille The Famine Symbols and Legends Cross-Cultural Expressions The Tools Whorls Wheels: James Shiels, Master Spinning Wheelwright The Raw Materials Sheep and Wool Natural Dyes A Dyer's Journal and Glossary of Dyes Afterword; A Future For Taipeis Gael? Endnotes Further Reading

Review

In this beautifully wrought chronicle , Meghan Nuttall Sayres has drawn from the past to celebrate the present and future of Taipeis Gael, a tapestry weaving collective of international reputation in Donegal, Ireland. This group of dedicated artists has created a body of work whose compelling imagery, both pictorial and abstract, evokes a powerful sense of their ancient land --a land of rock and of sea, of wool and of natural dyes, of textiles past and of textiles yet to be created. Sayres has woven tapestries, photographs and the very words of the people themselves into a visual and narrative feast from which I could hardly bear to emerge. Sarah Swett, tapestry weaver and author of Kids Weaving.

Long Description

Weaving Tapestry in Rural Ireland is the story of a group of weavers in the Gaeltacht, the Irish speaking section of Donegal, who formed a tapestry weaving cooperative called Taipeis Gael. It features accounts of the various processes; as well as interviews with weavers, spinners and dyers; and has over 100 color photographs of tapestries. Traditional methods of wool production are presented in this book along with folklore, myth, and local archaeology which influences the weavers' practices, tapestry design, self-perceptions, and identities as artists and mentors within their communities. Also included is a documentation of the natural materials-plants and sea life-that their ancestors used in dye recipes for the yarns in their sweaters and tweeds.

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