What was your first woven piece?
When I was 14, I wove an Aukštaitian band, it is a copy of an overlay pattern – a weaving structure in which there are two wefts, a structural one and a decorative one – that float back and forth over yarns in the pattern area. I still have it and recently exhibited it in my solo show.
What interests you the most in weaving?
Creating a pattern, it is like a language. We speak using one type of language, and in weaving there is another type. It is not easy to make it talk, to reveal itself, but that emotion does exist deep down there.
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What is the relationship between tradition and innovation in your work?
Weaving is like a programming of thought and feeling. It takes a lot of time, it has to be perfect, but also interesting – so that it speaks to modernity. For example, a pattern of a band may look archaic, but it should always carry some sign that will make someone turn back and rethink their modernity.
In your view, is weaving an endangered craft?
It is disappearing as a craft, but I think it has been making a comeback with new content. Not even form, but content. There is too much industrial weaving around the world and – realising that – other creative solutions emerge that require creativity, exclusivity and authenticity.