Wedge Weave Woman

Always  nice when you can use an alliterative title.

I had the pleasure last week to attend the Eastern Great Lakes Fiber Conference in western New York State. Connie Lippert was teaching and I finally realized I needed to get up to speed on wedge weave...what exactly is it?, why is everyone excited to learn? The workshop did not let me down.

The idea of wedge weave has no doubt emerged from a variety of cultures, Connie pulls from the Navajo tradition. Weaving in these diagonals causes a distortion on the selvages that is quite enticing. Add to that my natural inclination to turn everything into a face and suddenly I'm confronted with the idea of Wedge Weave Woman.

I'm pretty excited.

Connie is what I want in a teacher. Clear explanation of technique yet encouraging you to take this process and integrate it into what you do. Eleven people took this in eleven different directions, a few examples follow below. Most importantly we had fun. I left with a feeling of energy and a desire to weave beyond my usual hours.

Thanks Connie, I look forward to more interaction at Convergence....we'll both be there, who knows what silliness might ensue, distorted or otherwise.

For now, I'm happy weaving and will be sure to show all of you the result.

Exposed Threads

Exposed, 12 x 12 inches

I'm always interested when I see a common thread - we're talking metaphorically here - in my work over time.
I've kept a journal for 25 years. Sometimes I flip through a few volumes and am amazed at the amount of repetition. I'm never sure if it's a good thing, but it is there.
Last week I discovered a recurrence while rooting through my basket: exposed threads.

Feather Hat, 3 x 9 inches

Some of my favorite tiny faces lately have had their warps hanging out. I was brought up as a rule follower, edges straight, ends tucked in. Lately I want to see them.

In the basket was this tiny piece on the right, grouped together here with two that I just cut off the loom. My basket piece was completed 17 years ago. I was taking a big chance then. The narrow edge on all these pieces is 3 1/2 inches.

Taking new risks, but continuing common threads. At least it's caught Porkchop's attention....

Landscape Values

Imagine teaching for a week in this studio, how lucky can I get?

This is Sophie's Studio at Sievers School of Fiber Arts on Washington Island, WI. Sievers was a place I knew about early on in my career (founded in 1979). Little did I  know I would be able to teach tapestry there one day.

Since design is a focus on my blog I'm going to show you the initial piece the class worked based on values. This idea came to me from something I had done with Archie Brennan years ago. I asked the students to choose 3 values (light, medium, dark) from the yarns I brought and weave three bands with them. They could use the values in any order, but the middle band needed to have some shape to it, eccentric or otherwise.

Here are the results and I was blown away. Those minimal requirements created interesting graphic pieces in a day. Warp width was 4" wide and there were 8 threads in an inch. It got the juices flowing for the next piece.

Now I feel like I want to do one. No thinking about color, just value.

Try it.

p.s. look at the pile of Paternayan yarn John was flaunting on his table.....more about their second landscape to follow...

Social Graces

You remember, right?

The gloves, the sketch from the tiny bit of a Martha Stewart magazine, the agonizing over the expression?

It's done, but even the finishing is not without angst. Leave it to me to get wedded to the idea of sparkle. Must be a holdover from my adventures as an elementary art teacher, I just wanted so badly to have a sparkly lavender silver background.

Only problem? It didn't work and thanks to my friend Chris I finally let go of the idea and moved on.

But I still have the tube of silver paint. You never know...............

Social Graces, 20 x 24 inches

What is Tapestry Anyway?

Rebecca Mezoff's recent blog couldn't have come at a better time, she must have been reading my mind. The focus of her writing (and you can find the blog here) was a question her grandmother posed in 1979: What is tapestry these days anyhow?

This past Saturday I spent a wonderful day with four eager students at Shake Rag Alley. This is an amazing location, part historical village, part arts center. When I walked back the path to the Potter's House I felt completely transported. If you come anywhere near Mineral Point, WI in your travels, you need to stop.

One of the first questions I was asked was "what is tapestry anyway?" This is a common question for someone teaching a 1 day 'Weave a Landscape' class. My classes usually have at least one person who has never woven before, perhaps never done much of anything with fibers. More than one of you are thinking... tapestry in a day, are you nuts?

Obviously some basics are explained, but much of the day is spent taking a lot of risks. Land gets personal and all my students have personal ideas they are compelled to create: three kayaks in the water, the view at the cabin, the family farm complete with sheep, a landscape abstraction. Try it, see what happens!

I am grateful for my adventure I had as an elementary art teacher in the middle of my tapestry career. It opened my eyes to the value of these explorations, helped me let go of rigidness.

I have no idea where tapestry will be going in the future or how anyone could possibly devote the time needed to develop a high level skill set. Perhaps the students I had will never try tapestry again. But that one day in the Potter's Barn 5 people worked together, broke a few tapestry rules and created art that was personal to them.

Sounds like a good day to me.

Ladies in the Garden

People in WI were complaining about the heat last week, if 86 degrees is what you consider hot. Small wonder I found this lady napping in the shade of the backyard....a worthy pursuit no matter what the temperature.

Summer Fun

I said I was going to do more sketching this summer but I hadn't really planned to have the produce aisle of the local supermarket be my locale.

It all started with this new online course I was taking with my friend Deb, Sketching Foundations with Liz Steel. If you ever want a good grounding in drawing presented in a user friendly way go check this out. Liz and Sketchbook Skool have figured out how to "do" the online thing and many of us are hooked.

Week 1 had us heading out in public to draw with confidence 2 or 3 objects and do it twice, sort of a get to know your materials exercise. My daughter thought I needed to raise the bar and challenged me to head to the produce department of Hyvee Supermarket here in Madison.

Naturally I packed my bag and took off. I settled on the squash and cheese display, an interesting pairing. Maybe I wouldn't get in the way of too many shoppers.

I set up the scene with a micro pen. Notice I do have a jar of marmalade and muffin mix to purchase just in case the management begins to wonder.

I might have scared that lady away though.

I even got the paints out and still nobody questioned my actions, most likely they thought I was "someone famous". Liz wanted us to paint using only one color to keep it simple.

I headed off to pay for my items, placing the wet painting by the scanner in the express lane. Still no comments.

So if you are hesitant to draw in public, go ahead - apparently no one even notices you.

Most of all, have fun.