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Trained in silk weaving, my work combines mathematics, chemistry, and art. Drawing inspiration from the places I call home, I build on traditional silk structures — damask and lampas — with a contemporary approach and an emphasis on subtle colour. My time at Glasgow School of Art led me to train with silk mills and handweavers, while deepening my understanding of the spinning process and its role as the foundation of the woven cloth.
Techniques:
Double cloth with difficult ratio, exploring importance on set and balancing of the two cloths to lay flat with a 64:96 ratio in the warp, a 4:6 ratio in the different twills and a 1:2 throw ratio.
Dimensions:
9″ wide by 74″ excluding fringe
Materials:
Hand-painted 60/2s and Tram silk (Stephen Walter’s Deadstock)
Loom:
Compu dobby 24 shafts, although 20 shafts were used
Helena Powell
Helena is a silk weaver who graduated from the Glasgow School of Art in 2024 and combines mathematics, chemistry and design in her weaving. She has trained with silk weavers in Sudbury, at the UK’s oldest silk mill, and with hand weavers on the Isle of Skye. Her practice now focuses on modernising jacquard techniques, such as damask and lampas, in modern designs inspired by the cityscape and landscapes of the places she calls home. In each piece, she works closely with mills to minimise waste by using deadstock and carefully tracking dye and water wastage.
