Category Archives: Uncategorized

Woven glass, temporary shelters and weaving, of course!

imageNo pictures of the latest dyed yarns, but today will be spent finishing up on the piece that’s on the loom. Gee, how long has it been since I’ve done any weaving? Then the yarns will need to be balled up. I always like to do that in front of mindless TV, since balling yarns is such a mindless activity. Along with that, I’m working on a couple of designs based on the colors in the painting of the previous post. These samples come from using Color Schemer to pick colors from a photo. They have color schemes already developed by others—wonder what kind of design would develop from using one of the preplanned schemes?imageI saw an ad for the Haven Gallery on the back cover of American Style magazine that caught my attention. The gallery is touting kimonos and woven glass in the ad, although it’s over by now. Below is a YouTube video via CBS about the process. It’s pretty interesting. In fact, I think I’ve watched it before, but it’s still interesting. Of course, they don’t reveal their secret for weaving glass!

The images below come from the Woven Glass website.

 

A Harvest of Temporary Shelters article and slide show. The pictures depict some really beautiful sculptures of what is intended to be temporary shelter. Take a look at all the slides and see the diversity of the designs and materials.

“Gathering,” by Dale Suttle, So Sugita and Ginna Nguyen of New York.

Credit: Courtesy of Sukkah City

Cowboy songs

imageAn integrated cowboy crew at mealtime on the Merkeson Ranch in Texas in the 1890s.image

When I saw this article pop up about cowboys and their songs, I was interested. After all, I live in cowboy country and close to a city that calls itself Cowtown. Don Edwards is mentioned in the article along with the White Elephant Saloon. I have to admit, I’ve spent a lot of time in the White Elephant Saloon on the “northside.” For the tourists, that area is called the Stockyards, and indeed, remnants of the stockyards are present today, along with wooden sidewalks and old remodeled saloons. I can remember many, many years ago when that area was a high-crime area and seeing a man staggering on the sidewalk with a knife wound in his side. Now it’s safe and is the go-to place for locals and tourists. Of course, the locals are more the college kids, and I passed that long ago! If you visit the page, take a listen to the songs there by Don Edwards. If I remember correctly, Don is originally from New York, came to Texas, and began his study of the cowboys songs and their history. Below is a quote from his website.

An historian, author, and musicologist, unusually wee-versed in cowboy lore and musical traditions, Don brings a rare compliment of knowing and loving his craft. Mostly though, there is the soul of a poet; a man who has never succumbed to the temptations of presenting a glamorized or romanticized version of the West.

And since I usually write about weaving, while looking for songs by Don Edwards, I found this one called Navajo Rug by Ian Tyson. Frankly, my only interest in listening was the title, although I am familiar with Ian Tyson. He does a nice job.

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Navajo Rug

Cartoon

Swirl_cartoon

A sketch of this has been in my sketchbook for years, but last week while sitting in waiting rooms, I worked on it some more. It may or may not become a woven piece, but the cartoon is ready and is hanging on a door in the studio with masking tape behind the corners.

Several years ago I bought a roll of vellum that has a grid of 4 squares per inch. I tried to draw what I had sketched out and then drawn on 10 squares per inch graph paper. If you look at the close-up, it’s not pretty. You can see where I had to draw over lines with white poster paint, trying to block some earlier lines out.

The numbers are for me to count sections which will become the colors I plan to use. Those colors are will include some of the ones below, plus a few extras. On the left, will be some blue/violet combinations. On the right, the pale colors will be deleted and the oranges will move to yellow. I’ll live with the cartoon for a while and dye the needed yarns in the meantime. Orange_to_purple

Friday and Saturday were all about appliances—deliveries and installation. You know what it’s like waiting for people to come and do things in the house? That’s what I did—wait and wait. But the new fridge is great and a kitchen stove that actually has a timer that works? Lights that indicate it’s on? Heaven! My old one was over 30 years old, so I guess it was about time, right? And finding a refrigerator without all those water/ice things on the outside took a bit of shopping. Now, we can just hope that everything will last another 30 years!

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My guilty secret

imageI don’t read books that are classified as “romance”. Usually, that is. At the library a couple of weeks ago I picked up The Search by Nora Roberts. Now I’ve heard about Roberts—I mean, how could you not, she’s such a prolific writer. I’ve even read one or two of her J.D.Robb books (her pseudonym), but didn’t enjoy them much. From the blurb, the plot appealed to me. A bit of mystery in a locale not familiar to me. As I read, I learned about dog training, search and rescue dog teams, and a little about Orcas island. All in all an interesting book with humor, and yes, romance. At least it’s not the bodice-ripping kind of romance! Now that I’ve read this one, I have picked up two others because of the interesting material that pertains to the plot. Currently I’m reading Black Hills, chosen because of my travels there a few years ago. I’m sure that part of my choosing these books is also because of the ennui I seem to be experiencing lately. Whatever, they’re interesting now, and this too shall pass.

