An Unexpected Day

Museum exhibitions of historical tapestries can overwhelm us. Their huge size and display of magnificence can make it hard to focus on specific details. The overall effect is tremendous–but how exactly was that effect achieved?
This presentation will use examples from historical tapestries to train our eyes to see how those long-ago weavers created the remarkable special effects we marvel at today. We will examine striking details: plants and animals, flowing water, majestic buildings, and lively people with expressive faces, costumes of elaborate fabrics, sparkling jewelry, and all the material goods of daily life.

I’ve seen every blockbuster tapestry exhibition at the Met since 2002, and once I went to one of these huge exhibitions five times.  And even after viewing the same tapestries five times, I felt completely overwhelmed and lost in every single one. I know I’m not the only one!  Imagine this scenario:

Who wouldn’t be ovewhelmed at all the visual stimuli in these large pieces.  So, let me tell you–I want to meet this couple who can talk you through these mammouth works and break down the images into bite size pieces.

Their presentation is going on right now as I write this.  When push came to shove, I could not manage driving 3 hours each way to see their program.  And boy, am I disappointed.  Yesterday, when I faced the fact that I would not be going, I wrote to them to ask if they would consider giving the same program to my guild in Connecticut.  Fingers crossed….

Instead of driving to Concord, New Hampshire today, I drove to the border of Haddam and Killingworth, somewhat north of where I live on the Connecticut River.  The woman who runs our  guild’s “Weftovers” tables was given a large quantity of Paternayan Persian wool.  It’s about 12 lbs. worth of the large 4 oz. skeins and the smaller 8 yard skeins.  I don’t even use Paternayan for tapestry anymore, but I could not let it get thrown out.  I am hoping to pass it along to beginning tapestry weavers, for which it is a great yarn….easily unplied and re-plied to create endless color possibilities.  And at 8 epi it is perfect as one strand of weft.

Here it is in its new home–the storage room off my studio.

According to KC, the guild member in charge of the “weftovers tables” at our guild, this yarn came from a church that had commissioned the recovering of its pews with needlepointed cushions.

So although it wasn’t a drive to New Hampshire, it was a lovely drive north along the river to a fairly rural area with a few farms.  The almost-winter sky was beautiful and the cows were out in the pasture today.

After loading the boxes of yarns into my car KC took me for a walk in the woods behind her house. We crossed over the stream on this pretty bridge that she and her husband built, and walked toward the pond.

It has been a lovely day in its own right, and I hope the Weisses will agree to give their presentation down here in Connecticut.  If they do, I’ll let you know!