Changes, flux, etc

Wari-Johnson

Wari, private collection

Do you ever feel like everything is in flux? That’s where I’ve been for weeks, or maybe months. I seem to flutter back and forth between doing the weft ikat and tapestry, between wider sett and closer sett, between linen, cotton or wool warp. Why can’t I settle down to one thing?

Although I like the heft of the linen warp, but I don’t like working with it. If I stick with 4 epi, I will go back to wool, which also has problems. The Swedish cotton sitting on my shelf is 12/9 and 12/6.

Because of some ideas rolling around in my head, I am thinking of cutting off the linen and putting on a new warp of cotton. Kind of silly, but … Now to decide which sett to use.

By the way, the British dictionary definition of flux: continuous change; instability. Yep, that’s me. I don’t even want to think about the medical definition on the same page.

Do you ever go through these indecisive times? How do you solve it?

Proper–y’all come

Proper Proper on Magnolia hangs art, choosing new art every two months. So that’s where I’m hanging out through March. There will be a small reception Thursday, February 5, 7:00 PM.

Above is a simulation (since I couldn’t get a good picture) of the pieces hanging on the wall. In Fort Worth, we have two up and coming streets that are THE place to be–Magnolia and West Seventh. Both have lots of new restaurants, bars and other nice places to hang out. Magnolia is an old street with lots of two-story red brick buildings. I’ve long thought about using one of those buildings to have a studio. Well, not any more. Real estate in that area has exploded.

These pieces couldn’t be hung in the usual way, since nails could not be used. They have a rail at the top with some sort of covered wire that hangs from the rail. At the end of the wire is a hook that slides up or down as necessary. So, I put D-rings on the back of the boards, but I now wish I had put screw eyes on the top of the board because I think they would hang better that way. Live and learn, as they say.

Velcro

Tangled Velcro

The piece on the left has always hung vertically, but I decided to change that up. Doing that means cutting a new board and attaching Velcro. Someday I’m actually going to order Velcro from Uline, because you can get just the hook part. You can see my Velcro mess here. You would think it would be simple, but it took a bit to get this mess untangled.

In between doing other things, I have warped the Mirrix and have begun testing some yarns. Thinking about making a change. I’ll post pictures next time.

Working like mad…mostly

The weaving of four pieces simultaneously is over. It seemed like it continued. And continued. They’re cut off, but as usual with these small pieces, they didn’t quite turn out like planned, but that’s my fault. I wanted them to be square-ish, but they’re not. I will make them that way.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the Kimbell for a program called Precious Adornments: Figurines in the Ancient Andes. Since I love the ancient cultures of this region, it was a must do. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this is the description of the program:

This talk will focus on small-scale humanlike figurines from early pre-Inca cultures along the western coast and highland Andes of modern-day Peru. These anthropomorphic figurines—created in clay, wood, stone, bone, or shell—range in size from miniature pendants to doll-like effigies. Some of these precious objects were worn, and some were adorned with textiles, shell inlay, or precious stones, thus reflecting differences in their function, value, and meaning.

Wari magnet

Wari magnet

I wish there were pictures, but there aren’t, so I’ll have to resort to one I’ve posted earlier. this is a picture of a magnet that I bought during the Wari exhibition. Hard to believe he’s only 4 inches high. He’s inlaid with shell and stone. A better picture is here.

I plan to get to Peru within the next year or two. Just as soon as my knee is better. And since I’m on the subject of Peru, did you hear about what Greenpeace did? This was so totally unbelievable to me. They put huge letters along side the Nasca hummingbird. No one, not even presidents, are allowed to walk along the Nasca lines, yet these idiots went in there and laid out these huge letters trying to draw attention to the environment. Yes, the environment needs attention, but this? The Nasca lines are a World Heritage Site. Geez! Okay, rant over.

Actually, not a lot of art is being done at the moment. I always have a hard time balancing all the personal stuff/chores, the weaving, and the art biz stuff. It seems I do one or the other. I always plan out my week on Sundays, but it never works. Even though all my appointments are in my phone and online, I still keep a paper calendar book for my everyday planning. So, I get out my phone, look Calendar to see what’s on the calendar for the week, plug those in on paper, and work around that to get my to-do list in place. Someone mentioned they use a color coded spreadsheet, so I decided to try that on my usual calendar. Using colored pencils, I lightly colored in blocks. It looks good, but will it work? Who knows. And even if it does, how long will that last.

