Don’t Miss the Roy Gonna Bitsòò Kady Navajo weaving workshop and other important  contents-

Between & Etc’s new chapter, the missing year of weaving, Workshop deadline, Roy Gonna Bitsòò Kady Navajo weaving workshop, more about soumack and rya, and other things.

A New Chapter…

I have to admit life has been a tad bit chaotic in the last couple of months-to be honest since September. Very much like trying to push a line of peas in a straight line. One keeps looking for a way to create

continuity-trying to arrange the parts of my story in a way that is logical, but I am beginning to believe that discontinuity is only a pause along that  which is continuity. 

Finally, I have come to think– a little bit of chaos might be a good thing. That even in chaos-the confused unorganized state of primordial  matter before the creation of distinct forms  my life as a tapestry weaver  can be summed up as a koan. Continuity leads to chaos and chaos leads to continuity. Which seems to lead to hope.. AND, IS  THEN NO LONGER USABLE AS A KOAN…Coming to this  conclusion I needed to find help with my blogs and  betweenandetc.com.

What I had tried to do was totally not working.

 Reaching  the breaking point I needed to stop or find or ask for  help. I did!-the solution  Mary Walker-Weaving in Beauty. Thank you!

In the next couple of days and the foreseeable future my domain, blogs and store will under go many changes. We will be able to list new products for tapestry and other things.  Thank you Mary! I am no longer totally overwhelmed. I have a lot to learn, but I now have back-up. So now I have hope! It’s going to be interesting to see how many of my goals for these blogs and store site I can actually pull off. I am finally excited and not terrified and paralyzed every time…

Now onward to more important stuff-
Tapestry weaving the missing year

 

For myself have been making a great deal of progress with the narratives that I am weaving. I finished the most emotionally difficult one-Hazel’ s Glorious Façade. (which won a  Teitelbaum Award at the upcoming ATA Small Tapestry International 5)

I am now working on my other Grandfathers piece.  For some reason I felt the need to do it in wool and embroidery floss. I wanted a rougher softer dream like quality then  one normally gets at 10 epi with embroidery floss.   Design wise I wanted both the textures and to  get the colour blends I wanted in the wool I needed multiple strands.

So I wove it at 12 epi.

The Norwegian ELV yarns are beautiful  and quick to weave with at 10 epi. Well, they fill up a great deal of space quickly-compared to my usual 22 epi and embroidery and sewing thread. There’s nothing different in the technique. It takes the same amount of time to weave the design. The product at 22 epi is half the size more or less when woven then when woven at 12 epi. Technique is exactly the same.  Size should have nothing to do in the labeling of a tapestry as a tapestry.  The only question should be doe it fit the definition of tapestry-a weft faced plain woven-tabby or twill construction with the possibility of a discontinuous weft.

Roy Gonna Bitsòò Kady Navajo Weaving workshop

There are two Roy Gonna Bitsòò Kady Navajo weaving workshops scheduled at Between & Etc’s (Between & Etc Workshop and Schedule) studio location in Albany, Oregon. The May 1 deadline to register for the first one is fast approaching.  Roy is an incredible teacher  and weaver. The first class is a basic all levels. It is 5 days.

So all of you-please that want to take a  Navajo weaving class from Roy now is the time to register.  He will be teaching Round weaving in the fall but you need to have taken a Navajo Weaving class before you take this  workshop.  Please call or at e-mail me to register and reserve your place in the workshop. The last class Roy taught here in the studio was cinch weaving. It was so much fun and an incredible learning experience. I am so looking forward to taking his next workshop in my studio.

And, No….

And, no, I am not switching to Navajo style weaving and  designs. I am more interested in the differences and similarities between my European style techniques and Navajo techniques-both beautiful.  I love learning new techniques and ways to weave tapestry.  I have always been fastened with 4 sided textiles and weaving geometrics mirror imaged, geometric designs and  double sided textiles, which are very difficult for me to weave.  I do think that the edging cords will be a nice addition to my small format weaving-protecting the edges from wear and stiffening the edge for protection. I am in love with Roy’s triple strand side selvages. I also very much like the idea of 4 sided reversible  textiles top and bottom edges- no selvages, all finished edges.

But, 

Not enuff to give up my treadles on the Mirrix-gr-but I think there might be away to have both. I am working it out in one of my next pieces.  Roy also helped me adapt one of my upright looms for twill weaving. So the information on twills and heddles  I began at Sheep is Life at Tsalie is now weavable again. I just need the time.

 

Of Tapestry-  Soumack & Rya

I have come to the conclusion while writing this book that Soumak and rya are distinctly related-if not the a variation of the same soumak techniques-just a variation. Rya seems to most  closely related to locking soumak.  On my Grandfathers tapestry I am working on the soumack lines that  are  partially hidden by hair like yarns. The weaving on this piece is finished,  but the actual finishing isn’t completed.

The red soumak is based on petroglyphs

I saw with my grandfather along the Columbia River Gorge and Columbia River that runs from the ocean to Idaho and joins with the Snake River. Most of these petroglyphs are now covered with water from the dams that were built in the 40’s and fifties. My Grandfather was half Indian,(my Gramma Lakota) but the family has (in)conveniently(?) only remembered the tribe he belonged to started with a K.   The rya represents hair and its various evolutions through time. My Grandfather was always talking about how much he hated having his hair cut when he was sent away to boarding school. The story of the forced haircutting  seemed to obscure his whole history.

And, of course,  another car for my Gramma!

 

 

 

Unnamed Fog

I finished weaving several fog pieces between the election and now. I have always loved fog-you have to if your from the Willamette valley and the coast range. but the need to weave the fog pieces and one in achromatic greys really mirrored how I was pretty much feeling about the events of the last couple of months-elections and other things. The small piece in lower center is a “dog”. It needs to be woven at a different format. Not enuff warps for the scale and format of the piece.

Weaving Hearts and Other Things

Rebecca Metzoff has a very interesting project going on weaving hearts to try and change the extremely negative feelings that many of us are feeling and but some happiness out there. So I did. in the process I realized that if nothing else the setting down and doing something for a few minutes to relax when I begin to weave is a really good idea. It’s a little like doing Zen Tangles or stream of conscience journaling. I suppose its much like the beautiful Calendars that Tommy Scanlin, Jan Austen and Janette Meetze, but I have never been able to keep my interest and discipline in these kind of long term projects. But doing a very small weaving on the loom and weaving for a couple of minutes for me about 10 minutes is totally relaxing and frees my mind for the larger project. So, thanks,  Rebecca! www.rebeccametzoff.com/blog/2017/2/21/a-February-of-hearts-thetapestryheart

 

Of Silver and Copper Things

I have been taking metal classes at Multnomah Art Center. I still prefer working in Silver, but they same think copper is cheaper. So I have been working in different techniques in copper. I have discovered how to melt copper and form it into various things. I am especially enamoured of the new bracelet and labourdourite cab. I finished last quarter. I took an incredible class in using silver metal clay and made two pieces that I really like. They not polished yet, but the technique across between sculpture and torch work suits my nature. I also took I  class argentum filigree which I have completely fall in love with and one in repousse-not sure what it will lead to, but now I have the process. I just need to get back to scheduling time to do it. Always hopeful now that this site may final be under control.

Finally-

Now, I am on to writing a blog for the Tapestry Compendium on tools. hopefully you will all read and add information and thoughts. I have become more and more concerned that information about using tools such as beaters and combs is becoming confused and non existent because of the internet. This is my attempt to make information about tapestry and it’s  many great techniques and weaving traditions available for everyone and a learning tool for all of us.

later,

kathe