Peter Collingwood

Sad to hear that Peter Collingwood has died. Known as a weaver, he qualified and worked as a doctor for a while. His online but unfinished autobiography makes delightful reading.

His 1998 book "The Maker's Hand: a close look at textile structures" is based on the objects he collected during 35 years of weaving life. Sometimes he just had to acquire something so he could decipher its puzzling technique. He says: "Although structure is all-important, the physical characteristic of an object is naturally also influenced by the material used in its making. The resulting interaction between material and structure is an absorbing study.

"Studying traditional objects in detail, not just admiring them, brings to light the ingenious ways in which their makers exploited the possibilities and overcame the limitations of both material and structure. Behind my magnifying goggles, looking closely, I feel I have made journeys into the minds of these skilled anonymous makers; journeys which have greatly increased my respect for them."
Page 104 shows "probably what is still my favourite textile"; he says: "Eating in his tent in the Jordan Valley in 1950, I only asked the Sheikh Abu Achmed Mansour where a woven hanging was made. I carefully did not admire it. But even so he signed to his son, who whipped out a knife, cut it down and placed it rolled up in front of me."

He has also written books on sprang and on tablet weaving. Here, he talks about split-ply braiding, "a technique originally tied exclusively to camel trappings" and there are photos of completely new interpretations building on this technique.

As with so many craftspeople and artists, there is no page for him on Wikipedia.