A visit to Exeter

I had an opportunity to visit family in London. I took a brief trip to visit four tapestry weavers who live in and around Devon. It was a  wonderful and inspiring visit but all too brief. I visited the studios of Anne Jackson, Jilly Edwards, Pat Johns and Christine Sawyer. Some of their work is posted here.  From top to bottom:

• Christine Sawyer, 'Out of the Blue' in progress
• Jilly Edwards, 'Memories,'  a sort of woven journal about 3 cm wide and several  meters  long.
• Pat John, 'Crow,' an experimental piece.
• Anne Jackson, a study for a larger piece

I really enjoy the chance to meet and speak with other weavers as I usually pick up some new ideas about techniques and presentation. I suppose since I never studied tapestry at school it is a chance to compare notes and learn more tricks of the trade. I hope to write a more in depth article in the ATA newsletter later this summer.  All of them have very well developed styles and are pushing the traditions in new directions.

Onwards

Well, all my good intentions to be regular about blogging have gone awry. The newe tapestry is developing nicely. I have decided to have a series of graduated colors in the background with a series of twisted yellow streams falling from the top edge. Both the top and the bottom edges will have cut outs where the yellows start and stop. I think this creates a more dynamic feel within the tapestry and also separates the yellow flow areas from the background.
I like the few areas where the two yellow elements flow together. For me there is a subtle reference to the musclature of the human torso which you can notice at the lower part near the balls of yarn.

The most recent Flow

It has been a while since i logged in.  The new tapestry is being woven on its side as that is the easiest way to manage the 'flow' parts. The design of this one required a greater stretch in the fell line (the upper working edge of the piece) and that made it harder to manage the tension. I have some better ideas for the next one.

Here is the finished piece.

A new start

This is my favorite wall of my studio. It is always an inspiration when I see so many different colors altogether. I have pulled the colors I will use in my next piece onto the table.  I like to do a black and white cartoon and keep it very simple in scope. I leave many of the details to the moment when I am working on an area. The colors on the table remind me of my palette. Even with my big color collection, I am occasionally frustrated not to have a certain shade.
I do the best I can by blending 3-4 ends together but sometimes I have taken to the dye pot to get exactly what I want. That is quite a treat too.
Over the years I have amassed a lot of yarns; mostly wool, some silks, linens and cottons and I have a stash of unusual yarns which I incorporate for effect now and then.


Many years ago I went to visit Mark Adams and to see his studio in a church loft in San Francisco. I was quite astonished to see that he had no big collection of yarn but rather just the colors he knew he would be using in the current project. His cartoons were large, fully colored and layered with many changes in his evolving designs. He would have worked out his colors based on the cartoons. He also did a lot of beautiful watercolors which would have informed his color choice. 
He is known for some beautiful tapestries but, in fact, he had two assistants who did his weaving. That he did not do his own weaving probably explains his limited selection of colors. I don't know many weavers who do not revel in the colors that a yarn stash provides!

More on the next tapestry in the next blog.

the New Year

Now that the holidays are behind us and the new year has begun I will start to keep a better log of my projects. I was very pleased to see this link below which features one of my small tapestries, 'Energy Flow,' in a blog. It is a good way to start the year. 

 

I am preparing for a solo show in the wine country in Late February and have started a final piece which I will start documenting with pictures and comments as I go along. 

 

For now, the link will have to do!  It is from an Australian art and design blog called Isiiad (I saw it in a dream). It is centered in Warrandyte and the surrounding Yarra Valley but will go where ever my creative spirit takes me… so Warrandyte to the world. Creator and blog owner is Jeannette Davison.

 

Australian Tapestry Workshop-humming

www.isiiad.com.au

She writes,  "A visit to the Australian Tapestry Workshop in South Melbourne reminded me that it is one of Melbourne's great treasures."

"Interconnections; Tapestry Weavers West" at the Mills Building

Tapestry Weavers West, a West Coast organization of tapestry weavers founded in 1985 sponsors a regular juried show and this year we will be exhibiting at the Mills Building in San Francisco, a handsome downtown office building on Montgomery Street.

This exhibit, co-curated by Kerri Hurtado of ArtSource and Deborah Corsini, of the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, will be on view from November 14, 2011 to February 3, 2012 during office hours, 8-6pm Monday thru Friday.
It will comprise of 42 tapestries large and small, by 21 TWW artists.

Three of my tapestries were selected; 'Flow 3,' 'Flow 4' and 'Flow: Unfathomed.'

The finished Zori Pillows

I wanted to share some finished images of the  Zori Pillows.

I reinforced the straps at the top so they were not so flimsy and I added buttons on the sole to hold the upper strap in place. Yes, it required a very long needle and good aim to find the buttonholes!
 All the shoes for this exhibition are wonderful. If you are in the area it is worth a stop to see them.  The show is 'A Walk in Artist's Shoes' now until December 29th at Gallery 111 at  the ICB in Sausalito; 480 Gate 5 Road.  There are over 40 pairs.