I lived in the centre of the town of Oudenaarde (Flanders Belgium), an historic city renowned for its ancient hand woven tapestries. I was very impressed by the skills needed and the fine art behind this craft. From this background I started searching and collecting any information I could find on materials (wool, silk,…), the tools, the colours and the patterns. I wanted to know everything about it, from design to realisation. After a solid education in this art-form locally at the … and later abroad at the Ecole Nationale d’Art Décoratif, Aubusson France, I since create my own designs and weaving cartoons in a modern style according to my feelings and emotions of the moment. Starting from a pencil sketch, in various shades of grey, but often coloured, the pencil lines are maintained in the realisation of the tapestry. They give a personal touch and familiar feeling to the whole. There are restrictions - when it comes to weaving a tapestry, however, I manage to realise my drawings as close as possible to the initial design, making use of meticulously mastered skills. https://www.galerij-theaxus.com The designs of Dorothea Van De Winkel are abstract. She realises wall and floor tapestries, which can be wholly integrated in a house (colours, form and size). The realisations can be seen as living, standing-on-their-own art objects, or as the centre point, elementary piece or material for interior design. Furthermore, tapestry can be used in modern buildings for muting sound transmission and it adds a feeling of warmth. Dorothea is an independent textile artist – designer since1985. She manages her own gallery “Galerij Theaxus” from September 1992 with exhibition rooms and the possibility to visit the studio, where the hand woven tapestries are designed and made.