Sarah-May Johnson is a textile artist from Leicester who pushes the boundaries of traditional handloom weaving, through her innovative development of new techniques. This has included extensively modifying one of her looms to create a process she refers to as “crossing warp threads”. Traditionally warp threads remain parallel throughout the length of a woven cloth; with this technique, they cross and twist across the surface.
Sarah-May’s latest collection is inspired by a recent trip to Vienna, particularly its architecture, the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Art History), and the work of painter Gustav Klimt.
Travel plays a central role in Sarah-May’s creative process. Stepping away from the everyday and experiencing new places often sparks new ideas, and she has come to view her woven pieces as postcards — capturing places visited and memories made.
Sarah-May has drawn and painted from a young age, but from the moment she began weaving, she knew it was the right medium. She is drawn to the mechanics of the loom, the balance between mathematical precision and artistic expression, and the soft, tactile qualities of yarn. She particularly enjoys the technical challenges involved in developing new work.