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No name-finished before I left
one of three done on new Mirrix looom |
So many things have happened in the last 3 weeks I feel like I am on sensory and emotional overload. So many good things have happened and so many not so good things have happened . I really just want to retreat into weaving and not deal with the rest of the world. There is a novel(Feehan’s Water bound) that I have been reading-one of the ones that I use to relax with-probably more related to the pulp fiction dime novels of the past-nothing else to recommend it-other then it holds my attention and has nothing to do with reality, but it does end the continual mind cycling that I can get into. The heroine is a high functioning Autistic. There are some beautiful descriptions of her retreating and what she is retreating into in her own mind. Being soothed by pattern, patterns and flow of water and her internal world of colour and sensation
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| Kona Orange |
that I can identify with when I weave. So tempting, soothing, focused, and comforting. On the other hand she also reaches a point where too much external stimuli effects her in extremely negative ways. She retreats back into the patterns and her safety net regime. I think I am ready…My loom and all its promises is warped-unfortunately, it has been warped for 3 weeks and nothing has had time to happen. The only thing standing in my way of weaving is finishing this blog as per my promise to myself. Doing it every 2 weeks that had has slid to 3 weeks this time with just too much and too many events happenings etc. .
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Marge and Chene-a visit both enjoyed for almost 2 years.
Marge helped me train him to be gentle with fragile people.
He always minded her and protected her from all perceived threats
-some times good sometimes not so good. |
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| Marge and favourite Hagen loom |
By now many of you know that my good friend Marge Crueger died while I was in Albuquerque. Next week would have been her birthday. I am so glad I got to see her again and tell her much I cared for her before I left. I am re posting a couple of her pictures and a little of her work. She was so ready. She hated being bed bound and not being able to do something with her hands. She left a small tapestry undone that I will finish weaving for her as promised. She hated the idea of leaving a tapestry unfinished so it’s now for me to complete. .
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| 4 of Marge’s pieces including Skunk Cabbage |
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| So Sought After, First place Small Expressions |
All this has been tempered with the really great events of my life. My trip to Albuquerque was definitely beyond imagination. My show at Village Wools looked really good. I don’t usually do one person shows, because it takes so many small pieces to fill up a space. There were 19 pieces. I also had a piece in the ATA small format exhibit. There was some amazing work in the show. The catalogue is fantastic. They were able to photograph Kona Orange well. My colour palette can be difficult to photograph accurately. Who would have thought that the It’s about Time exhibit would still be going on after all these years or who have thought that the fundamental nature(large format) of popular tapestry would have changed so much to allow small format!!!! It has gone from no venues to many venues-so cool-often in the same shows. Asa’s Rock’s was in Bedazzled. In Small Expressions I took a first prize! I have now been in Small Expressions’ 13-14 times (I think) won a first(2?), second, third, and was disqualified for a third prize last year because there was problems with my framing. I saved the letter to use as an example about the wisdom of using good framing and mounting techniques.
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| Village Wools Class, Albuquerque, New Mexico |
My Village Wools class was so much fun. I really like teaching this class and will offer it again. It was fun working with students that had done some tapestry weaving. We were able to get in to more advanced techniques. The mind does some interesting things. There was this dressed headless mannequin that every time I would walked by her it was like it was a real person. It would startle me every time. It was like having an extra class member-rather spooky.
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| Favourite Cartoon found on my loom one morning in Albuquerque with Fluffy becoming Chene. In case you can’t read the text it says Chene/Fluffy decided to test a long standing rule: Never mess with Grandma while she is weaving. |
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| So many Clouds, taken in the midle of a cloud burst |
Sadly the one class didn’t have enough students, but have been invited back to teach another time-date not set. Would love to teach again at Village Wools-so maybe…
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| Silver Repousse Milagros |
In the Craft Museum in Santa Fe I saw some beautiful silver work both modern and several hundred Milagros.
