Sherri Woodard Coffey

Have you ever searched for an image of chaos? Most were mythical creatures, perhaps from video games. The ones above are the only ones that made any sense to me. And, as I look at them, I kind of like the one on the right. Hmmm…what does that say about me?

So, why am I searching for images of chaos? Because that’s my life right now. I’ve mentioned before that I am designing a new life for myself, and it’s definitely a work in progress. The hardest part seems to be in finding new routines. For the first time ever, there are no routines that come from outside sources, unless you want to count night and day.

I am a great list maker and can plan a project with a multitude of steps, but implementation is a problem. So, I have taken a big step—called a professional organizer. The hope is that someone else will see the first string to start pulling. She will come out weekly until we finish the areas in most desperate need of help. One of the most helpful things she said to me was that most people who work from home have some of these same issues about routine. I am not alone!

Now for some GOOD chaos–Janet Austin has written about her series of tapestries called Chaos. In this blog post, she writes about all of them and includes pictures of each. I would really like to see them in person. If you’re close by, you can see the one above at the East Greenwich Free Library until January 6. You can see all her tapestry photos grouped together here. Fascinating—I love seeing how people work! There is also a Kilim tapestry series, which I don’t remember seeing before. 

For years I have been using a method to tie on my warp called the Nyquist method. I wrote (and included pictures) about it here in 2009. Now, when I do a search for the method, I found a book by her which is open for all. That method worked fine while I was using the 4-ply wool warp, but the last time I warped, I put on 30 yards or so of 12/9 Swedish cotton doubled. While weaving with the cotton, some of the warp threads in some of the bouts, were getting loose. That means going back to the ol’ tried and true traditional way of tying on the warp, but that cotton is tough and hard on the fingers. Thank goodness for Johnson & Johnson and their tough tape. Maybe my fingers won’t have blisters now. I have heard tapestry weavers talk about about seine twine, and I have no idea if this Swedish warp is the same stuff. Next time I warp, I am going to try some linen.

Wait! is it December 5 already? Can’t be!

Midnight Fire

29.5 x 48 in.

The past week has been pretty busy. I got the fire piece finished, all those many warp ends woven in. It has been shipped. Did I mention how obsessed I was with the wildfires this past summer?

Pieces were also shipped to the Ann Street Gallery in NY, where I was honored to be asked to participate in a tapestry exhibit, Woven Stories: Contemporary Tapestries. If you click on the gallery link, they’ve got an amazing slideshow of tapestries. I am always amazed by the works of tapestry weavers. Work that I can’t even imagine doing.

And, speaking of tapestry weavers, I just read the latest issue of Tapestry Topics from American Tapestry Alliance. It’s all about wedge weave. If you aren’t a member, please consider joining. The newsletter is great! The website as undergone some substantial improvements that are just wonderful. Check it out.

The very occasional, once-in-a-great-while newsletter went out, AND I figured out how to do real sign up links. If you look to the right column, you will find a place to put in your email address. Then, in six months or so, one of those newsletters will arrive. I also added buttons on my website and Facebook page.

On the home front, I got firewood delivered, so now I can have a nice, warm fire in the studio while I weave. Saturday I got new cartoons enlarged, so now I’ve a couple of options about what I weave next. I go to FedEx Office for that. I’ve noticed that there’s a big difference between the ease and turnaround time in getting these enlargements done, depending on the available employee. Dare I say it—the women seem to get this done much more efficiently. The last time I had this done (by a male employee), I got home and half the design was missing. So, just as I was ready to get to work, I was driving back to town instead.

This poster is double-sided, but the side above is my favorite. It can be found at Dick Blick or Amazon. This is a close-up of the poster. As you can see, for each color, the possible ideal color combinations are shown. The opposite side of the poster shows the colors illustrated with quilting fabrics.

It is by Joen Wolfrom. She has many quilting and design books, plus this handy color tool. And, if nothing else, the poster really brightens the studio!

