I was lucky enough to meet two of the most talented tapestry artists last weekend. Susan Martin-Maffei and Archie Brennan came to Medford Leas NJ to give a talk about their work. These are dedicated artists who weave every day for 8 – 10 hours. To say I was impressed is a complete understatement. All I could say as they showed us their work was WOW. I know that they have decades of practice between them but I thought to myself, “I would have to live to 150 to be as good as they are. What a treat it was. I came home and just had to sit down and weave, I was so inspired.
I have been able to really get some work done on my own tapestry over the last month. Ah, summer as an academic, is there anything better? I have passed the midway mark and although I had to lay in another line of twining to try to halt the drawing in, I think it is going well. Tell me what you think.
My traveling loom is free of the hot dog stand and being prepped for something that makes my stomach twist, people. I am most concerned about the faces, I want them to look realistic but I only have an inch or two for the entire face. That means only 9 warps for two eyes and a nose. Not too much to work with. However, I have been able to master everything else, I think I can do this too. It make take a lot of putting in and taking out but eventually I will probably work it out. Here are some of the images I am working with.
I am not one who likes to spend time sampling but I can see the benefit of it here. I will be able to practice on the small loom and work out the process, then when it comes to the real tapestry I will be much more confident. At least that is the plan..