Collaboration Artwork - Hand Tufted Wool Rug…

Hand Tufted Wool Rug - Entitled: Oi!

I recently teamed up with Andrew Warburton of Area Rugs www.arearugs.co.uk and we decided to work on a collaborative project. Andrew is a highly skilled and experienced carpet maker using hand-tufting methods in the production of his carpets and rugs. He has been designing and making unique and exclusive hand-tufted rugs and carpets since graduating in 1988 with a first class honours degree in carpet design.

He was intrigued by the style and technique of my illustrations and thought that they would transfer well onto into a carpet design. We decided upon an image to use that was both quirky and impacting and Andrew set to on interpreting the image with pure wool. The results are below.

Original Illustration

Emelbi and Design before Tufting.

The image is first sketched out onto clear vinyl so that any

minor correction can be made before work gets under way.

The image on the vinyl is then reversed and slipped behind a type
of man-made muslin cloth. It is then marked directly onto the cloth.

Once the image has been marked out onto the cloth the tufting can begin.
Wool is stitched/tufted into the Muslin cloth.

When the tufting process is finished the

topside is then cropped to get an even pile.
This is done with a machine that works a little like a lawnmower.

Rugs can also be carved and sculptured by using a carving
machine somewhat like the clippers used to sheer sheep.

When the rug has gone through all these processes
it is then backed with a natural latex and hessian.
This completes the whole process.

Finished rug entitled - Oi!
Size: 1.7 by 1.2 Metres.

The rug ‘Oi!’ is currently on show in

the Laurence Batley Theatre (Foyer),
Huddersfield, and will be displayed
there until Sunday 21st June 2009.

Then it will be part of the ‘Loca Showcase Exhibition’
at Batley Art Gallery from
Saturday 18th July to Saturday 8th August 2009.