Category Archives: tapestry

Weaving Adventures

Posted on December 3, 2013 | 4 comments

I’ve neglected mentioning some of the events that have inspired me this fall.  First would be the 18th century tapestry series titled “Weaving the Myth of Psyche” on display at the Wadsworth Atheneum.

There are some stunning images in these tapestries.  Look at this donkey….

And the spinner….

And Cupid’s wing….isn’t that something? I am going to have some fun with this image!

The museum asked for some guild members to demonstrate tapestry that day, and three of us participated.  Here one guild member is luring in the children with her spinning.

A couple of weeks later, the state guild meeting featured the boundweave work of Rebecca Arkenberg, called “Tales from the Loom.”  Her boundweave figures are whimsical and creative, and it is obvious she is having a great time combining boundweave with a sense of humor.  She said that people often can’t see what she is portraying, and she’s learned to let that go and just enjoy herself.  What terrific advice!

Rebecca has a great knack for reducing world wide cultural images to the barest essentials.

This one is particularly fun!  Navajo women, rugs, and Churro sheep!

And how about bunnies with angora tails sitting in rows of carrots and beets?

Cat and mouse….

A highlander in kilt!

The Scarlet Letter….

I had so much fun at this guild meeting and came away buoyed with ideas for returning to my own boundweave project that has been neglected for some time now!

4 Comments

Posted in spinning, tapestry, weaving

Thanksgiving

Posted on December 1, 2013 | Leave a comment

It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without some outdoor time, walking in the woods, putting the garden to bed, and (hopefully) having bulbs already planted. This is not the first time I’ve posted photos of these two lovely structures.  There is moss growing on the cedar shakes of this pretty barn.  I did not catch the light properly because (in real life) the moss was glowing vivid green in the soft light.

I can’t seem to walk by this house without taking yet another photo of it. It was a mostly grey holiday weekend, rainy and raw, but I seem to love the scenery along this walk in almost any weather.

The highlight of our walk yesterday was seeing the beaver that has caused so much destruction along the banks of this stream!  He has not left a single tree untouched….busy guy!  I was thrilled to see him, although I know you probably won’t!  He reall is there, right in the center of the photo, just under the branches with the green leaves! Trust me!

Moss and lichen on rocks.  Someday I’ll get just the right photo to begin a tapestry cartoon.  This is intriguing, but the light is not quite what I saw yesterday.

At home I am re-mounting my Flax Spinner and getting a new silk warp ready for painting.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in dyeing, Fine Craft, gardening, holiday, tapestry

The Wednesday Group

Posted on October 7, 2013 | 2 comments

A perfect first week of October…. it started with the beautiful drive to Archie Brennan and Susan Martin Maffei’s studio along the Hudson River.  The drive takes me north into Massachusetts and then west through the Berkshires.  And although it was barely October the color was already reaching peak along parts of this drive! This month the Wednesday Group was quite large, 10 of us in all.  That can be a challenging number to fit into Archie and Susan’s studio, large as it is!  They have a generous enclosed porch that overlooks the Hudson, probably 40′ long with a wall of windows along that whole length.   The views are amazing and distracting! Large ships bearing gravel power by throughout the day and night, and there is pleasure boat traffic as well.

A couple of us are very lucky to stay right nearby at the house of a friend. Doing this means we get to have home cooked meals at night  and can bring homemade lunches to class.  We eat like royalty and enjoy evenings sitting out on the terrace watching life on the river amongst the herb garden and fruit trees.  This week the weather was warm and one evening, while having wine and cheese on the terrace we were entertained (and I was amazed!) by the loon-like call of a screech owl…..over and over…  it was idyllic!

 

 In spite of our numbers in class, we all seem to have gotten some good work done this month.  It’s great to be together, and a larger group ensures that there is plenty of inspiration and good vibes flowing.  I came home ready to get down to work!

….but WHAT work?  I am working on a sample for some lengthy text, an excerpt from the Robert Frost poem, “Mowing.”  This poem ends with:                    The fact is the sweetest dream that labor knows. 

  And I’m thinking about a photographic image that Christopher took from the passenger seat of our new car while facing backwards.  The photo was taken at dusk with with the fading light in the distance while cars are zooming along into the night, away from the light.  The image has a lot of motion and light and dark in it….it intrigues me.

