Rebecca Dodman Wainwright
Bex
Tufted rug using a mix of acrylic and Axminster yarns, latex and canvas. 45 x 55cm.
Working collaboratively with Becky Dodman Wainwright, individuals create a bespoke textile artwork for their chosen interior space. Using tasseography, Becky's illustrated tea leaf dictionary, and a collection of bold colours, the ritualistic approach allows participants to co-design textile artworks. Focusing on shared knowledge during the tea leaf process they arrive at a design outcome that explores an individual's spirit and wellbeing - their internal landscape.
Tasseography Textiles investigates how divination and tea leaf reading can be used as a generative participatory design method to produce textile designs. To date Becky has worked with 40 participants to explore the traditional ritual practice of tea leaf reading, considering the idea of future, community, togetherness, spirit and future now. The ultimate aim, to create authentic, bespoke abstract textile art works.
Becky introduces a newly created set of generative tools that facilitates the development of a shared language between herself as the designer and her participants. The tea leaf reading design process gives participants the space to embrace the lesser-known aspects of themselves, removing preconceptions of what they may like designed for them, to design with them, encouraging them to explore an infinite number of ideas through a set of stimuli. In so doing Becky has wanted to focus less on the illustrative, representational self, and focus more on the abstract part of ourselves.
Becky explores wellbeing through the idea of ‘knowing’ our ‘now’ and future, and how divination has been; and is used as a visualisation, narration and interpretation method to create a sense of ‘self’ and future self. She manifests these tasseography interactions through bespoke textile artworks that celebrate individual’s pleasure colours and shapes.
@beckydodmandesign