Blog - Page 15 of 100 - Sherri Woodard Coffey

Getting there

I ordered the black ones second from top on the right from Jerry’s Artarama.

I finally just sucked it up and bought frames for the small pieces that I’ve been working on FOREVER. My friend Carol told me about floater frames, but when I looked at them on Dick Blick’s website, I just couldn’t see spending that much money for these pieces. After more days of not being satisfied with any of the solutions I’d come up with, I did a web search and finally decided to buy some from Jerry’s Artarama, not knowing if I’d ordered the correct size or if these linen-covered canvases would even fit the depth. They arrived today, and this is a totally doable solution–for now. What really sold me on these frames–besides the cost–was that they come complete with hardware, everything you need to hang the picture (or whatever). There’s even a video of how to use them. So, once I get these pieces into the frames, I’ll post pictures. This is still a total experiment, but useful information if I want to weave other small pieces.

Scotch masking tape

Totally unrelated to anything, I found this on the counter at Office Depot. Yes, I know they put those things there for people exactly like me who may make an impulse purchase. As one who laments the death of the cloth tape measure that was so easy to tape on a weaving in progress, I couldn’t resist. It is totally useless for weaving, but I liked it. Years ago, I got some really narrow adhesive measuring tape in the fishing department of an outdoors store. I placed it on the beater close to the reed. I had to use two tapes to go across, so I started each of them in the center so that the larger measurements would be on the outer edges. This way you can see the width of the warp in the loom easily. Of course, being slightly OCD-ish personality that I am, I count warp threads anyway. Scotch has a PDF of cute ideas for using their tapes here. You know, things to do in your spare time???

One day, the loom will be used again, after finishing all these small projects in progress. One day. Sigh.

Charcoal experiments

Usually when I use black dye, I am going in the other direction, that is doubling or tripling the percentage of dye, but the objective this time was to get a charcoal. The various shades don’t show up well in a picture, but there really is a vast difference. Since all colors have undertones, I decided to add my own choice of undertones to these yarns. The two on the left are straight black, although in different strengths. The two on the right have had another color added withthe black–middle right has the addition of mustard, the far right has a bit of blue added. So what’s the upshot? For me, I like the two on the left. By the way, a really great blog about color and your living spaces is Colour Me Happy by Maria Killam. Frankly, I’m not really into the decorating thing, but her blog is interesting because she shows how even the “neutrals” in the same family may not play well together because of the undertones, as some beiges are pinkish, some greenish, etc.

just a bit of the really wide piece

Maybe you can tell that I’m not really enjoying the finishing of these small pieces, maybe because I’m still working on them? Here’s the one I started on today, just a small detail snippet of it. I’m going to try a new way to mount this piece, since it’s such a weird size–9 x 60 in. Another experiment in progress.

The rest of the story

A continuation of some of the art from gallery receptions from last week… The two pieces below are both by Nicole Dane, an artist who received her BFA from North Texas University in Denton. More information about her here and here.

Untitled: From Our Bardoodle, 2014
56″ x 90″
Dyed & Discharged Fabric with Deconstructed Screen Printing

Prayer Flag: Blue, 2014 56″ x 72″ Dyed and Embroidered Fabric

This watercolor is by a Fort Worth artist Daniel Blagg. I always enjoy seeing his work; it makes me smile. It’s just so Texas. His paintings seem to preserve some of our recent past of old buildings, signs, and billboards. You can see more of his work here and a better picture of the Sky Ranch Motel here.

Sky Ranch Motel by Daniel Blagg

Getting out

Getting out to go to gallery receptions is something I am able to talk myself out of quite readily, not because I don’t want to see the art, but because I’m basically a hermit. BUT I am making an effort to get out more, and I am so glad I did. Friday night I saw such interesting art at the Community Arts Center. I’m only going to share a bit for now.

Donald Matheson has taken famous works and made them his own in abstraction. Each one of his painting was displayed with a small print of the original inspiration, such an interesting way to exhibit and to see how each was abstracted (is that a word?).

Nighthawks by Edward Hopper

What I find fascinating is how Mr. Matheson took the basic lines of the original and used those lines and shapes to create a totally different painting. You can see more of his work (and better images) here. You won’t see the original inspiration there though.

Enclosed Field with Ploughman-Van Gogh

Merode Altarpiece by Robert Campin

Soon Y. Warren paints wonderful watercolors. Just look at the cut-glass bowl here.

Heart of Cherries by Soon Y. Warren

At the Zoo by John Mattson

Trees with Feathers by Rebecca Low

Well, look what came in the mail

Sarah Swett’s book is handsewn

Sarah Swett has written and produced this small book about weaving a bag on a box. You can buy it here. I love her drawings and you can see more of them on her blog, A Field Guide to Needlework. Clever name, right? I’ve actually tried weaving on a box before, not very successfully, but after reading this small book, I’m thinking maybe another try is in order. It seems there are remedies for the problems I had with this type of weaving.

Inside the envelope Was a postcard with a picture of the very first weaving I saw of Sarah’s. I remember being astounded at the range of color she achieved with natural dyes, the detail, vitality, and energy in the piece. I still think that.

Energetic postcard

In my effort to become more observant, I have been taking a lot of pictures. I’ve driven by this sculpture a million times and decided to take a picture this time. I especially wanted to get at least part of the pink window with the red sculpture, which is in front of the studio of Rebecca Low, the sculptor.

