Sherri Woodard Coffey

Blues Interrupted

34.5 x 71 inches

Well, it’s happened again. Real life and the ideas popping around in my head are in conflict. Guess the good thing about that is that there ARE ideas. My dining room has been turned into a new office space to take care of temporary business matters, which I really don’t care, except that’s where I put the warping mill for warping the little loom. It’s also where I do the finish work on pieces once they come off the loom. And I am going to have to warp that little loom for some experiments that I want to do. A solution will come to me…

And then there’s the show that’s coming up. I am the most disorganized that I have ever been when participating in an event. But it’s not like nothing else is going on. Oh, and by the way, a local TV station is coming out to film in the studio Wednesday. What’s up? I clicked my heels together, wiggled my nose, and the studio still needs to be swept of all its lint and wandering threads.

Zig Zag III

This is the way things are going for me right now-zigzag up and zigzag down. I did get some weaving done today before I started tackling all the multitude of lists I have going.

My mother fell last night, and luckily, only broke the lesser orbital bone below here eye and had to have stitches in her nose. I say luckily because it could have been much worse. She has a very colorful face. I could, but won’t publish her colors here—the one here is a stock photo. They’re keeping her in the hospital for a few days to check out why she was dizzy and fell. She is so fortunate also, to have a doctor that still makes rounds, instead of the “hospitalist” that seems to be all the rage now. I am also grateful that I am not an only child. My sisters and I will take turns staying with her until she goes home.

Among all the other details involved with a death, I, finally, today met with my friend Pat to discuss details of our upcoming show together. The above picture is a mock-up of the postcard that we’re working on. Here is the information side:

I would be happy to send a postcard to anyone who would like to receive one. Just send me your address.

In some ways it is good to have tasks that don’t involve what I have been dealing with—all the “stuff” involved after a death. In another way, it’s kind of overwhelming. But my motto has always been, “We do what we have to do.” The tasks that I’ve been dealing with will continue until they end. The tasks required for this show will only last through the opening reception on April 8. Y’all come!

I know that what I am feeling is not new. People have been experiencing grief since the beginnings of time. I am just amazed at how I can rock along, doing pretty well, then the feeling just overtakes me. Gathering all the laundry. Touching a watch band. Passing a favorite restaurant. I am grateful that there are so many good memories and that no words were left unsaid. Remembering the riverboat ride in New Orleans. Walking back to the hotel from a bar in Oaxaca where we had waaay too much to drink. Good conversations. Discussing politics. Sitting outside watching the cardinals bring the fledglings to the feeder. Cuddling. Just plain enjoying each other. The anticipation of the evening homecoming. Reading separately but together. Days spent on the lake fishing. There are so many things that I can appreciate and be grateful for. But, damn it, I wasn’t ready for it to end! I know that I have to now develop a new routine, create new ways of doing things, stay busy but find time to grieve. Time.

Okay, I know this probably isn’t really considered blue, especially since I titled it Purple Haze (Reflection). I am including it here because it won an honorable mention at the Materials: Hard & Soft juried show. Take a look at the page and see all of the winners. I am in really good company!As someone who used to do lots of natural dyeing, the words below caught my eye. Now if only the name of the plant was given. I’m really curious about that. This article came from HandEye magazine. You might want to go there and read the whole piece.

The brilliance of Rishtan blue comes from a wild plant whose small branches are picked in autumn and burned to ash to provide the main ingredient of the blue glaze.  During Soviet Time, the factory used commercial lead glazes and the local recipes were nearly lost, but older local master potters remembered and in the 1990s revived the techniques. Now lead-free and fired at a higher temperature than most earthenware, Rishtan ceramics are both delicate and sturdy.  (I can attest to that – three teapots and six cups made it safely home, rolled up in a suzani in my checked baggage.)

The other interesting piece of this is about the process that dyes out when commercial products enter the picture. Many traditions have been lost because of commercial dyes being introduced. Michele Wipplinger of Earthues has gone all over the world helping indigenous peoples revive their natural dye tradition.

Saturday I took a break from my hospital duties and went to the camera class that I had signed up for at out locally-owned camera store. It was called Buttons and Knobs, and was about all the confusing mass of who-knows-what on the Nikon D90 camera that I bought. We got a review of f stops, shutter speed and ISO. Actually, ISO was probably not a review, but something brand new, arriving with digital cameras. There was a very nice handout that showed the correlation of f stops to shutter speed and how if you change one of those, how to change its counterpart.

More moons ago than I can count, I took a photography class in one of those between-semester-three-week sessions. Besides art history (which I loathed!), this was pretty much the only art class I had, since I was a Spanish/Education major. The photography class was full of art majors, who promptly informed me that taking this class was really going to mess up my grade point because no one in art classes got an A. Each student was given a key to the darkroom and assignments. I don’t remember much about any lectures—if we had any—but we must have, because I have a vague memory of being confused by         f stops and shutter speed. This was waaay before digital cameras.

