Inspiration

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.

View Full Album

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..

Time Marches on

As I continue to enjoy the extra time from school to work on my tapestries I start to see the cars emerge a bit quicker.  This week I redid the car on the right.  I thought the top looked too broken up, it just didn’t work.  The gray area in the middle was supposed to be a sunroof but it just didn’t scan well.  So I took Betsey’s advice and simplified. 

I know the concept of K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid) but I find it hard to stay simple.  I like to mix it up.  However sometimes mixing it up just makes it look like a big mess.   I think that is what is happening with the central area, the one I have been worrying about pretty much from the beginning.  I was trying for subtle changes in coloring as it moved away from the viewer but it was not subtle enough, I don’t think. Perhaps when it is completely surrounded by other shapes and colors it will come into focus but I doubt it.  However, as with all things it is a learning experience.  What I am seeing is how one shape can dominate the entire canvas.  Perhaps if it wasn’t so dark it would not overpower the rest of the shapes but right now it does.  I will need to ask Betsey and Rita what to do to bring it into balance.  Perhaps they will have some ideas.

In the meantime, since it is quite difficult to take a 7’ X 4’ pipe loom back and forth to the study group, I am working on another project on my smaller loom  I have a vision for a city scene with people in it.  For now I am working on sampling parts of it.  I am presently finishing one of the vending stands, as you can see - a hot dog stand. 

I am working it in embroidery floss both for its saturated colors and for its sheen.  I like how the colors mix and how they stand out from the background.  The final tapestry will include this object, people, and buildings.  When I complete this object (it is almost done now) I plan to tackle the scary stuff, the people.  I will keep you updated. 

Learning from Rita and Betsey

  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.

The cars are finally starting to emerge

It’s been a while since I last posted.  I’ve been busy putting all my Spring classes to bed.  Now that I’ve finished them I can get serious about weaving. 

I started doing just that this week.  As you can see, I now have two cars and a third outlined.  I photograph it in two parts and then put them together.  It usually works out well but this time the photo's don’t exactly match.  No matter, you can still see the image.  The second car was much easier to do than the first one was.  I can now see how the shape needs to look as I weave it.  Makes it easier to know where to start and stop. 

I am so enjoying the process.  Building an image line by line is almost like magic.  I see a shape emerge out of where I stop and start the lines of wool, I make decisions on how to use the color and I see the way the colors react to each other.  For example, the light shining on the windshield of the second car was made using a highly polished DMC that almost vibrates.  It really gives the glass a reflective texture. 

Learning to really see the lines, colors and shading of an image is a hard process, it takes time and practice.  I see the work of friends like Susan of Susan Cohan Gardens, LLC and I wonder how differently her brain works than mine.  When we visit museums or gardens I am constantly amazed at how she sees things.  I learn from her every time we explore visual culture - natural or human-made. 

I am lucky to also have the creative vision of my mentor Betsey Snope.  I see her work grow from week to week as we meet in our study group and I am envious of her skills. Yes, I know, she has been doing it longer than I have but I still wish I had her practiced eye when it comes to color blending and shaping.  Hopefully time and repetition will give me the tools to make images that are close to hers. 

I took a tour of some blogs this morning.  Some are instructional and others are inspirational.  All give me the desire to get to my own work and try to develop my own voice. My feeling is that as I concentrate on my work through the summer I will start to see improvement in my technique and vision.  At least that is the plan.  We shall see if it works out that way. 

Working the asphalt

Although I haven’t posted in the last couple of weeks, that does not mean that I haven’t been working on my tapestry.  As you can see it is coming right along.  I was worried that the center dark shape was too dark but I decided that with the shading of the other shapes this

one is fine being dark. I am breaking it up with puddles so I think it will work when the piece is finished. 

I am just beginning to work on cars on both sides so it will be interesting to find out if I learned from the first one.  Hopefully it won’t be as frustrating this time.

What I am really pleased about is how my spacing is so much better since I put in a line of twining. It didn’t fix everything but it certainly did improve it.  This is the reason I like our study group so much.  I learn something from everyone in the group.  It is great to draw on the different experiences each group member has had and to examine their work.  How great it is to have that access. 

So school ends in the next couple of weeks and I will have more time to work on this.  How great it  is going to be to have all that time.  I am looking forward to it.   

Automotive progress

This week I wasn’t as motivated as I would have liked.  My weekend, the time I usually get the most stuff done, was full of activities.  I spent time with my Pitney Bowes friends and spent time at the Jenny Holzer show at the Whitney.   Both were well worth the time.

However, this doesn’t mean that I wasn’t able to get some things done.  I am progressing upward working on the asphalt and trying to work out how to blend the different shades of grays and blacks.  I am not sure that they are going in the right direction.  I think the difference between the various shades of asphalt might be too broad.  I think they are too clearly defined.  I wanted them to blend more than they are.  Perhaps as the cars break up the picture plane it will come into focus better.

I am almost up to the next two cars (one on each side this time) so I will get another chance to work out how to get the light right.  The left hand car will be easier since I’ve worked out how to do the light on that side, but the right hand car will be all new.

So Betsey, how is it going, do you think?

Parked car part 2

Well, the more I looked at my first car the less I liked it.  It just had too much wrong with it to let it stay.  So, with a big huff I took it apart and rebuilt it.  It seems that that was my lot this week as my real car had to be rebuilt as well.  Take a look, it is much better now, don’t you think?

Tapestry, at least for me right now, is all about weaving, unweaving and weaving.  I learn something each time I weave a new shape or object.  I find I don’t really see it when it is in front of me.  The only way I really saw the tire and the total shape was when I took a picture of it and then examined the photo.  A real lesson in how to assess the days work. 

My City life sample is going well.  That was a lesson in itself.  I put it on backwards and upside down the first time and didn’t see what I had done until I was almost done inking it.  Luckily I am not working on a continuous warp on this one so I could turn the loom around and reink it the right way.  I used a different color so I could see which lines I wanted to work with.  Much better.  I like the colorful umbrella and I am working for the first time on letters. These are simple letters on a vertical so they are going well for now.  I will let you see it soon.