Summer has set in (ok, not really but I'm feeling that way) which means more time for thinking. This summer I'm thinking about the perennial question: What do you do with a Tiny T?
When I have taught the occasional one day or even half day workshop we naturally end up with a very small piece of cloth. The inevitable question is asked: What do I do with this?
I have my own pile of tiny t's...and my own ideas. Just when I think I have solved this problem I become dissatisfied. Suddenly metal sectional frames just don't seem to be the right answer. Don't these pieces need something more interesting?
These days I often paint canvas and labor over the just the right value and shade. Do these two materials really go together? A few weeks ago I was sorting through a box of rejects and used an old teacup for the cover of my sketchbook. Why not, it was officially in the reject box...
I EVEN zig-zag stitched it to my watercolor paper with the sewing machine! Imagine that....as my friend Kathe Todd Hooker would say, "the tapestry police are not going to show up". It felt liberating.
But I still struggle and probably always will.
What to do with her.....
And then that self portrait .... I've mounted the t and changed my mind 3 times . It's still unmounted.
Looks as though I have plenty to think about this summer. Any ideas?
Ruth, check out what Sarah Swett does with her little tapestries. So they are out in view! Your faces, especially are charming.
ReplyDeleteThanks Fran, I so admire Sarah's work and her thought process from start to finish. Her blog has given me much food for thought as I try to integrate the beginning (idea),middle (weaving with the end (finishing).
ReplyDeletePut some on a backing with a pinback so they can be worn on a jacket but removed before washing it.
ReplyDeleteNice idea Joan, I always forget about that option, I'll have to take one to Convergence this summer, there will probably be an air-conditioned room I'll need a jacket for....
ReplyDeleteIkea has a lof of nice and cheap frames that can be "dolled up" with paint and collage. I use their little 8"x8" shadowbox frames for tiny quilts and they look nice. It is a struggle and if you're going to sell them then the solution has to be fairly inexpensive...
ReplyDeleteI love collecting all these ideas...certainly shelf stock at Ikea has sparked many an idea. I even have my own version of Ikea in a couple boxes downstairs, better doll up some of my own stuff, right? Thanks Deb
ReplyDeleteI see one being the cover for a mini journal ... what a treasure that would be! A place to store all your wonderful tapestry ideas!
ReplyDeleteHmmm, true Donna, although I put these things on random sketchbooks, it would be fun to have a little book devoted to tapestry ideas completely covered with woven cloth, stay tuned!
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