Laurence Gatehouse

I took up weaving in 2009 after my wife acquired a spinning wheel and I became fascinated by the deceptively simple machines used in fibre craft. I find it a very satisfying outlet for both my mechanical bent and my creative drive.

Having now retired from my career as a scientist, and having more time to devote to my weaving, I have been trying out some of the vast range of possible weaves and techniques, and have built some modifications to my loom to allow them.

Whilst it is enjoyable trying out new techniques and patterns, I have found that rugs are particularly satisfying to weave as they suit my personal preferences for colours that are strong rather than pastel and the finished item is a practical functional object.

I like to create functional as well as beautiful products, and prefer to recycle materials wherever possible.

I weave my rugs using traditional techniques by hand on a large floor loom using, in the main, natural materials. My design inspirations come from nature filtered through my biological training and my lifelong interests in high energy physics and mathematics. The designs involve either small repetitive patterns that are controlled by how the loom is threaded and the choice of weft colours, or larger scale designs, more suited to the eye-to-floor viewing distance, constructed using the technique of ‘block weaves’.