Weaving Song

The name of this blog is based upon a traditional Navajo weaving song.  I was drawn to Navajo weaving initally by the beauty and high degree of weaving skill embodied in the work.  Very quickly however I became fascinated by the culture and cosmology of the people and the central role weaving played. I began to build my library of Navajo weaving books and reading everything I could get my hands on.  A trip to the southwest with my daughter in 2016 fed the passion. I was visiting the places I had been reading about.  The landscapes and vistas were stunning. The Hubbell Trading Post was just as I pictured it. Fast forward to this week.  The  The Gregg Museum of Art and Design  had a demonstration of Navajo weaving and basket making. The exhibit was small and informal which gave me the opportunity to watch and speak to the weaver,  Mary Redmustache Kealy. Crystal Rug, a modified Two Grey Hills pattern 1955 - 1970. Handspun yarns Wide Ruins Weaving...

Tolstoy said "Spring is the time of plans and projects."  We have had tastes of Spring, warm days, daffodils and birdsong but now are back to winter's chill.  Be done already!  The gloomy February days are reflected in my tapestry diary. I started the diary on my birthday, January 28th.  The bowling pin and token represent my 62nd birthday party with family and friends, which was so much fun!  My plan for the tapestry diary is an entry per week. This picture is a couple of weeks ago.  I have some catching up to do. My dear husband made me the loom using copper pipe and purpleheart wood as well as some new tapestry forks. I love beautiful tools, using them brings joy.  Meeting with other tapestry weavers also brings me joy.  I am thankful to have found  Triangle Weavers Guild  and am loving our tapestry study group. Here are some pictures from our most recent session. Tapestry is a relatively solitary endeavor but what a treat to have opp...

Tapestry Weavers South  new show will open January 20th at  The Folk Art Center .  Dear hubs and I took a road trip Friday, January 5th and delivered these two pieces for exhibition. Beauty and the Break and Rust and Ruin. I blogged previously about Beauty and the Break  here.   Rust and Ruin is my ode to 2017. I attached this page to the back of each submitted tapestry. As it explains, 2017 was a year of fits and starts and this tapestry reflects that. C. Cactus Flower Loom warped at 10 ends per inch with 12/6 cotton seine twine.  Weft is linen,  wool, rayon and metallic yarns augmented with rusty bits from a friend's farm in Meadow, NC. Last year's challenges included sudden hearing loss and some dizziness diagnosed as Meniere's Disease.  Many discussions with physicians about my fluctuating hearing loss and the efficacy of hearing aids.   When I wanted to do a self portrait, it made sense to title it "Say What" My self portrait. ...

One of the best events of the year is SAFF.   Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair  is one of my favorite things.  I love seeing my fiber friends, like Peggy and Kristen.  Not to mention fiber superstars like  Gale Zucker . I love Peggy's t-shirt, "What up my knittahs." SAFF started in 1991 in Winston-Salem, NC and grows bigger each year.  I have only missed one year in all those years and had a good excuse, major surgery. Somethings don't change, beautiful yarns and a desire to knit all the things. The fleece show is hard to resist even if your house is filled with bags of fiber. Beth Smith  judged the fleece show this year and managed to entertain and teach me something! Fleece face plant! Today I took a class with  Carin Engen , a felter (pictured above) who recently moved to WNC from California. Some of Carin's samples. Teaching sample illustrating the ways different silks respond to felting. This piece is the one Carin is pictured wearing....

The  fifteenth century Japanese art of  kintsugi  involves a philosophy not of replacement, but of awe, reverence, and restoration. The gold-filled cracks of a once-broken item are a testament to its history, adding to its character and value. This has been a valuable and persistent thought for me.  If I can embrace and honor my own brokenness,  my heart opens to see and value your cracks as part of your beautiful history.  I love that tapestry weaving gives me a way to focus on this concept and represent it artistically. Because of the slow, meditative nature of tapestry weaving, I gave myself time to explore the cracks and experience filling in the space with gold thread.  Other than a rough idea of fractured old pottery aggrandized with gold, the image developed on the loom.  The warp is linen and the weft threads are rustic wool and linen singles from treasured Sylvia Heyden and Martha Matthew stashes.  I wove it on my Cactus Flower ...

Taking tapestry classes is one of my favorite things and  Tommye Scanlon is one of my favorite tapestry weavers.  I admire her work and love having the opportunity to take another class with her.  The  Triangle Weavers Guild  brought Tommye in for a Beyond the Basics class. The Triangle Fiber Arts Center is a great venue for classes.  Happy tapestry weavers! Friday, day one we discussed looms, warping and setting tips. Tommye has dozens of woven samples to illustrate different techniques. This sample was woven to demonstrate the use of blending with complementary colors. Decreasing, increasing, hills and valleys oh my. Saturday, day two involved specific techniques, attaching the cartoon and inking the warp. Tommye talks about her design process. One on one assistance with hands on by Tommye. My yarns and sampling progress.  You may remember these yarns from  here .  I dyed them ages ago for a project entitled Holding Space.  I have bee...