Virginia Gonzalez is a textile artist and an artisan at soul. Inspired by color, textures, materials and techniques, she has cultivated a love for making. We caught up with her at her workshop in Buenos Aires, Argentina and learned that the process of hand stitching and embroidering is her refuge. An active meditation and a form of deep self-care.

— Virginia’s creative journey has always been centered around her love for making. As her daughter, I grew up watching her weave and embroider, using different techniques and materials to create unique art pieces for national and international exhibitions. Above all, my mother is an artisan. Devoted and pasionate. She also created the 'Pampa' round pillows available in my online shop, woven in 100% merino wool on a circular loom that she built. In this conversation we talked about her creative process and inspiration.

How did you start your creative journey?

When I was 22 years old, I was studying veterinary medicine and working at the university. Due to the political situation in Argentina — a military coup ruled the country between 1976 and 1983 — the military intervened at the school and I lost my job. I‘ve always liked to embroider, and a friend told me there was a of a job opportunity weaving tapestries “They pay you per sq. meter and they teach you for free”, she said. The learning part was what most attracted me, so I took the job. It was at Nora Correa’s studio, a renowned Argentine textile artist.

“I don't know if love at first sight really exists, but when I entered Nora Correa’s studio, I thought, this is what I want for me!”

I remember Nora took out a piece of cloth and hundreds of yarns, threads of different colors from a white closet. She mixed them up and showed me how she wanted me to weave her tapestry. It was there that I discovered the tapestries made on the loom. I was introduced to different things, different textures that I’ve never seen before and I didn't even know existed. I’ve always thought loom weaving was different, more basic and rustic.

That was the starting point, and I never looked back. I never went back to studying to be a veterinarian! I worked 5 or 6 years for her. Time passed, I had my children and years later I returned to her studio as a student.

What was the next step?

Over time, I learned other techniques including painting, art history, art theory, and sculpture. And I started producing my own pieces of work that were tapestries made on a loom. It was a way of expressing, and communicating. I love to explore and discover how things are made. Manufacturing my own materials. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Building from scratch is what I like the most.

“I have an artisan soul. I love making.”

Tell me about your favorite medium.

I’ve always loved textiles, in all its forms. Although, I started weaving on the loom, over time I realized that it took me too much time. My hands were doing one thing, and my mind was already projecting something else. I decided to modify the technique to speed up the process. I still embroider because it’s what I like the most, and it still takes me a long time. But now I embroider spontaneously. My hands and my mind work together. I’ve been embrodering for 50 years now! I like soft materials. I love to combine different points, and make up / invent shapes.

What are you currently working on?

I'm working on something called “Sin Patrón” (Patrón in Spanish, means both a pattern and a boss or employer). In the old times, tapestries would come with a pattern to embroid. So, women would copy that pattern on a tablecloth, a towel, whatever. Now, I embroid spontenously, with no pattern. So, the result depends on the hand of that day, the mood of that day. Sometimes it's a thicker yarn and stitch, and sometimes it's more meticulous. Also, during the pandemic, with an art art group I often work with called Enredadas (Entangled in english), we embroidered floor cloths for the Textile Art Biennale in Chile. We had to work with what we had, because we couldn’t buy any materials, but we could buy floor cloths. I used blue floor cloths to embroid in Sashiko, a type of traditional Japanese embroidery or stitching.

I also did Shibori, a Japanese hand-dyeing technique, which produces patterns on fabric usually in indigo color. However, I used bleach to create patterns by decolorating the blue cloth. I’ve tried other disciplines, but I always go back to the textiles. I grab the needle and see where it takes me. I'm always doing something. It’s what has supported me all my life!

What challenges did you find as a woman in the art world?

When I started people were talking about women in art and female artists. And, Textile Art has always been an undervalued genre, precisely because it is a genre made mostly by women and has been coded as feminine, domestic, or vernacular. Today, the perspective is completely different. It is a very feminine way of expression, but with an open mind to the feminine world.

Where do you find inspiration? And what artists do you admire?

There is no particular theme. Sometimes it is a color, a material, a technique. From Argentina I admire Nora Correas and Nora Aslan. Then, Magdalena Abakanowicz, a polish sculpturer. I love her large sculptures, in part because the scale so different from what I do. I also love how Japanese women work on textiles. Very subtle and simple.

Does art help you in other areas of your life?

It has helped me a lot. It is a refuge, a way of communicating. A connection. A way of saying. It also helps me to understand and process things while I’m in the making.

“To embroider is an active meditation. For me, it’s essential. It’s necessary.”

Do you have routine or a favorite time of day to create?

I like to work in the morning. I go to my workshop every day, even if it is just to clean up. It depends on what I'm working on. It could be a few hours or, if I'm very inspired and feel enthusiastic I spend all day, ‘till I die. I get up and run to the workshop. Even when I worked from home, when my kids were young, I’ve worked every day. I have a special love for my first tapestries woven on a loom, because it seemed impossible that I could actually do something like it, from beginning to end! Through the years, I’ve learned about my creative process. If there is something that doesn’t look good, I let it sit until the next day, and see it with fresh eyes. Finding the right moment to stop is the most difficult part. For me the question is: "is there too much or not enough"... If there is too much it is more difficult to fix!

What does home mean to you?

Home is everything. I really like being at home, I have it in my sign, I am a Cancer. I spend a lot of time in my house and I enjoy it a lot. I love it.