Catching Up

Friends Visiting Exhibition

It has been wonderful to have friends from out of town visit and give me feedback on my continuum series. Since the opening (see previous post), Cyndy Barbone (top), Myra Serrins (second from top), Deborah Carlson (third from top), and Marcie Miller-Gross (shown here with Elizabeth Billings in bottom image) came to Randolph. I couldn't photograph Marcie in the show, since I was taking a workshop when she and Liz went to see it, but the phone call afterwards was sweet to my ears. All these friends are weavers (though Marcie's work has moved into another mysterious and intriguing place) and were able to give me good critical feedback to consider for future work. The show is still up until February 20th, and two more weekends will bring two more friends, so life is sweet. I did a talk on my work last weekend and Myra snapped an image of me in front of Chandler.

Bhakti standing in front of Chandler Center for the Arts with her name in lights

Canvas woven for Mark Goodwin

I haven't been focused enough to start new work on the TC-1, but have been weaving. I finished yardage of plain weave cotton/linen canvas for Mark to use in his work. The focus in our house has shifted from my preparation for an exhibition to his preparing for a one-person show at BigTown Gallery that will open on May 4th.

Sara Goodman's Dye Workshop

I also took a dye workshop with Sara Goodman in her studio in Lyme, NH. Just five of us, snow outside, warm inside, painting warps with Earthues Natural Dye Extracts. I used to think I invented painted warps (back in the late 1970s), which just shows how ignorant I was about the history of textiles, and I have written articles on the topic and taught many workshops on painted warps. I have even used the dye extracts on my own to paint a warp or two, but I didn't have a handle on the colors, the way I did with procion MX dyes. So it was wonderful for me to learn something new about something familiar, and to jump start a process that I hope to introduce into my next series of jacquard weavings. Sara also had an indigo pot going (notice how she uses all the proper gear for working with those chemicals), and at the end I was able to dip the end of my warp into both indigo and cochineal pots, ending the warp with red, purple and blue. I still have to steam it and wash it, but you can see my colorful warp wrapped in plastic above. Myra Serrins was in the class too (shown above left with Sara), and Carol and Amy (bottom left) and Toby (not shown) were also there. Sara will be teaching a dye workshop at New England Weavers Seminar 2011 (NEWS) so if you are interested, sign up. I will also be teaching there--photoshop for textile design.

Weaving crackle diamonds

Now I am trying to weave off the warp on one of my small macomber looms. I used a threading from the 8-shaft book by Carol Strickler, and am weaving off all the bits of color that are filling my bobbins. Maybe I will have some new dishtowels in the end. For sure I will have a box of empty bobbins so I can start fresh with my next work.

Lots of links in this post. I intended to try and post weekly in 2011, but have not been able to do so. I appreciate that people are still reading my blog and sending me personal emails with comments. Hope you are having as beautiful and snowy a winter as we are having in Vermont. I really loved the mental image of this country blanketed in snow from coast to coast, though I realize many places were not equipped to handle it the way they do here. Stay warm.