Gunta Stölzl was an artist known for her textile designs while working at the influential Bauhaus school in Germany. This watercolor sketch called "Doubleweave Block" illustrates her preliminary concept for a complex woven textile using a technique called double-weave that employs two sets of yarn to create two distinct textile surfaces joined together. Though a loose sketch, it served to develop her initial ideas that could then be translated into detailed plans and specifications for actual woven textile production if pursued further. The sketch exemplifies the Bauhaus aim to unite craft and fine arts.

1. Doubleweave
Block

8. • Gunta
Stölzl’s
proposal
for
a
double-­‐weave
tex<le
is,
in
its
play
with
color
and
form,
characteris<c
of
the
ar<st’s
prolific
output
during
her
tenure
at
the
famed
Bauhaus
school.
An
excellent
illustra<on
of
the
Bauhaus’s
mission
to
marry
craF
and
the
fine
arts,
this
sugges<ve
study—painted
in
fluid
blocks
of
watercolor
and
seemingly
tossed
off—expresses
a
spontaneity
not
oFen
associated
with
the
actual
produc<on
of
tex<les.
Referred
to
as
croquis,
from
the
French
word
for
sketch,
such
drawings
long
served
to
delineate
loose
ideas.
If
deemed
worthy
of
industrial
produc<on,
this
preliminary
ar<cula<on
would
be
translated
into
a
rigidly
detailed,
hand-­‐drawn
draF
of
the
loom
set-­‐up
specifying
weave
structure
and
color
choices,
followed
by
the
laborious
warping
of
the
loom
and
the
<me-­‐consuming
weaving
process.
The
delicacy
of
this
watercolor
belies
the
complexity
of
the
intended
double-­‐weave
technique,
signaled
by
Stölzl’s
<tle
Doppelgewebe,
a
mul<-­‐layered
structure
that
simultaneously
employs
two
sets
of
yarn
to
create
two
dis<nct
tex<le
surfaces
joined
together
at
intervals.