I turned on my computer this morning to learn that Peter Collingwood, master weaver and textile specialist, died unexpectedly yesterday, in his studio at home.
I’d never had the pleasure of meeting Peter in person, but we’d corresponded a number of times over the years. He wrote the masterworks on tablet weaving, and rug weaving, and as if those weren’t enough, Peter resurrected sprang, and introduced ply-split braiding to a wider Western audience. He was a fantastic scholar, a writer of clear explanations, a weaver of great skill, and above all someone who sought to understand what he was producing. Peter was always willing to answer questions and exchange ideas, and through his writings and discussions he was a tremendous influence on me, and on many.
3 responses to “A Weaver”
I just read that Peter Collingwood had passed on fibernet. I have a couple of his books and have read others from the library. I don’t think there has ever been anyone so who knew so much about so many fibery things.
How appropriate that he was in his studio. From the interview we saw at Complex Weavers it was clear that he had as many ideas and as much enthusiasm as ever. We are so incredibly fortunate that he was as intensely dedicated to sharing his vast wealth of knowledge as he was brilliant technically–and that he was able to devote so much energy to his scholarly pursuits while being so productive artistically.
I met Peter in ’96. The world will truly miss him. I couldn’t find one of his books and he sent me one from his home when he returned. Very giving man. RIP brother.