The first assignment was simply “windows.” Assignments such as that one really make one be more observant and thoughtful. I had never before noticed so much about windows, from the style, to the shadows, to the displays and posters in the windows. Other assignments were self-portraits as a member of the opposite sex and as inanimate objects, and pictures (with essays) that we would take to prison with us for the rest of our lives. All film was black and white, which we developed in the university darkroom. However, embarrassingly, the highlight of the class for me was a trip to the Northside Coliseum, where “wrasslin” was held. The instructor for the class, a photographer from England, loved one of my prints. He helped me project the negative on the wall to photographic paper so that I had a poster of two of the female wrestlers. They are shown at the top of this post, although it is not that particular shot.

Those types of assignments were very thought-provoking and might be good ones to give myself as a tapestry weaver—kind of a variation on a them idea.

Currently I am having the opportunity to do lots of hanging out in the hospital. As much as everything has changed, there’s one thing that stays the same: You can get NO rest in the hospital! In this hospital, there is a bright pink paper with the message that rounds are made every hour. You know, the part where they wake you up to see if you’re sleeping? To take your vitals, etc. But there are some good changes made since the last time I had any experience with hospitals, besides all those that involve technology. In the patient room is a whiteboard on the wall, where with every shift change, the RN, Tech, and charge nurse assigned to you, write their names and pager numbers. Quite convenient, I must say. When IVs run out, the machine beeps until it is changed or stopped. The room where we are spending so much time is quite large with a private bath, and since we are on the eighth floor, quite a view of the downtown area of Fort Worth. Actually, that view is best at night when all the lights of the city are shining brightly.

In order to try and placate my low threshold for boredom, I am bringing a piece or two to do the finish work on during breaks from reading and watching cable (which I don’t have at home). All of this happens between the hourly rounds and helping the patient. I have also learned that taking advantage of the valet service is the way to go, so that I can take my “toys” up to the room without walking from the parking garage.

I learned long ago when my daughter was hospitalized with a serious case of pneumonia, everyone needs an advocate. Doctors come by when the patient is sleeping and can’t focus on whatever the doc is saying. Some special task needs to be met and the patient is too tired or sick to request it. Not long ago, I actually heard a doctor speak about patient advocates. He said, as sad as it may be, the patient who has someone asking about the test that was supposed to be done at 2:00 and it’s now 5:00, is more likely to receive better care.

If we’re lucky, we all have an advocate in our lives. That person who encourages you, boosts your morale, is honest about your work or anything else where a good dose of honesty is needed, whether it involves appreciation or criticism. That person who supports your efforts, who appreciates you. And if we’re really lucky, we have several advocates in our life.

Now—back to my book ….

This is the occasional newsletter that I send out, so if you’ve read this, my apologies. There is one new part below in bold purple print.

Purple Haze (Reflection)

Ancient Symbols II

Even though the weather is gorgeous now, I hear we’re in for another bout of winter. Time to bring more firewood into the studio! I feel bad even dreading the next blast of winter here in Texas, considering what the rest of the country has had to endure this winter.

In the news…

If you’re going to be in the Denton area, the Materials: Hard and Soft show opens Friday, February 4, 6-8 PM at the Meadows Gallery, 400 E Hickory. The pieces pictured above will be hanging in the gallery. The invitation postcard says that hors d’oeuvres and spirits will be served. The show will end April 3. Here is a link for more information. Because of our icy weather, the opening for this was cancelled, AND I was notified that I have received a juror’s award for Purple Haze (Reflection). I was disappointed about the opening, but the award is great! I am looking forward still to seeing the show.

Studio happenings…

This piece has just been cut off the loom and is pictured with all of its loom fuzz along with all the weft and warp threads hanging around. All of the warp threads (those are the white ones on the ends) will need to be worked into the body of the piece with a needle. And, I have to admit, Procrastination is my middle name when it comes to finish work. Here is the to-scale drawing that I used for this project.

The writing indicates the colors that were to be used for each section, written as dye formulas. I was nearing the end of the warp on the loom, so the piece had to be shortened a bit from the drawing. Running out of warp also means that putting a new warp on the loom is my current project. Usually a warp of about 30-33 yards is put on the loom at a time. A warp of that length will last about a year or a bit longer, depending on the length of the various pieces.

More news…

I’ve put a new calendar page on my website, since there are two new shows coming up. Both are with my friend Pat Souder, who makes wonderful masks. Here’s just one of her pieces. You have to see these in person! They’re great!

If you would like to receive an actual real-life postcard (gasp!) about the upcoming shows, please send me an address. And, along those lines, if you’d rather not be receiving these occasional messages or if you are receiving double messages, please let me know. I will either remove your email addie from the list or clean up the extras.

And is it redundant to use forecast and future in the same sentence?

Well, since winter is not yet over, I am sure you are very busy planning your Fall 2011 wardrobe. Well, at least someone has been. Take a look at the Pantone fashion colors for fall 2011.

And, just in case you’re not quite ready to plan for Fall 2011, below are your Spring 2011 colors. If you follow the link, and scroll over the color, you will see a “fashion” using that color. I could live without the pinks in either forecast, but have to admit that the fall colors kind of appeal to me. Oh, sorry, should’ve said “honeysuckle.” Wonder why the fashion colors and home colors aren’t more closely aligned? Actually maybe they are. One cannot access interior colors without paying a huge amount to buy the forecast.

Here’s the good news for all you fashionista weavers and dyers. Pro Chemical already has the dye formulas ready for you in both MX and Washfast dyes. Click on the link for a PDF of the numbers. This is Fall 2011 below.