The Adventures of Jane Riley and Meg - Meg Tonkin
If you can cast your mind back to March, I visited our wonderful Vice Chair, Jane Riley, in the North and had such a fabulous time that it simply must be shared. I stayed with Jane for only three days and left with an incredible insight into the art of looms and weaving – plus pockets full of fossils!
Jane and I got stuck in right away. As soon as I stepped off the train, I was whisked off to the Weaving Rooms. I had been excited to be privy to the inner workings of this textile hub, created by Jane Riley and Becky Sunter to teach all things weaving, spinning and tapestry.
Over two floors was an array of looms, with some wildly creative work being undertaken. Many of the students showed me the patterns they were following, which my non-weaving brain could not compute at all!
After my tour, I was straight to work helping Becky with a rigid heddle loom. Then Jane taught me how to set up a simple frame loom. She helped me pick out some yarn colours from their extensive yarn library – all greyscale with some sparkly threads. Jane read me very well!
I loved the knot technique she showed me, as it created great texture, although I wasn't the best at creating a tight weft. I could just about begin to get my head around the simple loom I was using, then I would look up at the contraption Jane was using, with all its separate moving parts, and I'd be back to my previous state of astonishment.
Jane's studio was a dream
An organised bustle of found material from beaches, line drawings of shape and texture from said material (which I told her would make really cool tattoos!), images of all kinds of seaweed, and so much more.
There was so much to take in. Looking back, the images I took didn't do it justice, as I was too busy asking Jane questions about everything on the wall and in her sketchbooks. She regaled me with tales of beachcombing and sketching by the sea and, before I knew it, we were on the beach the next day doing the same thing.
Jane showed me a beach rich with fossils. None of the ones I'd been to on the South Coast had anything like this. Jane was the best person to do this with, as she seemed to know what every fossil was, every mark on a shell and – most interestingly – every kind of seaweed. She had to draw me off the beach with talk of an Indian takeaway…
Jane's practice stems from her love of marine life. She creates hugely impressive tapestries based around the imagery she collects, and I felt privileged to see the master at work. When I visited, her work for the 2026 PRISM exhibition was still in progress.
Even after she gave me a peek into her process and showed me the back drawing, which acts as a stencil, I still find it unbelievable that one person can sit down and decide to create something so technical. I couldn't fathom how Jane could look at the drawing behind the warp and picture these creations coming to life – let alone keep track of all the coloured threads while making them!
Jane's use of colour is perhaps my favourite thing about her artwork. Light appears to dance across the fibres, as if one small drip of water is rippling across the surface of the tapestry. When you see washed-up fragments of sea life, they can appear grey and washed out, dotted over the beach. However, Jane depicts the true nature of these fragments, breathing life back into them.
I had a fabulous time with Jane, and it would be hard to fit everything we did into one short blog. I picked up a new skill I'd never thought I would: weaving is such a cool ability to possess!
Jane's skilful way of creating such intricate pieces, all while carrying it out with seeming ease, is a testament to the hard work she has put in to get to this point. She talks about the craft and its history with such enthusiasm and attentiveness that it's hard not to want to give it a go yourself.
I still have many ideas she has given me sitting in the back of my mind, ready for when I find the right piece of discarded metal which handily has built-in prong “warps” (a girl can dream?). And knowing Jane is just a phone call away to refresh my mind on warps and wefts is a very comforting thought – I'm sure many textile artists would be very jealous! 😉
Thank you, Jane, for making my stay so entertaining, and a big congratulations on your recent People's Choice Award with the British Tapestry Group!
A fabulous and very proud Jane Riley!