Tali Weinberg
Ramie (Linen) and Lace Title: The males have wings while it is the females whose bodies are crushed to extract their red dye. But red is also the color of the sun transformation Hand-dyed Petal Quilt Patchwork Quilt, Birds, Spring 2010 Quilt, Shades of Grey, Spring 2010 My First Depression Quilt, '09 Men's scarves, Winter 2010 Alpaca and Wool Crepe, Fall '09 Indigo-dyed Woven Shibori, Fall '09 Wool and Alpaca Shawls, Fall '09 Woven Shibori, Summer '09 Droplets, 2009 Silk and Crepe Block Double Cloth, Summer '09 Lace Double Cloth, Silk and Wool, Summer '09 Merino Wool Cowls, Summer '09 Cotton crepe scarf, Summer 2009 Window Boxes, Summer 2009 Linen Double Cloth, Summer '09 Bamboo Color Study, Summer '09 Indigo-dyed silk panels, Spring 2009 Ikat, Fall '08 Recycled Saris, '07-'08
In my practice of weaving and stitching, I explore how labor rights, community, ecology, and meaning shape and are shaped by the craft of turning fibers into textiles. I consider the web of production, circulation, meaning-making, consumption, and use that enables me to bring a piece into being; and how objects and values circulate through spaces of homes, bodies, and art worlds. My practice of making is committed to elevating social change as both collective and individual action in an interdependent world.

A Brooklyn-based artist and activist, my practice of making emerges in conversation with my past work in human rights and fair trade advocacy, community organizing, and grassroots development, including time living in Bombay, India working with a sex-worker rights organization.

In quilting I find beauty and liberation in the ability to take something apart in order to create something new and the knowledge that amidst constraint and chaos we have an abundance of choice in how we produce meaning, objects, and social lives. I find further inspiration in depression era quilting and the women labor movement’s call for “bread and roses:” life should be beautiful as well as just. So I use my hands to make cloth that touches our skin and inhabits our lives: to turn the results of my own consumption away from excess and back into objects I hope are of comfort, beauty, and meaning for others.

As a weaver and dyer I give preference to natural fibers and to supporting small scale and socially responsible producers. I also use donated mill ends and upcycle other fabrics. I prioritize natural over chemical dyes.

Please click on the images to the left to view additional work.

Some items are available for sale through Etsy. If you are interested in any of the pieces here or would like to inquire about commissions and special orders, please email me at tali[dot]weinberg[at]gmail[dot]com

I also love to teach and am available to lead workshops on weaving or quilting or to provide one-on-one weaving instruction for adults or children.