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Visual Studies 04
Lenore Tawney didn't teach by instruction, but by example-through the rhythm of the loom, the silences she held, and the quiet intention with which she moved through the world. A sculptor first, Tawney came to weaving later, drawn not to design but to devotion.
I. ABOVE Lenore Tawney, 1959, by Yousuf Karsh
She worked with an intensity that was quiet, private, and precise. Her open-warp weavings floated in space-delicate, architectural, almost weightless. intuition was always the aim, not function.
She studied under Bauhaus émigrés who believed in clarity of form and truth to material. But her work gently slipped the frame, moving toward something more contemplative. Weaving was a way for her to listen. The warp a structure for stillness. The loom a site for inner
II.
LEFT Lenore Tawney, Written in Water, 1979, canvas, linen, acrylic, I20" X 120" X I20". Collection of the Lenore G. Tawney Foundation, New York. Photo: Rich Maciejewski.
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BELOW Hanging: "Spring Thaw" by Lenore Tawney 1959-60; Linen, wool and goat hair tapestry.
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LAST Lenore Tawney The Judge (left) I96I, linen; 124" X I4". The Bride (right) 1962, linen, feathers,
138" x 13". Courtesy of the Lenore G.
Tawney Foundation, New York.
Though she didn't teach directly, her influence ran deeply. Artists came to her not for instruction but for something quieter-for the way she lived, the way she worked alone in her New York loft, surrounded by feathers, shells, thread. She believed beauty was an offering.
For The Wren, Tawney is a guide. Her life reminds us that textiles are not just made, but lived. They hold space. They invite care. In her hands, weaving became a practice of attention. A ritual. A way to belong.
VI.
LEFT Lenore Tawney, Water Bird
Hanging, 1956
VII.
BELOW The Path, 1962, Linen and 24 carat gold, The Lenore G. Tawney Foundation.
Textile Teachers:
Lenore Tawney