tapestry – Page 8

The Height of Summer

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!

Summer Solstice

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.

In Full Swing

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.

Mid-Spring

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.

Perfect May

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.