Around town there are billboards advertising the Amon Carter Museum. While we were there the other evening, I asked about the painting used on the billboard. It is very appealing to me and I’m not sure why exactly. I mean, after all, it does have pink in it! It almost looks like it’s done with pastels even though it was painted with oils.

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Morton Schamberg (1881–1918)
Figure, 1913
Oil on canvas
1984.16

When technology drives you nuts…

I have one of those clunky TVs that weighs about a 1000 pounds. There is no cable or satellite in this household, and the switch to digital really did not make me a happy TV watcher. Recently a message came from Netflix that my plan was going up, but there are lots of free movies and TV shows that I can stream. All of this is the lead in to the new television technology out there. I am learning about refresh rates, devices that attach to your TV for streaming movies directly from services like Netflix. There’s dpi, LCD, LED, plasma, you name it. Then there’s the issue of antennas. Outside or indoors. What about size? I already know that one of those giant TVs is not for me. The one I’m watching now is only 24 inches, so what do I want with a 50 inch television?

So, for those times when technology drives you nuts, watch the video below. I didn’t find this myself. It was on Weaverly, but too funny not to pass on.

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When technology is just too much…

More printmaking

Friday was another hands-on workshop day at the Kimbell, this one a printing one.

Hieroglyphs from the Yucatan

A block-printing activity on Huun Yucatan paper encourages a closer look at how Maya artists achieved the harmonious integration of hieroglyphs, figures, and decorative borders.

Because of its relationship to the Maya exhibit and since I have never done any linoleum printing, I was really looking forward to the workshop. After an overview slide show and a tour by one of the docents, we received “linoleum” blocks like these from Dick Blick. The cutters we used were similar to these, also from Dick Blick. The ink we used was water soluble, spread with an inexpensive brayer, although I understand there are other tools for this.

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We were encouraged to incorporate a part of the graphics seen in the Mayan works that we looked at, similar to this one.

imagePanel with a seated ruler in a watery cave (Cancuen Panel 3), AD 795, Cancuen, Guatemala. Limestone, 22 5/8 x 26 1/4 x 3 in. (57.5 x 66.5 x 7.6 cm). Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes—Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, Guatemala City. Courtesy Peabody Essex Museum, photograph © 2009 Jorge Pérez de Lara.

Cutting the linoleum is not the easiest of tasks. Choose simple designs! I enjoyed the whole experience, and may try it again, but for now, too many other things are calling my name. By the way, the huun Yucatan paper is beautiful. image

You can read a little about how it’s prepared and see more pictures here.

If you visit the museum site, try your hand at the glyph game—an adapted memory/concentration game.

A day

A purchase from Convergence 2010. I’m looking forward to hanging this soon. The link for purchase is below in the blurb.image

Handwoven’s wall calendar for 2011 (12” x 12” pages) will enrich your weaving year. Glorious photos of selected Handwoven projects will inspire you each month. Important weaving dates are noted for you, such as regional conferences and sheep and wool shows. You’ll also find interesting tidbits from weaving history—everything you need to make 2011 your year to weave!

Yesterday started early and not very auspiciously. Every night before I go to bed, I prepare the coffee for the next morning. The coffee maker is set on a timer to come on early each morning. Coffee for me is espresso with a cup of skim milk, so I guess that makes it café con leche, right? Thursday started early because of the planned errands and doctors’ appointments. So, what greets me upon walking into the kitchen? My espresso all over the countertops and floor! I had forgotten to put the cup on the coffee maker to catch the coffee! Not a good way to start the day. I had also forgotten to do the laundry the day before, so the washer had to be started quickly—I really did not want to have to dress in damp clothes for the day.

The long day was topped off with an interesting program at the Amon Carter Museum about Leon Polk Smith and lithography. An overview of Smith was presented, followed by a program about the lithography process in the auditorium. The focus was on the Tamarind Institute, which is now in Albuquerque. It was really quite interesting, and as usual, I want to know more! Below is a video of the process. And as usual, I came home quite inspired and ready to do some designing.