Rebecca Low’s studio

Taken using the remote shutter

While shopping in Target the other day, I picked up a Bluetooth Remote Shutter. All you have to do is put the battery in, turn it on and pair your phone with it, turn on the camera, and push a button. Voila! A picture is taken. There’s not one on the Target website, but the one I got is very similar to this one at Amazon, except no wrist strap. Lower price too.

Below you can see my project for,the week–putting the table loom together. I really wish the directions were better, or that there was at least a list of parts with pictures. This really will probably take the week. Why did I decide to do this?!!

Ashford table loom in pieces

Tools and stuff

Weavers use lots of tools. I remember a male visitor to my studio looking around, saying “You get to use lots of good stuff.” Yes, we do. Lots!

Cartoon, but not at the correct angle for the project. Soon! Does this make you dizzy to look at it? It does me.

One of the things tapestry and ikat weavers use is a cartoon. I usually take a small drawing to FedEx to get it enlarged to the size I need, and that’s where a problem sometimes happens. The employees don’t always know how to do that, plus they don’t want to listen to what has succeeded in the past. I spent over an hour on Saturday trying to get an enlargement and still did not go home with it. Later in the afternoon, I girded my loins (what does that really mean anyway?) and went to a different store. There the guy actually did what I told him about and I got a perfect cartoon. Plus, he gave it to me! As in free! I was afraid I would have to draw the whole thing myself, which then leads to the next design tool: large graph paper. Acquiring this meant a trip to my local art store, Asel Art. At first we couldn’t find a roll of this paper, and then when we did, it was much shorter length than what I have bought in the past. But that’s okay because this stuff is expensive!

Leaving my local art store. I thought the signs were interesting.

So now I have my enlargement and a way to make my own enlargement. It’s time to get to work, especially after two weeks of doing nothing in the studio or the rest of the house and yard. The list is a mile long, but studio time is plugged in. Yippee!

Inspiration in June

Inspiration again, and I’m grateful to have it. What with going to movies, playing miniature golf in the heat, zoo, etc–all the things that children like to do, I’m kind of blah. BUT…I do like to look at leaf shapes. I keep thinking I’ll use a leaf for an ikat design.

And then we have the color combinations of granite.

Or the colors of the trees.

Carpet as seen walking into the theater. Do you think it’s fuzzy because it’s carpet, dark when I took the picture, or….?

Then the drawings on the buildings at the zoo. These somewhat primitive paintings are always interesting to me.

We’ve seen two good movies, totally different movies. First, Jurassic World, but yesterday we saw Inside Out. Both movies were fodder for discussion. But here’s my inspiration from the movie theater–the floor.

Inspiration with children at the Japanese Garden

Bark before Photoshop

As I mentioned last time I wrote, family is here, so time has been spent going to the zoo, Japanese Garden, and restaurants. Besides the family pictures, I find myself taking inspiration photos also. Keep in mind these pictures are taken with my phone, and after the original was taken, there was manipulation, with a Photoshop app on the phone and with Photoshop on my computer. In the case of the photo above, I played around with it before posting on Instagram. I have no idea why or what I could do with this photo, but I really like this bark. Also, it’s not from a tree that I am familiar with.

From Instagram With a lot of Photoshop thrown in.

Plain brick path

Bricks using vibrance adjustment

Bricks-hue adjustment

Using contrast and exposure adjustment

Plugging along

Upside down, but …

http://www.blurb.com/images/uploads/catalog/70/167570/2025509-629e613087368b0b167e9b96d5711020.jpg

James Koehler’s book

Because of a family visit, I probably won’t be posting for a couple of weeks. Busy visiting. Right now? You know, the housework stuff that needs to be done. My favorite thing.

A weaving world update: I cut the piece off the loom; it’s basking on the floor as we speak. I’m not totally sure about it yet. Seems a bit plain. Maybe some embellishment? This piece is wide and kind of narrow. I will be trying out a new hemming method that I read about in James Koehler’s book Woven Color. We’ll see how that works out, but not for a couple of weeks. Plus, I am finally stitching those weather pieces to linen, which I will glue to a canvas–the linen, not the weaving. Afterwards, I think I’ll put them in painted frames for a bit of color. By the way, I Googled Woven Color to find a wonderful page of brightly colored pictures. The book is available on Amazon.

In case you don’t receive my monthly (kind of) newsletter, here’s the link I’m doing a series of short articles about color. This month’s color is indigo blue.

Link to most recent newsletter.

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Making a decision

The taupe is too yellowy in this picture.

I went to Cutting Corners and bought taupe and gray linen on Monday. I’ve written about Kirsten Glasbrook’s book before and her method for mounting and framing a small tapestry. I have decided to try her method, except for the blockboard, I am going to substitute archival foam board. I now have the new linen colors and the black I already had on hand. In Glasbrook’s book, she mentions using watered down acrylic paint on the linen. If I don’t like the colors I have, there may be some painting happening around here.

By the way, I love both the whimsical and more serious tapestries that Kirsten weaves.

In the meantime, I suddenly remembered these boots that I bought on sale at DSW. They are Chookas, although they are now to be known as Snake/Fireant Protectors. Not as comfy as my New Balance shoes, but right now these boots have the advantage.