Blog
So far this year has been about trying to get this commission done. I still have a long way to go, but progress is being made. I was hoping these little guys would help me out. I spotted them cavorting around the studio late one evening and left them a few cookie morsels in the hopes they would do a little weaving while I slept.
I made a new holiday video this year of the Christmas Loom being decorated. There was a little problem when we moved into this house that involved two spatially incompetent and rather scrawny college movers, my very heavy 40 inch Macomber, and a set of stairs to the studio that turn on a small landing. The loom now lives in the living room and is a pretty good stand-in for a Christmas Tree.
I thought I would put all the little tapestries I made at my artist-in-residence in one post. I have included links to prior posts at the end--some have more details about individual tapestries.
I wove one of these each day. Most of them took about 3 hours to complete. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it despite the amount of time it took to finish them and I ended up doing one every day of the residency. Here they are with their inspiration. Most of the tapestries were woven at 12 epi on a 6-dent Hokett loom. The warp was mostly cotton seine twine though there is some linen in there and the weft was mostly Weaver's Bazaar 18/2 wool though there are some wool singles and some handspun.
I had a marvelous month as artist-in-residence at Petrified Forest National Park. I learned so much about myself and making art, and was reminded again how much I love wandering around the desert. This place was perfect for that. I know many of you can't imagine not having trees, but there just aren't any there except in the bosque. That means you can see forever, and if you're paying attention, you can't get lost. So I walked and walked wherever I wanted and always found my way home again before dark. That also meant that any time I was near the bosque (where the water is when it rains), I scanned the cottonwoods incessantly for sleeping porcupines. One of the biologist interns saw three one day and I was determined. But alas, none were found by me.
I'm home again from my month of artist residency in Arizona. It was a marvelous time and I'm having some trouble readjusting to the business of being home again. Fortunately it is the holidays and I can spend more time weaving as weaving is what grounds me.
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In celebration of the joy of weaving, I'm offering a little holiday package. Order one for yourself or for someone who needs a little weaving time this season. I have limited numbers of these looms left, so if this sounds good, let me know soon. I will only be selling these looms at workshops after this stock is gone.
I'm offering 20% off the price of...
My experience as artist-in-residence at Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona has been exceptional. There have been moments where I wished I had requested a different month--one which did not include an election which seems to have shaken this country to the core. But perhaps being in this amazing place while dealing with my feelings about the direction of this country and the world is a good thing after all. The many hours a day to hike, sketch, and wander without a goal is healing. My challenge as this residency comes to an end is to carry the spirit of those practices into my daily work.