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Lithography process

When the day requires sitting in waiting rooms, I always take my “toys”, which includes the current read, my sketchbook, and a pencil. I now have my next piece planned using the yarns from the current project—hope there’s enough! There’s enough warp (estimated) still on the loom to do a piece the size of the current one and one more small piece. Then it will be time to warp again. And in anticipation of that, I already have the warp purchased and have received a new counter for the warping wheel from AVL. Now, if I can just remember how to re-attach the counter to wherever it goes!

Doo wah diddlies and how do you know you’re finished?

Mr_FishOr however one might spell it… In my effort to end the siege of the doo wah diddlies, I visited with a friend today, looking at her new artwork. It’s absolutely marvelous, by the way. She asked me if a couple of her pieces were “finished.” I voted for yes. Which leads me to the question: When designing, how do you know when something is finished? In this age of digital cameras and computers, that becomes easier. Pat’s solution was to carefully place the things she was considering and take a picture with her iPhone. You could do the same with your computer. Scan the design or take a picture of it, and play around with the design on the computer. I recently read an article (which no longer seems to be online) about Rachel Brown and her weaving process. She needs a huge palette of yarn as she weaves because her designs evolve in a very painterly fashion. I’ve heard that she used to take pictures with her Polaroid camera of the sections of a weaving before it passed on the the cloth beam and out of sight. Think about how a digital camera improves that process! So, back to the question: How do you know you’re finished? Any special tricks out there?

In the weaving world—now that I’m only a few inches away from finishing the gradations piece—in my head I’ve been designing, using most of the same current colors, but in a different way. Time to get that down on paper, I believe. And I think I’ll go out and measure the hanging, unused warp to see how big a new piece can be, after the current piece is finished.

Ennui

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Louise Bourgeois, Untitled, 2005 (detail). Fabric, 18 x 22 inches © Louise Bourgeois. Courtesy Hauser & Wirth.

 

en·nui (än′wē′, än wē′)

noun

weariness and dissatisfaction resulting from inactivity or lack of interest

This seems to be my state of mind lately. I’m blaming it on my thyroid. The doctor is changing the dosage, and until the next blood test, I won’t know if that really is the reason for my listlessness. 

list·less

adj \ˈlist-ləs\

Definition of LISTLESS

: characterized by lack of interest, energy, or spirit listless melancholy attitude>

But…that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it! Every morning, though, I wake up with enthusiasm that just kind of peters out before too long. I also know that if I were to tackle some dreaded task on the to-do list, some of that listlessness would go away. Will finish up the last few inches on the weaving tomorrow ‘cause weaving always makes everything better.

Mug shots and that’s a likely story

 MugShot1MugShot2

Pictures taken with phone

So, it’s Thanksgiving day and I’m busy in the kitchen, cooking and making the things on my list for the family get-together. The weather has turned cold—remember, it IS Texas, and cold is relative—and there is a possibility of rain. We need to have dry firewood, just in case. I go out to the studio, where the wood-burning stove is, to get the large brass bucket that I put firewood in. Two buckets are nested together, the top one holding kindling. I lift the kindling bucket out and pick up the bottom empty bucket. The empty bucket hits the yarn swift and ricochets back into my cheekbone. It hurt so bad, that I knew immediately there would be a bruise—and there was! Friday the red around my eye appeared and Saturday was a really colorful day! I have no concealer, but it would hurt too much to apply it anyway, so I just go out in public in my colorful self.

I have spent considerable time in the last few days looking at refrigerators, kitchen ranges, dishwashers, and mattresses. So many things to think about! The kitchen stove is the really worrisome item, as the current one is about 40 years old. Lots of measuring has to happen, as I learned when replacing the hot water heater and washing machine. Appliances are much bigger now and don’t always fit into the spaces allotted to them lo those many years ago. Do you know how hard it is to find a fridge that does NOT have those water/ice dispensers on the door? I refuse to have one of those. At any rate, I think I have made the decisions about everything except the mattress. That one is really hard! You can’t really compare prices because there are no apples to apples to compare. Each store has a model that has a different name. I checked Consumer Reports, and even they had a hard time! Maybe I will just continue to make no decision. Part of the problem is that I have an antique iron bedstead in a double bed size. I will either have to find a welder to see if it can be enlarged or get rid of the bed, because I plan to move up to a queen size mattress. What to do, what to do…. And then there’s the additional horror story of getting a new refrigerator and having to clean under where the old fridge was! I’m scared to even think about that one. At least the new refrigerators come with wheels so that one could slide it out for sweeping and mopping—that is if one was so inclined!