Page 50 - Constructing Craft

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something you buy’. The motto is indicative of the desire of craftspeople to be as
self-sufficient as possible.

The career of Ilse Amalie Mathilde von Randow shows how a craftsperson could
begin their craft later in life and also how some weavers could make a living from

weaving – usually when combined with teaching. At the age of twenty-six Ilse left
Germany for Shanghai where, in 1935, she married the German vice consul, Elgar

von Randow. Following their divorce in 1945 and the Communist takeover of China

in 1949 she sought refuge for herself and her two sons in New Zealand. She
became well-known for the large weavings she created for public buildings. She

also influenced the spinners and weavers who followed her – in particular Zena

Abbott, who was claimed to have been the first weaver to ‘break the limits of the
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loom’s frame and experiment with freedom techniques.’

Ilse von Randow, 1958. Photo: Alexander
Turnbull Library Reference.

The influence of Ida Lough can be seen in a comment on weaving made by Peter
Cape in his 1980 book on craft: ‘It [Ida Lough’s weaving] was a mysterious and

evocative piece in its own right, neither an imitation of an image in another medium

nor a demonstration of a weaver’s virtuosity. [It is] a combination of abilities in
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technique with abilities in design.’ While other spinners and weavers were

Constructing Craft