 

 

If only… I would go to NYC

From Amazon

©Sherri Coffey-Journey

This was designed in the “Matisse way.” Everything was cut out of paper and arranged to make the design.

 

 

 

 

 

 

February is probably not the best time to travel to NYC, but I seriously considered a quick, two-day trip to see the exhibition Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs at MOMA.  Matisse has been a favorite artist of mine for a good long time. I have written, or at least mentioned him often. When I analyze the reason for this admiration, I think it boils down to color. He definitely has a way with color! So, since I am seriously considering a long trip to Peru in the fall, I passed up on going to New York, even though flights and rooms were reasonably priced. I just went to a film about the exhibition instead.

The film was held on one night only, in one local theater only, but it was well worth it to get out in the cold, blustery wind. At night, no less! The film includes additions that would not be available at the actual exhibition (maybe?), such as a segment of ballet, including how it was filmed, a segment on a chapel which Matisse designed, and film of how the exhibition groupings were decided by the curator. I have to admit that I never knew he designed a chapel, and it’s wonderful! Here is an image of my favorite of the many stained glass windows he designed.

One could say that I’ve been consumed by this exhibition. I admit it. I bought the exhibition catalog, but there is no way that it could compare to the film. The pictures on a page of a book in no way allow one to see the scope of the cut-outs. The cut-outs are huge, and are much more impressive when seen on a wall, in context with the rest of cut-outs. But in defense of the book, which I have not examined thoroughly, there is more detailed information about the materials Matisse used. Of course, in the film, there were actual clips of Matisse cutting, of his assistants placing the cut-outs on the wall, and rearranging them at the direction of Matisse.

I am inspired once again, eager to do some designing. I came home all revved up after the viewing. I know I am not alone in this. Other artists have commented to feeling the same. By the way, I have always heard that Matisse started making the cutouts because he couldn’t see well. That was debunked in the film.

 

Baby, it’s cold outside

Yep, bitterly cold. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to stay home and hibernate–the best thing about cold weather, and I’m digging deep for that.

Here’s what’s on the loom. My four-at-a-time weaving, and I’m not sure I’m a fan of weaving like this.

4-at-a-time

In order, here’s the inspiration for these pieces. As you can see, I’ve taken some liberties with the colors in these weather maps. They’re all weather maps for my area in Texas.

Weather-maps In other news, I have recently taken Alyson Stanfield’s Organize Your Business class. I still need to tackle my image files, but everything else is pretty organized. One of the good things about this class is the Facebook group for the class members. It’s nice to know that you’re not alone. One of the lessons was about staying organized. That means mindfulness, paying attention to where you’re putting things down. That’s my biggest issue.

For a great 2015

Winter Stripe, hand-dyed wool yarns, handwoven rug, 65" x 36.5" ©Sherri Coffey all rights reserved

Winter Stripe, hand-dyed wool yarns, handwoven rug, 65″ x 36.5″ ©Sherri Coffey all rights reserved ©Sherri Coffey-Summer Stripes

The title for this piece seems appropriate for the weather this New Year’s Day, although I really do like the colors. This striped piece was woven soon after the Summer Stripe piece, which made a title very easy for me. And maybe I should say this, but both pieces were woven because I had no idea what I wanted to weave next AND to use up yarns on hand.

Does everyone know about the tradition here in Texas to eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day? Frankly, any black-eyes that aren’t fresh just doesn’t cut it for me, so I was lucky that I had some fresh ones (with snaps!) in the freezer. In case you want to try out some for yourself, the local newspaper had an article and recipes from the Cowgirl Chef (Ellise Pierce) to help. Below is a quote from the article preceding the recipes. The boldface is mine, but you can see the mindset in this part of the world.

Every New Year’s Day, my mom calls me in the afternoon and the first thing she’ll say is, “Have you eaten your peas?” Because by then she certainly has — along with jalapeño cornbread made in a cast-iron skillet, just like always.