2 Comments

Posted in inspiration, tapestry

Bucket of Gold

Posted on September 25, 2013 | Leave a comment

Summer has ended with such glorious days!  Along my daily walk the views seem extra lovely, with dappled light coming through the canopy of tall trees, playing on the thick undergrowth of fern.  The light is getting long so it is particularly nice in the morning and late afternoon.  The goldenrod is glowing along the roadside…

And goldenrod is just what I need to donate to my guild’s annual natural dye day.  Bob came along with me to tote the large shopping bag as we both cut flowers.  I was aiming for two pounds, but before we knew it we had four!I sat on the front porch to cut the flowers into smaller bits. The smell of cut goldenrod is delightful!….green and sweet/spicy!

I never get tired of seeing the houses along this walk.  I like to imagine how I’d live in each of these houses, where I’d put my looms, how I’d make some gardens!

On the last full weekend in summer we finally had our first sail since returning home to New England.  We sailed down the Connecticut River, then spent a night at Fisher’s Island, then four days in Newport.  It’s been decades since either of us have toured any of the mansions.  We chose The Elms, which is considerably smaller than either The Breakers or Marble House but still quite impressive.  You can lunch in the carriage house.  The ambience is great, but the food not so much, so we opted to take a picnic to a nearby park.

I found a mansion that is just my size!  Unfortunately, it is not for sale… I can just imagine myself weaving on that upper floor…

We walked along the cliffwalk and along the harbor, where we were anchored.  We volunteered for few hours at the annual Newport Boat Show which gave us free admittance to all the exhibits.  Bob loved that!

Back at home, I am settling in to the first week of autumn.  My goldenrod dyebath is ready, my yarns are mordanted.  I’ve got a year old indigo vat that I’d like to reconstitute, and I’ve got fresh indigo ready to harvest.  That will be a new process for me!  I have a couple of tapestry designs swirling around my brain.  Bob is gathering firewood, and I am gathering apples.  I love the change of seasons!

Our son Rob visited over the weekend and saw his finished portrait for the first time.

Back at my looms, I am weaving a bit text and making good progress on the final painted warp.  It’s time to think about painting another warp!

 

 

Leave a comment

Posted in dyeing, tapestry

The Height of Summer

Posted on August 13, 2013 | Leave a comment

…and what a summer it has been!  The heat of July is long forgotten, along with that stifling dorm room at NEWS.  In addition to the best summer weather any New Englander could possibly hope for, I spent two days at my monthly tapestry class with Archie and Susan, and I spent almost five days with two other members of the Wednesday Group.

We looked at and critiqued each other’s works, and I got tremendous input and inspiration from these friends.  We ate well and enjoyed amazing views of the Hudson from our host’s house.  Tugs and barges floated by, going both north and south, day and night, breaking the bucolic spell of this rural area with such a contradiction of noise and spectacle!

We spent an entire day driving to and from Auburn, to see the exhibit Innovators and Legends: Generations in Textile and Fiber at the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center.

This exhibit is traveling around from Michigan to Auburn, New York, then to University of Kansas in Lexington, and finally to Fort Collins, Colorado.  It was curated by Geary Jones, with works from well known artists and newcomers…75 works that span several decades of fiber arts and offered a trip down retro lane as well as powerful new ideas.  We all loved it!

The one piece that has intrigued me since leaving the exhibit is Piper Shepard’s “Dome.”  Although we could not take photos of anything in the exhibit, and I was not impressed with the photos in the catalog (which was sold out anyway and had to be ordered from Muskegan Museum), I have enjoyed reading about Ms. Shepard’s work online.  Her piece titled “Dome” was made from a large sheet of muslin fabric that had been treated with gesso and graphite to have a very dark surface.  She then cut out tiny shapes in the manner of cut paper, like Scherenschnitte.  She displays these works as if they are made of heavy metal, hanging from sturdy steel brakets that hold them out from the wall.  Light creates marvelous shadows, and any breath of air gets the large work to undulate, giving the viewer the realization that this is a very light and fragile material.  It’s a beautiful blend of bold, fragile, delicate and large all at once!

My drive home took me through wonderful parts of New York state and Connecticut.  After dropping off one friend at the Hudson train station…

…my GPS directed me home entirely on back roads!  I usually get to this area of New York by taking Rte 90 through the Berkshires, which is quite scenic, but this route of Rte. 23 from Hudson to Sheffield, then Rte 7 down into Canaan, Connecticut,  and Rte. 44 through western Connecticut just can’t be equalled!