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| More Silver Milagros |
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| Detail of Irvin Trujillo’s Ikat |
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| The Whole Rug-Thanks for allowing me to use these images Irvin! |
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| Chamayo purses woven by Shirley Gallegos |
There were so many exhibits to see, but I did manage to see all of the tapestry exhibits. Really enjoyed them. It seemed that every place I looked there was tapestry. Many of the small towns we traveled through at several weaving shops with people weaving. What a trip! I loved seeing Lisa and Irwin Trujillo and Centinela . My husband now owns a T-shirt that he acquired from their shop. I have two beautiful Chimayo style purses for Pat and myself. The craft museum had 6-7 of his weavings of Irvin’s. It was so nice seeing old friends at the ATA get together Saturday evening. I also enjoyed the lectures and the digislam. Attended lectures by Lynne Curran and James Kohler all work in such opposite ways. I could never work in either’s style or way. I prefer my contained disciplined chaos. The digislam is always a curiosity to me. It’s nice to see the different styles of weaving. BUT, I am with Lynn it’s really kinda of scary seeing small format work magnified so many times. Interestingly a good design will always be a good design no matter how many times it is enlarged. I had some interesting reactions to the majority of modern South West weaving that I saw. It has so little detail. It’s big bold, flashy, beautiful, erudite, but it never seems to feel quite personal and then leaves me wondering. Intellectually I understand it and it’s beautiful. I never seem to feel that way about the more traditional SW weaving as embodied in the Trujillo’s weaving-both Lisa and Irwin’s and the historical work that I saw. I really loved the Ikat designs and was amazed at the skill it takes to get it right.
I acquired a lovely beater that fits my hand nicely and is the right size for my hand from Al Snipes. Thank you- AL- I love it. Your work is so beautiful. Also, the wooden needle that I am going to be sharing. I can hardly wait to receive the 3 other beaters that I am purchasing for my students to try-a left handed, right handed and an ambidextrous in beautiful cherry and walnut. Still love my Shannock and fork beaters. The shaping of All’s beaters may be a little easier on my hand though. I am definitely looking at more hand surgery in the very near future. My thumb decided to finish locking up on this trip.
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| Storm Clous and Hoodoos |
Spencer and I had a lovely evening with Dianne Kennedy and her husband at Zia in Santa Fe. She was so full of historical information and first contact information that I am so interested in. We are going to try and hook up when I teach in Arizona in September and see the dancers in my break between classes. Spencer really enjoyed talking with you all to.
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| Hopi Embroidery or Brocade |
When I was Albuquerque we went to the Pueblo Cultural center and I was finally able to get a closer non- picture oriented look at Hopi Embroidery. It is so related to soumack, but pictures of the finished product have always been really bad. I wasn’t sure if I was doing it right or which side was the right side. Just not enough detail. My picture that a friend gave me what seems like a hundred years ago-Sorry Yella, but you even apologized at the time. I can now say that I was/am doing it correctly. Waht a relief!!!
It’s going to take me weeks to sort all of my information out and get it in a useful fashion. I managed to overload both cards in my cameras-2 gigs each. There were many things I didn’t get a chance to photograph because it rained and thundered the whole time we were there. In Oregon when it rains I can still usually take pictures through the rain drops, but these were mega drops that flowed over everything. Next time I think I’ll borrow Kathy’s underwater camera. It would have been a great help.
Enough for now!! There is just so much more, but it was good to get home to Chene. I really missed my mutt. Ready for a ride in his carseat.
TIME TO WEAVE!!!– Besides-I have totally messed up the program I am working in and It’s shifting all over the place.
Cheers,
kathe
It amazes me how age effects different people. My Uncle Ray and Aunt Donna are roughly the same age as my father. They are still snow skiing and running all over creation. My father is the same age is house bound and can barely walk and function. He does love the puppy I found for him a couple of months ago. It is so odd watching people talk around and over him like he’s not there by people who are professionals that should know better. It’s like one becomes invisible when one reaches a certain age. it’s either that or people lapse into baby talk with the elderly. It’s no wonder that some of the old retreat into themselves. The bad part is that we do it in love, kindness and duty. I need to keep telling myself this while trying to deal with another family member. It all makes me wonder how Spencer and I’ll approach old age. Does make one think.
