sutton075

A wonderful exhibition of Silvia Heyden's work opened Tuesday night at the  Betty Ray McCain Gallery   This gallery is part of the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh.  What a joy to see these tapestries in person. The exhibition was curated by Lee Hansley and a talk was presented by Silvia's daughter, Francoise Heyden. Francoise discusses Silvia's last two tapestries. From Above Francoise named this tapestry, she explained that Silvia loved to fly and especially enjoyed the view of the clouds from above. A Weaverly Path This was Silvia's last tapestry and was cut off the loom after her death by her family.   Francoise lovingly talked about her mother sitting at the loom staring at this tapestry without the physical strength to engage the treadles and complete the weaving.  The detail below shows the butterflies of yarn and how close to completion it was. Detail - A Weaverly Path The opportunity to view this work up close after vi...

My favorite thing in the world is taking tapestry classes.  It is the jammiest of my jam!  I kept stalking  Ruth Manning's website  to find her woven faces class.  Last May, I gave up waiting for Ruth to come south and signed up for her class at  Lost Art Fiber Studio  in Wisconsin.  I am so glad I did. Last Thursday I flew into Milwaukee and drove to Waukesha.  It is a lovely little town on the Fox river. Friday, we started class with looking at Ruth's work and enjoying freshly baked pumpkin scones and coffee Nancy lovingly provided. Ruth's work reflects a joy and vibrancy that I love and of course her use of wedge weave with traditional techniques drew me right in. Ruth brought an amazing variety of colors and textures for us to work with and got us started on our woven faces. She demonstrated various techniques and because the class was small, provided lots of personal attention. Not having a drawing or art background, I had trouble with p...

It is a challenge to describe this tapestry's path from conception to fruition.  It started with the fabric scrap pictured below and dyeing yarns in a gradient to match. The concept was holding space, also known as "suspended self importance" or it isn't all about me.  Being present without judgement or control and offering unconditional love and support.  I sampled for this tapestry and lined up my yarns.  The original gradient plus black, some deep purple and purple and silver glitz. I checked for value below using grayscale.  Thank you  Tommye Scanlon Finally began the weaving on July 8th at Arrowmont.  Most of my family and friends know of my interest in all things Navajo, especially weaving related.  I was scheduled to attend a class at Arrowmont  this summer but unfortunately the Navajo weaving class had to be cancelled.  I'd read all of the Hillerman books over the last few months and enjoyed not only  the mysteries but also ...

It is surprising that I haven't posted in a month, but I have not been idle.  My tapestry weaving of late has been more about process and play than product. I had such fun with the dye experiments chronicled a few posts ago.  I am not in love with the tapestry that resulted.  But I achieved the goal of using texture in wedge weave with mixed fibers all dyed in the same fustic pot. I love rusty stuff so added this rusted tin sun.  This is aptly titled "Good Day Sunshine."  My tapestry "A Joyful Noise " is in Reno at Convergence.  What I am most pleased with is the vibrant color from my natural dyeing efforts. I also did a small Navajo sampler last week to get ready for my class at Arrowmont .  Unfortunately the instructor had a medical emergency and could not teach the Navajo class as scheduled.  Arrowmont scrambled to replace the class with one on Ikat in weft faced weaving with  Sasha Baskin . Sasha is an artist in residence and a talented t...

Play is our brain’s favorite way of learning. -Diane Ackerman                                                                                  —Diane Ackerman   Playing with fiber is definitely my happy spot, add good friends and sheep and I am truly content.   Maryland Sheep and Wool 2018 is a bright memory.  My purchases focused on yarn to dye for tapestry weaving based on some recent "play." Above is a bundle of various white and undyed yarns in my stash.  I pulled strands of linen, wool, silk, mohair, cotton and synthetics.  I wanted to dye the bundle and see how the different fibers and textures would take the dye. I weighed the bundle, washed it in synthrapol and mordanted it in a solution of 20% wog (weight of goods) of alum and 6% wog cream of tart...

The name of this blog is based upon a traditional Navajo weaving song.  I was drawn to Navajo weaving initally by the beauty and high degree of weaving skill embodied in the work.  Very quickly however I became fascinated by the culture and cosmology of the people and the central role weaving played. I began to build my library of Navajo weaving books and reading everything I could get my hands on.  A trip to the southwest with my daughter in 2016 fed the passion. I was visiting the places I had been reading about.  The landscapes and vistas were stunning. The Hubbell Trading Post was just as I pictured it. Fast forward to this week.  The  The Gregg Museum of Art and Design  had a demonstration of Navajo weaving and basket making. The exhibit was small and informal which gave me the opportunity to watch and speak to the weaver,  Mary Redmustache Kealy. Crystal Rug, a modified Two Grey Hills pattern 1955 - 1970. Handspun yarns Wide Ruins Weaving...