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
― Ira Glass

Right after I wrote the post about exploration, I read another post that seemed to apply to apply and my dissatisfaction with the finished product. It’s the quote above by Ira Glass. I found  it on Tien’s blog via A Moveable Feast. Since the quote is from Ira Glass, that prompted a search for the quote. I found it on Good Reads, but it could probably be found in other places. The piece above is another not very successful piece. To get the angles I wanted, I wove it sideways, but I hemmed the sides. Because of the hems, it doesn’t hang very well and is not good for a rug. I may dig it out and see if it can be salvaged someday, but for now it’s deep in the dark recesses of the closet. And notice how the red lines appear to curve? I have other not successful pieces, but I cut them off early without completing them! They’re lying around with hangtags that explain what went wrong.

I read a post by quilt artist Ann Brauer that really spoke to me. It’s all about pushing yourself to try new things. I have to admit that I don’t know how long it takes for Ann to make a quilt with those tiny pieces of fabric, but I do know about how long it takes me to weave a piece. That means it’s really disappointing when I try something new and it doesn’t work. Then I hesitate to try again and keep on doing what’s familiar. The above ikat piece is not totally successful. I haven’t quite mastered the width of the warp needed for good bubbling and keeping the design.

Maybe this is kind of like my sketchbook ideas. Sometimes I will spend time on an idea, drawing it, coloring it, and it just isn’t worth spending more time on. So, I abandon it, only to look back months later and the see the seed of a more successful idea. This is why I never tear pages out of my sketchbook. I stick magazine clippings of colors and shapes that sometimes become full blown weavings. Since I’ve got a few out-of-the-box ideas, maybe this means I need to get that baby loom warped up and experiment there on a smaller scale. Note to self…just think of it as another sketchbook.

This is what happens when you weave a design sideways. Instead of having the warp ends on the short ends, they are on the side with 48 inches of warp ends times two. It’s only about 30 inches on the short side. Oh, well… I’m also not entirely happy with my selvedges with this design. Will take some practice to get them the way I like them.

I am actually doing the finish work on two pieces before two or three months pass. Will get them photographed next week—that’s the plan anyway.

After I spent all my money at Creations, I then went to the Texas version of the wool festival. I specifically wanted some natural colored wool to spin at night. The idea is to get the spinning wheel out and instead of completely vegging out in front of the TV (something I never did before), I will do some spinning. And since I have no desire to dye shades of gray, I’ll spin it. That’s the idea anyway. Hasn’t happened yet!

I found a squirrel cage made by Hokett Would Work that I just had to take home with me. It’s going to get a workout soon. Hokett’s does not have a website, but here’s an email address: would.work@yahoo.com. He does beautiful work and has all kinds of spinning, weaving tools. In addition to the squirrel cage, I bought a new shuttle. Don’t have a picture of the specific shuttle, but here’s what it looks like—except for the wood. Schacht also makes them.

Poke shuttle

Hockett uses all kinds of exotic woods. In fact the base of the squirrel cage is made of zebra wood, below.

When I was in Austin, there were lots of interesting picture-taking possibilities. Unfortunately, it’s hard to do that driving down the highway. I happened to be in a parking lot when I saw this tableau. And no, don’t have a clue what it represents.

While shopping at Creations, I bought some fat quarters of silk and other pieces of hand-dyed wool, seen above. And, no, I haven’t suddenly taken up quilting or applique. I have another plan in mind, but it has not fully formed, nor have I experimented. If it works (or not), I’ll write about it at that point. But aren’t the colors of the wool beautiful!

The silks are also beautiful. I did not buy a boxed set like the one below, but the color I bought were similar to these. They have many colors in yardage and other boxed collections.

A cave painting of pair of spotted horses, found in the Pech Merle Cave in Cabrerets, southern France. Scientists estimate the drawing, measuring about 4 meters wide by 1.5 meters high, is about 25,000 years old. An ancient DNA study found that Ice Age artists drew horses based on their observations rather than imagination. AP Photo/Center for Prehistory of Pech Merle, P. Cabrol.

This is a wonderful drawing. I love the spots and the way they are also around the the outline of the horse. And look at that proud stance, the angle of their heads. You can see and read the article here.

I wrote the above text several days ago, then amazingly, heard a story from Weekend Edition about these very same horses! The question is, do the drawings reflect what they were seeing or do they reflect imaginary animals. Through DNA testing, scientists have discovered that there really were horses with polka dots! So the drawings of wool mammoths and other extinct animals were based on reality. Gotta love it!