Monday, May 25, 2009

Learning from Rita and Betsey

5-25_tapestry  I am a very lucky person to have two very talented teachers.  Last week our study group met at Rita’s home.  She has been in Florida for the last few months and it was good to have her back.  As soon as she saw my sample piece for City Life she pointed out a few areas that needed my attention. 

I took her suggestions and started incorporating them into my tapestry and surprise, surprise it improved it immensely.  She talked about having to work the diagonals and curves in regular steps to smooth out the transition.  That made sense; when I started paying more attention to this while working the cars in my big piece it was much better.  She also showed me a different way to sew the slits.  Although I had used the technique before I didn’t use the same color thread so I didn’t like it. This time I used the same color thread as the edge I was sewing into and it made all the difference in the world. To be fair, I had been using the technique that James Kohler showed me but I think my gaps were too large.  This caused the slit to show more and  look less professional.  I think I will use both depending on the color changes and locations.   It’s nice to have options.

I spent a lot of time working and reworking my pieces this week but I think the time was well spent.  As I see the images grow I see that learning how to create professional tapestries takes time and practice.  I suspect that it will take years to get to the point where I feel confident about my work. 

People ask me if I plan to show my work but I can’t see that happening for quite some time.  I know that I’ve learned a lot in the last two years but not enough to go up against real professionals.  Also since I am interested in larger canvases I know that I won’t have a body of work to draw on any time soon.  Oh well, I am not doing this to exhibit, just to learn and enjoy my new craft. 

What is nice is that now that summer is here I have more time to learn and enjoy.  Ah, I love academia.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Mary:
    It's great to be able to see how your tapestry is coming along. Looking good. Keep up the good work girl!
    Rita

    ReplyDelete