Joanne Soroka
- Work
- Biography
www.joannesoroka.co.uk
My primary medium is tapestry weaving, supplemented by other textiles and paperworks. I aim to use the possibilities of colour and texture to the maximum, by juxtaposing shiny and matte materials, for example, or watery to solid colour. Some of the work is based on paper collages and is built up in layers. Another preoccupation is patterns that almost repeat, similar to those in nature such as ripples on water. Besides the usual materials of the weaver, I sometimes include foraged ones such as ash keys.
Much of my work has also been about my ordinary but ethnically diverse ancestors. I weave together the meanings of their lives with varied forms of tapestry, combining it with other techniques, to create innovative surfaces. I ally emotion and abstraction, creating a personal iconography. Through memory and place, I tell a universal story, the theme being that we are all related. In infusing this important idea with beauty, I feel I can enhance communication on many levels and can move viewers.
www.joannesoroka.co.uk
My primary medium is tapestry weaving, supplemented by other textiles and paperworks. I aim to use the possibilities of colour and texture to the maximum, by juxtaposing shiny and matte materials, for example, or watery to solid colour. Some of the work is based on paper collages and is built up in layers. Another preoccupation is patterns that almost repeat, similar to those in nature such as ripples on water. Besides the usual materials of the weaver, I sometimes include foraged ones such as ash keys.
Much of my work has also been about my ordinary but ethnically diverse ancestors. I weave together the meanings of their lives with varied forms of tapestry, combining it with other techniques, to create innovative surfaces. I ally emotion and abstraction, creating a personal iconography. Through memory and place, I tell a universal story, the theme being that we are all related. In infusing this important idea with beauty, I feel I can enhance communication on many levels and can move viewers.
www.joannesoroka.co.uk
Self-employed tapestry weaver since 1976
Employment:
1982-87 Artistic Director, Edinburgh Tapestry Company (Dovecot Studios)
1987 Founded Ivory Tapestries
1992-2010 Part-time lecturer, Edinburgh College of Art
2010-2021 Part-time lecturer, University of Edinburgh, Centre for Open Learning
Education:
1970 BA, McGill University
1972 Diploma, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax, Nova Scotia
1976 Post-graduate diploma (with distinction), Edinburgh College of Art
Awards:
1976 John Noble Craft Award commendation, Saltire Society
1980 Judges Choice Award, Handweavers Guild of America
1987 Scottish Development Agency Travel Award
1988 British Council travel grant, and 2000 grant
1989 Scottish Arts Council travel grant
1989 Professional Member, Society of Scottish Artists
1992 Index of Selected Makers, Crafts Council
1997 Wingate Scholarship
2000 Theo Moorman Trust for Weavers grant
2000 Hope Scott Trust grant
2000/2001/2003 Edinburgh College of Art Research Awards
2001 Scottish Arts Council Major Award for Individual Development
2004 Prize, Tallinn Print Triennial, Tallinn, Estonia
2016 Canada Council grant
Collections and Commissions:
Scottish Arts Council
Amnesty International
Glenfiddich Distillery, Dufftown
Chase Manhattan Bank, Bournemouth
Civil Aviation Authority, London Weatherall, Green and Smith, London
The City of Edinburgh Council
Aberdeen Art Gallery
Okura Hotels, Tokyo and Kobe
Arco, Berkshire, England
Baillie Gifford and Co, Edinburgh
Isetan Department Store, Tokyo
Co-operative Insurance Society, Edinburgh
1st Quebec Corporation, Montreal
Central Office of Information, London
Laurence Rockefeller, Jr., New York
Art Museum of Estonia, Tallinn
Royal Insurance, Inverness
Intercontinental Hotels, London
Musée Jean-Lurçat, Angers, France
and public and private collections in Great Britain, Canada, the USA, Italy and Japan
Employment:
1982-87 Artistic Director, Edinburgh Tapestry Company (Dovecot Studios)
1987 Founded Ivory Tapestries
1992-2010 Part-time lecturer, Edinburgh College of Art
2010-2021 Part-time lecturer, University of Edinburgh, Centre for Open Learning
Education:
1970 BA, McGill University
1972 Diploma, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax, Nova Scotia
1976 Post-graduate diploma (with distinction), Edinburgh College of Art
Awards:
1976 John Noble Craft Award commendation, Saltire Society
1980 Judges Choice Award, Handweavers Guild of America
1987 Scottish Development Agency Travel Award
1988 British Council travel grant, and 2000 grant
1989 Scottish Arts Council travel grant
1989 Professional Member, Society of Scottish Artists
1992 Index of Selected Makers, Crafts Council
1997 Wingate Scholarship
2000 Theo Moorman Trust for Weavers grant
2000 Hope Scott Trust grant
2000/2001/2003 Edinburgh College of Art Research Awards
2001 Scottish Arts Council Major Award for Individual Development
2004 Prize, Tallinn Print Triennial, Tallinn, Estonia
2016 Canada Council grant
Collections and Commissions:
Scottish Arts Council
Amnesty International
Glenfiddich Distillery, Dufftown
Chase Manhattan Bank, Bournemouth
Civil Aviation Authority, London Weatherall, Green and Smith, London
The City of Edinburgh Council
Aberdeen Art Gallery
Okura Hotels, Tokyo and Kobe
Arco, Berkshire, England
Baillie Gifford and Co, Edinburgh
Isetan Department Store, Tokyo
Co-operative Insurance Society, Edinburgh
1st Quebec Corporation, Montreal
Central Office of Information, London
Laurence Rockefeller, Jr., New York
Art Museum of Estonia, Tallinn
Royal Insurance, Inverness
Intercontinental Hotels, London
Musée Jean-Lurçat, Angers, France
and public and private collections in Great Britain, Canada, the USA, Italy and Japan
Collections
- 2024
- Joanne Soroka
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