Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Raspberry Coulis

Current Warp

I am working on this red warp that is making me hungry! It is tapping into my obsession with Top Chef, which is doing a dessert series right now, so I have named this warp Raspberry Coulis.

Work in Progress by Bhakti Ziek

It is amazing how many colors I can get out this warp and four wefts (blue, yellow, tan, and white). This is the first time I have had tension problems on the TC1, compounded by the fact that not all the wefts are the same size, and some of the structures bring two wefts to the surface and some bring one to the surface. I think the distortion is interesting, something I might want to explore this winter to see if I can control it and do it on purpose, but I am not sure how I feel about it in this piece. Well, have to finish it before I can judge.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Bear Island and Code

Bear Island by Bhakti Ziek

I wove Bear Island (above) after a week on that incredible island. It is 29.5"w x 13.5" high. Think sea rocks, letters from a gravestone and an "energy" overlay.

Code by Bhakti Ziek

This is Code finished. Images of it in process were in earlier posts. It is 40.5"w x 13.25"h. If you remember the images on the loom, it has changed color. I dyed it with inexpensive black tea. I noticed the grass outside died where I poured the tea out, so image what it is doing to my insides.
Bear Island and Code with Sculpture by Mark Goodwin

An interior shot of the office room, which is looking good with work by me and Mark, and a felt rug from Turkey on the floor. Fortunately the rug is old and frayed, because our cats are making it more frayed by the minute.

Chris Allen-Wickler sewing weaving by Bhakti Ziek

Lucky me, not only do I get a visit with Chris (above) but she is helping me finish some of the weavings. When I was weaving my thesis work at Cranbrook, she and Marcie Miller-Gross saved my life by hemming the work as it came off the loom--and we were working up to the last minute. Fun to revisit those days so many years later--on one hand it seems like no time has passed, on the other when we talk about her daughter at University of Michigan, we realize it has been many years. Chris is here between shows--she will exhibiting her fabulous garments (Allen-Wickler Artwear) at the Letchworth Craft Show near Mt. Morris, NY this weekend.