Klaus Anselm
CONTEMPORARY TEXTILE ARTIST
ARTIST STATEMENT
My tapestries, woven in wool on cotton warp, have two essential elements for their design: color and movement. They involve a strong contrasting color pattern and movement through color composition and freely moving structures and lines, while sparse in detail. I feel stimulated by abstractions and the strong colors and simple shapes of Southwest architecture and landscape.
I enjoy the creative and peaceful process of weaving and appreciate it as a step away from reality.
Midcoast Weavers Maine.
EDUCATION AND BACKGROUND
Klaus Anselm was born in Eastern Germany, later lived in Bavaria, and then moved to the United States, where he practiced medicine until his retirement in 1999.
Always interested in textiles, color, and design, he started weaving in 1998. He attended workshops on tapestry weaving given by Rose Vigil and James Koehler in Taos, New Mexico, and a course on color and design at Penland School of Crafts in Asheville, North Carolina, also given by James Koehler.
Klaus is a member of the Midcoast Weavers Maine, the American Tapestry Alliance, Tapestry Weavers South, and the Handweavers Guild of America. Klaus is also a member of Belfast Fiberarts in Belfast, Maine.
In addition to his passion for tapestry weaving, Klaus Anselm is an avid traveler and a popular dog show judge.
PROCESS
All tapestries are one of a kind, woven with 2-ply wool on cotton warp. I get my wool from many sources—New Mexico, New Hampshire, Maine—always searching for the best colors. I start with a design on graph paper, which is then woven on one of my Mirrix looms.
