Jan Bowman - Woven Designs

Jan Bowman's designs are a woven response to the rhythm of beautiful colour and texture in the landscape and seascape. The effect of the weather and light conditions on the overall ambiance brings continuous movement and change, and an exciting challenge in recording this. Jan is passionate about the use of natural materials directly taken from the landscape - willow, reed, grasses, bamboo and driftwood. Their natural beauty is enhanced in combination with manmade materials - steel wire, enamelled copper, beads, mosaics, leaf metal.
They are supported by a monofilament warp, allowing the materials to retain their own characteristics. Paper yarns and natural fibres add to the surface qualities. The pieces take the form of spatial divides, panels and sculptures.

Alongside practicing as a designer/maker Jan teaches in the Textile Design Department at Loughborough University School of Art and Design.

The spatial divides are constructed on a dobby loom using a double-cloth construction. They can exist independently or used in combination with light effects to create a change in mood or ‘climate'. Semi-transparent and double-sided, they allow the opportunity to achieve quite a different atmosphere from one side of the space to the other. The eye is drawn to the rhythm, shadows and overall movement in the pieces, gentle on the senses and relaxing. The work is ideally situated in interiors with lots of natural light. The screens can also be developed for exterior use in relatively sheltered areas.

The woven panels are constructed on a dobby loom, again using a double-cloth construction, incorporating a wide variety of materials in the weft, from metals, reeds, feathers, beads, braids, mosaics to traditional silks, cottons and wools. The pieces aim to stimulate curiosity concerning materials and construction.

This work explores a sculptural combination of natural and manmade materials using driftwood as the ‘host space'. Finely woven metal and mixed media fabrics are moulded into the grain and natural form of the driftwood. The woven elements are inspired by the micro - environments, lichen, mosses and fungi that grow around the base of trees and on fallen timber.

These forms integrate beautifully with their host space. It is this natural affinity between the two elements that Jan aims to capture in these pieces.