More often than not what you see is not what is. . . . Often I wish I could see underneath the top layer.  By being open and not letting the first images stop us from really listening and seeing, we get to know . . . people . . . peeling off the layers to reveal the hidden qualities beneath.  

On a walk with my friend . . . we came across a group of silver birches.  They were old and incredibly silver and had peeled a lot. . . . I started looking at other trees and . . . decided to weave two tapestries based on the barks of these trees, calling one Beneath and the other one Hidden. . . .

The unique character of the pieces came about because I had the possibility of altering the flat surface of the tapestry.  Besides the layers, the handspun yarns and the fact that they are textiles . . . help to create the feel and the texture of the bark. The layers . . . behave very much like the real bark peels.  No other medium would have given me the same result.  I wonder what other possibilities lay hidden in the warp and wefts.

below: Pascale De Coninck, BENEATH, 8.5" x 7.5" (22 cm x 19cm)

below: Pascale De Coninck, BENEATH, detail

below: Pascale De Coninck, HIDDEN, 7.75" x 6.5" (20 cm x17 cm)

I had spent time with the "American Tapestry Biennial 7" catalog long before having the opportunity to visit the exhibit at the Scarfone/Hartley Gallery in Tampa last summer. . . . being familiar with the pictured images did not prepare me for my responses to the work when it was in front of me.

Of most surprise was my reaction to the Maximo Laura tapestry, Camino Ardiente a la Luz. . . . when I got up close to the tapestry hanging in the gallery, I was captured by its texture.  It was as if the balance between plain weave and highly elaborated areas of soumak formed pathways for me to enter the visual action.  I could. . .  absorb the tangible richness of the surface. . . . [and] evidence of a passion for the process that went into the creation of the tapestry.

below: Maximo Laura, CAMINO ARDIENTE A LA LUZ, 47" x 93"; photo by Humberto Valdivia

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