In Avon, I stopped at a local bead store and got some crystals to add to the hem of one of my recently finished silk scarves. The bead store is on the right of this lovely building.

Back in the studio, I am on the home stretch on my sunset tapestry!

 

 

 

Leave a comment

Posted in inspiration, tapestry, travel

Summer Solstice

Posted on June 26, 2013 | Leave a comment

When inspiration strikes it bombards us in many forms and from any direction. …

The past couple of weeks have been full of inspiration for me, starting with the beautiful full moon on the summer solstice, which rose just shortly after dark.  It may not have been quite as amazing as this moonrise, but almost.

 

The heat is on now and my garden is flourishing. My roses are at their peak…the subtly changing colors as the light shifts through the day keeps delighting me and distracting me from weaving! There are green tomatoes and plenty of nasturtiums to stuff with cream cheese and herbs or to garnish salads.  These are the salad days.

I was on hold this morning with customer service for a publication and the ‘muzak’ was classical piano.  I think I was listening to Brahms….a piece that is so famous, if only I could remember what it is.  It is haunting me with its beautiful melody, and I don’t know how to identify it…

Also this morning a friend of mine shared some links to the works of contemporary mosaicists. Wow!  For years I’ve had my mind on a couple of mosaics from classical Rome with some ideas brewing for interpreting them into tapestry.  These newer works are off the charts!  If mosaics inspire you, take a look at Mia Tavonatti.  Her work gets my pulse racing…

So today I have been working on my last pear hoping I can finish and move on to more exciting projects.

Leave a comment

Posted in gardening, inspiration, tapestry

In Full Swing

Posted on June 12, 2013 | Leave a comment

Everything seems in full swing now…. I am making progress on projects I missed all fall and winter, and at last (!!) I’ve connected with the interest groups in my new area: weavers, knitters, dyers, and lace makers!  It’s all very exciting and inspiring to me.

Earlier this week I met my oldest friend at the Lyme Art Association while she was dropping of her sculpture “Daughter” that will be on display as part of the upcoming exhibit by the Hudson Valley Art Association. Right nearby was a bronze bust of Robert Frost done by Jose Bascaglia. Exciting works! My friend also has a piece in the National Sculpture Society’s exhibit that is traveling this summer (Lea Ann’s piece is “Virga,” the first image on the page).

It was a soft green drizzly day , and LeaAnn and I decided to walk through the grounds of the Florence Griswold Museum where the gardens were in soft focus.

On my daily walks I pass a certain fence that is about 100 feet long and bedecked in this lovely candy striped rose.

Later in the summer this same fence will serve as support for about a million sunflowers.  The sunflower seedlings are already up!  And to add to the ambience there is a huge lawn just beyond this fence border that is home to a beautiful yellow barn and two Weimaraners who are often out frolicking on the lawn.  There is always something beautiful to see at this spot along my walk!

And in my own garden this summer I have a passion flower vine growing in a pot.  The first flower opened this morning!

Surrounded by so many flowers, it’s no wonder I’m thinking about them for my next tapestry.  I am halfway through the final pear in my ‘Trail of Pears,’ so I’ve been designing the next tapestry.  I’m intrigued by a still life based on a woodcut of nasturtiums in a bowl.

I am enjoying taking this pot of nasturtiums and putting it into an environment….perhaps with a window behind and some curtains, the edge of a table…. we’ll see.

Leave a comment

Posted in drawing, gardening, inspiration, spring, tapestry

Mid-Spring

Posted on May 31, 2013 | 1 comment

Is there anything with as much promise as mid-spring?  My gardens, my projects, my whole world is all hope and possibility.

I’ve completed pear #4 in my ‘Trail of Pears.’  Each pear has brought  harder color decisions, and #4 caused me to call on the advice of both my husband and younger son.  I had every shade of gold in my yarn palette out and none of them worked.  Chris helped me let go of my preconceived notion that the pear had to be in the yellow family.  That pear is a tan that I would never have considered if not for Chris. Now it’s finished and soon the background around pear #5 (the final pear) will be finished as well, which will mean making the final pear color choice.  I plan to be at my Wednesday Group class next week so I can get some input from all the weavers there.  Whew!

