Sherri Woodard Coffey

Give a kid a camera, and you’ve got lots of interest in the things around him. We went to the Dallas Arboretum to see the Chihuly installations. I could hardly keep up with these little boys as they tried to get their best shot, not only of the glass pieces but also of dragonflies and each other (in accidentally inappropriate poses, of course—they are little boys). But no matter, I was glad to see them interested in arty stuff.

After a hot, muggy walk through the arboretum, we drove back to Fort Worth for some rice and beans at Benito’s (no website for them). The staff loves to see these boys come in because they really, really love their rice and beans with tortillas.

The boys are helping me do a few things while they are here. One thing we did was clean some bookshelves, sort books, and put the oh-so-many children’s books on these easily accessible shelves. While sorting through a basket of stuff, I found snapshots of the first weft-face piece I ever wove. It was to be a saddle blanket for my father, dyed with cochineal and indigo. That blanket is now faded and well-worn, so I am glad to have this picture. I had never woven anything weft-faced before, so with this weaving, I fell in love with this type of weaving, and still am to this day.

Driving the mower by himself

My son and daughter-in-law arrived last Thursday, with plans to spend time with their nephews, who arrived from Charlotte on Saturday. It’s been busy ever since! Monday was zoo day, always one of the boys’ favorite things to do. I loaned a camera to each boy to record their own version of the zoo visit. We haven’t had a chance to upload their pictures, but soon. In the meantime…

Map reading is important at the zoo

The artificial termite mounds…notice the picture-takers at the fence

Here’s the kind of pictures I tend to take at the zoo—patterns, interesting shapes and shadows.

The color on the walls of the room above is Mango Punch. Scary, but I think this is the color. Thinking I may acutally weave myself some panels for the wall and a rug for the floor. What a concept, weaving for myself! Now if I could just figure out what I’m going to do with the floor. Below is a very bad picture of the current floor and couch. I’ve never gotten tired of the carpet color, but, gee, they don’t seem to make it anymore. Most wood nowadays comes prefinished, and good luck matching what you have. The other option is get it unfinished and have both the new finished and old refinished. What does one do with the furniture during the week or so that all this finishing is going on? I don’t think I’m up for the disruption.

I read about Ellsworth Kelly and his new exhibit in the WSJ. Probably the reason it caught my attention (besides being about an artist), is that I associate his name with what reminds me of a giant question mark. That piece resides at the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth. And I don’t care if the title is Curved Red on Blue, I still think of it as a question mark. The piece below is from the Amon Carter Museum’s website, although the actual piece may be at the Whitney. ????? I put this here because design-wise, a similar idea for weaving has been bouncing around in my head.
But back to Ellsworth Kelly…Reading about how artists work is always interesting to me. Kelly says that drawing is his notation for ideas. “All my paintings are usually done in drawing form, very small. I make notations in drawings first, and then I make a collage for color. But drawing is always my notation.”

Over the years, I have grumbled about the yard work, even though I really do like to mow; it’s my exercise. Last Thursday I walked out to the really tall area, planning to mow 30 minutes. (By the way, it’s already hot in the mornings here and some of this stuff is taller than I am.) I lasted 10 minutes and then went inside and made some phone calls. Martín Raya came on Friday morning, gave me a price, and returned Saturday morning at 8 with two other guys armed with chainsaws and other monster equipment. I wish I had taken a before picture, although that would have been very embarrassing. All I got is the after picture with everything in their trailer ready to be hauled off. And, yes, I know it would have made a wonderful compost, but jeez, look at how much stuff is there! And part of it is small trees! Back when I was looking for help around the house, Angie’s List had a special on membership, and I grabbed it. I narrowed down my search for two companies, and Verde could get to my mess first.

In addition to my whining about yard work, there’s the whining about interior decorating. I may have made a decision there. Stay tuned! Then maybe I can get back to the weaving part of my life.

Which do you think is most important? Or do you have another one to add to the list? At least Think is first, but some of us overthink. I like the Live colorfully, something that is actually driving me crazy at the moment, since I am overthinking about color for walls and floors. In fact, I went back for more paint samples today. There will be enough paint to put nice stripes on my walls by the time I make a decision. By the way, this graphic came from Maria Killam’s Color Me Happy blog.

Why is this sooooo hard? For someone who works with color, you would think I could make some color decisions for my house. It is time to replace the carpet and sofa. I am not tired of the color of either the carpet or sofa, but wear is evident. But replacing carpet requires at least thinking about the sofa color and the paint for the walls. So, around and around I go. Originally, I wanted a purple sofa, but then I got the Happy Chair. That means rethinking everything—again. Back and forth, back and forth. Grrrrr….!

I also like the color of the piece below. Even though, it’s a buffet, I thought I could use it for the TV and all the stuff that goes with it. And if worst comes to worst, I could always use it in the dining room as the buffet that it is.

The picture at the top is of all the paint samples I painted. They certainly don’t look anything like the samples below which came directly from the Benjamin Moore website. Directly above is a clip from ColorSchemer. In this Color Schemer harmony, the dark rust is the dominant color from which the others are considered to “go with.” All is just food for thought. And this clip is just a few of the choices!

Georgian Brick                                                                     Albuquerque Teal

Carrington Beige                                                                      Wheeling Neutral

Sweet Butter                                                                     Rich Cream

     Straw

It continually amazes me how many interesting articles I find in the Wall Street Journal. Thursday’s paper was especially interesting to weavers because they featured Scandinavian textiles. We know about the great linens, but most of us don’t think of rugs, unless they’re rag.

MMF AB/Archive Ursula, Relief pile rug

This image is of an tufted rug, but woven rugs are mentioned, along with the studios/companies that make them. Here are just a few that are mentioned in the article:

• Just Scandinavian
• Kasthall
• Märta Måås-Fjetterström

Here’s a quote about the last company above (the emphasis  is mine):

With an archive of several hundred designs dating as far back as its founding in 1919, Märta Måås-Fjetterström employs about a dozen weavers who use hand-dyed wool and wooden looms to fashion some 40 made-to-order carpets a year.

The line, named for its founder, a Swedish artist who died in 1941, is based in Båstad, on Sweden’s southwestern coast. Calling upon a library of around 1,000 different colors, a single carpet may call to mind a southern Swedish apron, a central Asian tent and a Paul Klee painting. Select rug patterns of 9 feet by 12 feet can cost more than $100,000.

Did you notice the price? I did the math…that’s about $925/sq. foot.

Now, about those rag rugs…take a look at this website that features Scandinavian rag rugs. I love the one featured on the home page! Take a look.

This topic is not as off the wall as it may seem. Many years ago the Botanical Research Institute of Texas worked with fourth grade students in the study of the Texas prairie. At that time, I came to really appreciate our native grasses, and over the years, have come to the conclusion that many of the plants we try to maintain in our landscaping are a huge waste of resources.

Enter the huge fires we had in Texas last summer. I became obsessed and even wove a piece because of the fires.

Midnight Fire, 30×48 inches

Then, in thinking of basic elements, I tried to think of a design to illustrate wind, which led to wind in out native grasses. That piece has been drawn out, but the colors are still incubating. It probably won’t look like a prairie by the time I get through with it; we all know how I like bright colors! So, I guess the real topic here is inspiration and how it comes from many sources. And speaking of color, the Red Yucca is gorgeous this year! And by the way, if you ever get a chance to see an exhibit of Eliot Porter’s photographs, go! The Amon Carter has a great collection.

 

Images of Texas grasses

High Country Gardens

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Weston Gardens

Native Plant Society of Texas