Last year, I didn’t eat a single black-eyed pea, and I had one of the worst years I can remember. I lost someone I once loved, I lost someone I still love, and in the middle of it all, I packed and unpacked and moved around four times — all while trying to find a new place to live on the other side of the world.

Time-a few minutes here, a few minutes there

Spirograph

I add the image on the side, just in case you want to waste a few minutes. Remember Spirograph? It’s a toy that I could never do quite right because I would always skip a cog or something, and being the perfectionist that I am (in certain areas only), that did it for me. Here’s a virtual one. No skipped cogs!

No weaving has been done during this past week, just a family bowling trip, the new Hobbit movie (my first Hobbit anything, not my favorite genre), seeing the Mythbuster exhibit at the museum and family time.

Watercolor and Inktense pencils have been discovered, along with basket weaving (not a success, but it was fun painting the paper, a la Jackie Abrams). There’seven a Pinterest page for Inktense. Inktense-Watercolor

So, now you have a few more ways to waste a few minutes by clicking on all the links here. Because, really, don’t you need to relax with nothingness for a while?

 

That busy time

We all know how busy this time of the year is. No exception here, especially now that my house is full of extra people, but I am so fortunate that they are able to fly here and stay for ten days. My house is not decorated for Christmas and not many decorations will go up at all. It’s all about the family time and enjoying the moment. Of course, I have done a bit of Christmas prep. In the buying gifts department.

These scarves are felted with alpaca on silk and come from Deanna Curry-Elrod at Sapphire Sky scarves2 scarves .

I discovered her scarves while in Golden. I bought one similar to this one and have received so many compliments, that I wanted one for my daughter. My sister also wanted one also, so Deanna was kind enough to order the silk and create two ones for me. Now if they’ll just get here by Christmas!

The towels here were woven by my friend Margaret Humphries. Aren’t they beautiful?

Margaret's-towels

The one on the right is from that book that folks (weavers that do this kind of thing, certainly not me!) have been talking about, Echo and Iris. These towels just make me smile. It will be hard to give away even one of these!

A wish for everyone is to be able to spend time with loved ones.

 

Plans change

Printer-stand

The week did not go as intended. There has been no weaving during the Great Office Clean-up. Sorting through papers and filing is sooo tedious to me. And so is what I’m weaving right now, at least so far. I took a picture of the before, but I’m too embarrassed to show it to anyone, so I’ll include one thing that’s been driving me nuts. All the cables from the printer, modem, router, phone, external backup drive–there may even be strange cables from off the street. It’s hard to tell they’re such a tangled mess. I got what is probably intended as a rolling cart for the kitchen and loaded it up. Even added photo paper, copy paper, labels, printer ink, and it still looks good. And no cables!!! And I love having all my supplies right there. Humans-since-1982

 

In addition to the office stuff, I went through magazines. In the October Architectural Digest innovators issue, I found a picture that interested me graphically. It was the illustration in a 1/2 page article about Humans since 1982.  Follow that link and see the kinetic sculpture of clocks. It’s kind of like synchronized swimming. It’s worth a visit and wont’ take long.

So, what will I tackle this week? THE STUDIO. More tedium. After that I really do plan to weave. Each piece of the four on the loom has so many butterflies that I got plastic bags to house each cartoon and its butterflies.

Four at a time

Weather-pieces-4 Four at a time. Remember the fairy tale about whoever killing X number of flies (or something) at once?  Above are four weather pieces on the loom. I haven’t really decided the best way to handle weaving four pieces at once, although in order to use the beater, I probably need to stay in the same place on each, as in number of picks. Only the hems have been woven so far, but already there are problems with the linen warp. I pulled the loose ones and retied the knots on the front apron, which made the hems uneven, so that still has to be straightened out. Seriously thinking of going back to wool warp!

The design has been marked. This is the one second to the right.

The design has been marked. This is the one second to the right.

The design has been marked. This is the one on the far left.

The design has been marked. This is the one on the far left.

The plan for the rest of the month is to clear up the clutter in my office. As a treat to myself and for my sanity, I am going to weave a couple of hours per day

By the way, I’ve got a strange problem with my iCloud photos. When I click on the picture on my computer, a different picture opens up. Capture For instance, I clicked on the one image on the left, and here’s what opened up. Weird!©Sherri Coffey-ZigZag