When I’m not weaving the pears I’ve been spinning some silk.  Does anyone remember Carol Weymar who called herself the silk worker. I can’t find her anymore! I used to buy her handpainted silk roving, so I have a little collection of them.  I always wanted a bit more than 2 ounces from her, but she never had more than that of any given painted way.  I took this as a challenge to me to learn to spin finer, hoping to get 1,000 yards out of that 2 oz.  Well, I still can’t do it!

So, to the latest colorway which I will call ‘mid-spring’ (all the colors of a spring garden, except blue) I am adding a strand of luscious 50/50 merino/silk.  The merino is a warm natural color, something I might call ‘almond,’ and the silk is a shimmering white.  Spun together I’m getting a lovely shade of cream and I hope it will be stunning plied with the 100% painted silk from Carol.  I’d like to start plying right now, but I will force myself to let the newly finished merino/silk set overnight.  Boy, I can’t wait for tomorrow!

It’s 90 degrees outside today, one of those abnormally hot spring days we sometimes have.  My basement studio is a cool respite on a day like this, and the view cool and green.

Have I mentioned that I live on the edge of a large nature preserve? May offers up so many beautiful sights there…. lady slippers are in bloom and we found a robin’s egg on the ground! There are dragon flies everywhere, and the hummingbirds arrived.  I’ve seen eagles soaring above our house.

 Yes, it’s all hope and promise around here.

 

1 Comment

Posted in gardening, inspiration, spinning, spring, tapestry

Perfect May

Posted on May 20, 2013 | Leave a comment

This wisteria vine is growing along the walk I take most days.  This and the azaleas and the spring green of unfurling ferns are what lures me outside each day.

I will enjoy playing with these two images for a tapestry cartoon, even if I never actually weave them.  Back at home I discovered a few mushrooms from the recent damp weather.  I’ve cut them and brought them in for identification.

I think they are Agaricus arvensis which are very common gilled mushrooms.  Part of identifying a mushroom involves getting a gill print on white paper (or black paper if the gill print is white). This gill print is a deep grey tinged with purple, very similar to the color of the gills themselves as you can see in the photo above.

This mushroom mostly gives tan, beige and grey in the dyebath; not too exciting since wool naturally comes in those colors.  But if I mordant with tin (and yes, I do have that) I might get a golden brown.  I’ve got 12 oz. of mushrooms, so it is a bit tempting…. and I actually remember where my dye pots are!

And there is news of Bob today.  The wind continues quite favorable for sailing, and he is now in the Gulf Stream so that current is pushing Pandora to speeds over 10 knots.  He is WAY offshore, but roughly the same latitude as the southern part of Georgia.  That’s a lot of ground covered in 48 hours.

Leave a comment

Posted in dyeing, inspiration, tapestry

Posted on January 6, 2013 | Leave a comment

The best made plans….  I’ve looked forward to being home so much for so long, yet I’ve spent almost the entire month at home sick!  And I’ve had one rather big disappointment in a tapestry project…..

….but the upside is that in spite of being sick, my kids spent most of the month with us.  It was beyond wonderful to have time with them!  And I’ve gotten some weaving and some knitting done.  We’ve had some awesome meals, and I guess I will credit being sick with what has kept me from gaining weight (always the silver lining, right?)….

So, with not much to show for myself, I’ll share a couple of good cartoons I stumbled on recently….

From the New Yorker

 and from ecards:

I did my bit on fiber purchases.  I have a wonderful LYS called Yarns Down Under, in Deep River.  During my visit I learned that Filature di Crosa’s “127 Print” is being discontinued (sigh) so I bought two colors to make a cardigan.  I bought the black and the periwinkle blue, and I plan to use them in a vertically striped cardigan based on “Designs by Judith” pattern called “Buenos Aires” that called for Manos del Uraguay.

So this takes a bit of imagination…. I am knitting not quite random vertical stripes in my two colorways instead of the two-color stitch pattern used in Judith’s design.  I just love the shaping of this sweater and hope it will turn out well in a striped stockinette stitch.  Although the gauge is the same, my fabric will be considerably softer since it is not a texture stitch.  Wish me luck!

And while licking my wounds about my weaving disappointments, I found this in my inbox today:

“Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.” –Dalai Lama

Leave a comment

Posted in holiday, knitting, tapestry