OF COMPULSIONS AND PISTACHIOS….

 

I am almost

finished with Chene’s portrait-real and not real. I am really liking the rug he’s standing on.Reminds me a little of Cezanne and Matisse.  It is so sort of floaty and not photo realistic-Just fun to weave. Weaving Chene has been a challenge all of that blackish and greyish  fur and trying to make his face look like him. It’s going to be  approx.. 7 inches by 5 inches when finished.

Another 2  or 3 weeks have vanished into into a very grey dismal spring. Normally I like the

rain in Oregon. It is usually  fairly warm not to heavy rain with days of beautiful sunshine interspersed. Not so this spring. The rain is freezing and often torrential laced with nasty little bits of hail. In the last month I have  had one day where I could walk Chene to class. The only thing growing is grass. The yard is till to wet to work in. Everyone who planted their tomatoes last week is now replanting-We had a killing frost.  I bought pepper and herbs but haven’t planted them in the garden-yet. I am afraid they will drown as last years did.

Serendipitous things-Had to do a run to Portland for coffee for my Dad. He was out and wasn’t remembering that he’s not suppose to drive. It was an expensive can of coffee. Have found a solution. Pat is designing a shopping list that will cater to his personal needs and I have discovered Safeway will deliver groceries for less then it cost me to drive to Portland. Two more weeks and he’ll have his scooter. Now if the weather would just co-operate.

That taken care of Spencer, Chene and I drove up to Bingen. The sun was shining. We could even see Mt Hood. For the last 6 months we haven’t seen Mt. Hood because of the rain and fog.  I found my rock wall that will be in the redesigned corner of And He…the smaller version. As soon as I make it through ANWG and MAFA it will be going on my Zeus Mirrix to be woven. Don’t get me wrong I love the teaching, but as always I need to weave more and produce more tapestries.  It will be the largest small scale, small format piece I have ever woven.

Which leads me to thinking about. You guessed it!

compulsions-again.

Compulsions and tapestry weaving are a little like eating pistachio’s with shells. There are always the last few that are unopenable  that need to be bashed with what ever hard object is available before one tears off the last fingernail. Just because they are there and need to be opened no matter what!!!

Origin: 1595–1605; obsolete compulse v. (< Latin compuls ( us ), past participle of compellere; see compulsion) + –ive Wikipedia

 (like how can they figure the origin of a word to a 10 year period? This is just plain weird.)

compel and compulse.-not because you want to behave that way, but because you  feel you have to do so.

After all of these years I still can not figure out why I feel the need to get up every morning and spend hours a day creating something in an archaic technique to describe a thought process and an internal view of the world that no one but me feels compelled to acknowledge. But, If

I combine the compulsion to weave and design with the word synthesis. I just may have the beginnings of an answer. Tapestry seems to be the one place where everything becomes a whole.

“In general, the noun synthesis (from the ancient Greek  σύνθεσις, σύν "with" and θέσις "placing") refers to a combination of two or more entities that together form something new. The corresponding verb, to synthesize (or synthesis), means to make or form a synthesis.”Wikipedia

 

A flower that I really want to know what it is. It was cozied up to an “Old Vic” in downtown Albany and I really really really want one????!!!!

I have been spending time studying several more interesting techniques that I have found on a couple of weavings that I have found in various places. Anyone who knows me knows that means garage sell or Antique stores. Acquired while Spencer looks for ebay stuff.  They usually don’t have a lot of provenance as to where they were created and by who. Makes for some interesting guesses.

Front-little checker boards                 Back- floats that run across the fell line

I think this is a Turkish rug, but I am not sure where in Turkey. It  is also  a wide border on the ends of a knotted rug.

The other rug or textile I am trying to determine it’s origin. It doesn’t feel like wool. The design reminds me of Scandinavian designs. Something I may Have seen in my books on Scandinavian weaving possibly in my Book Flat Weaves From Fjords to Forest by Peter Walborg.

What I really want to know is if the outline is twined or if it is a double soumack.  It has a very odd warp. The warp looks like it is plied with a light and dark of two dissimilar materials.

Anyway –enuff for today!

And yes I did find my moss

covered wall at Ainsworth fountain on the Columbia Gorge HI way-Oregon side.