PRODUCTION OF HANDCRAFTED TAPESTRY USING SELECTED LANDSCAPE FORMATIONS

(A CASE STUDY OF PLATEAU STATE AS INSPIRATION)

By

Author

Presented To

Department of Environmental Design

ABSTRACT
Wall hanging designs are mostly projected in prints, photographs and paintings, but less attention is given to tapestry design. There are hardly any wall hangings of Plateau State landscape formations, to the best of my knowledge that are in tapestry design. Consequently, the researcher sought to translate landscape compositions into tapestry wall hangings for embellishing the interior. The essence is to produce landscape decorative art and design works that have unique characteristics of the Jos Plateau formations, using the tapestry weaving techniques and to project its beauty and potentials for tourism and economic development. The objectives were to: collect prominent landscape formations of Plateau State, into tapestry wall hanging designs; sketch and make swatches of different landscape compositions; weave different landscape designs, using interlacing and interlocking techniques in tapestry; package selected tapestry wall hanging projects as materials for tourism promotion. The population of this study constituted the scenic environment of Plateau State, based on their visual attractiveness and compositional arrangement of the landscape forms. Seven projects were produced using the concept of minimalism in line with the research objectives. The research design used was explorative, developmental, and participatory research and the projects were discussed based on the set objectives. The following findings emerged from the production: The use of more than two weft threads in the production of the projects seems better with the following reasons. It has more textures compared to the works produced with two wefts, it is heavier than the works produced using two wefts, easy to manipulate in terms of colour variation and alternating threads to form patterns, weaving patterns from the middle of the loom was possible and could be seen in the production of Shere hills in chapter three, looping of wefts without tying the knots to avoid rough surfaces was possible, it was possible to wash and dry finished tapestry projects using detergent before framing. Tapestry is quite cumbersome and complex work that requires combination of concept development, sketches, swatches, woven patterns and knowledge of colour theory is highly important for this research.