Trip to New Bedford

Travelling to New Bedford for Lecture and Critiques

I went to New Bedford this week to do a lecture and critiques for the Fibers Department of University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. This was the first time I saw the new studio building since they moved it from the Purchase Street location where Mark did a year of graduate work. They are now located in the center of New Bedford in a renovated department store, and the studios are wonderful. They just hired Deborah Carlson (tenured, full-professor) to head the Fiber Department, which I think was a brilliant decision. Deborah is an inspiring artist and weaver with years of experience teaching and encouraging excellence from her students. If you know someone considering graduate or undergraduate work in Fibers, be sure to have them consider this program.

Students in Fibers working with Deborah Carlson (l), Kristin Crane in center, Paula Becker in front of student display (r)

The program at UMass-Dartmouth has been strong in both art and industrial applications for fiber. Besides Deborah, students are also working with Paula Becker. I first met Paula in Philadelphia, when I was teaching in an industrial textile program and she was a designer for Craftex. Later she went to Cranbrook for an MFA, had a child, did part-time college teaching, and worked for very high-end mills. Currently she has been able to conduct a project with students working with Swarovski and I saw some interesting results using crystals in the critiques. Her students are also getting the opportunity to design and have fabric woven through a local mill, Victor. I was quite impressed with how Deborah and Paula are envisioning the future for their students, recognizing that most mills have closed in the USA, and that small production, like the work shown on Etsy, is a viable model for handwork and art.

Deborah Carlson at the loom and detail of work at right

I did a talk on my work the first morning, and then had individual meetings with graduate students that afternoon. The next day I participated in a critique for the seniors, then had individual meetings with each of them. I was particularly impressed with the work of Dayna Day, shown below. She showed a machine embroidered work that had such flow and energy that it immediately captivated me. At first I saw it as organic abstraction and then realized she had embedded images from her life. Since baking is always a sub-text in my blog, I naturally took an image that shows her mixer.

Dayna Day with her embroidered narrative

The lobby of the art building is an open gallery with display cases used by students (see image of Paula Becker above in front of them), as well as entry to a gallery space, run by Lasse Antonsen. Exhibits vary, but I happened to catch the Merkin exhibit that originated at the last Surface Design Conference. Below are images of works by Elin Noble and Emily DuBois that were in the exhibit. I included the definition of merkin, in case you didn't know the word.

Merkin by Elin Noble (l) and Emily DuBois (r)

Elin and I became good friends when I lived in New Bedford in 1989-90. A few years ago, Elin, Tabbetha McCale, and I travelled through Turkey together. It was terrific to have time to catch up with all the wonderful changes in Elin's life, including a new home and studio with her husband, Lasse Antonsen. I was in extreme envy when we visited their studio Saturday morning. They share a magnificent space, which has allowed Elin to create new work that ranges from large to small. She also has a new free arm sewing machine that she is using on her work. The piece behind Elin and Lasse in the photo below is about 20 feet high. It immediately grabs you by its bold color and patterning, then you approach and you are awed by the intricate quilting that covers the work.

Elin Noble & Lasse Antonsen, details of work by Elin Noble

Elin Noble at her free arm sewing machine

Two marblized pieces by Elin Noble

Elin has always done her own art work, but she also has helped thousands of others through her former work at ProChemical, through the book she has written, and through the workshops she gives internationally. I felt so pleased to see the leap in her own work now, exemplified by the large quilted pieces and these amazing marbleized silk pieces, two of which are shown above. It is so encouraging for me, for everyone in fact, to see another artist find their voice. It affirms the fact that art is a process, that it does ebb and flow, and that perseverance furthers. Not everyone ends up with glorious results, but Elin Noble certainly is in a period of grace and beauty.

Lasse Antonsen in his studio

Lasse is also a case of encouragement for artist and art making. He is an art historian and curator, but has been focusing on his own work in recent years with a kind of joy that comes from, in the words of Joseph Campbell, "Following your bliss." It was apparent to me that these two artists are encouraging each other to do their work, get it out in the world, and share with others. They are great role models, and I really enjoyed seeing how New Bedford has changed through their eyes, which included a trip to The Gourmet Outlet, where we grazed for lunch. They put out recipe cards next to the food they served (Yuzu Salmon Salad, Italian Cous Cous Salad with Dried Fruit, and Jansal Valley Salmon Tartar were among the dishes I tasted) and on their website they also list recipes.

Grazing at The Gourmet Outlet

So I got home in time to host a Power of the Myth potluck dinner last night. My friends outdid themselves with the delicious food we shared, as well as the great conversation engendered by watching the first part of the six part series. Most people felt it was dated, and had some criticism of the first part, but everyone seems to want to keep going and see more. For my part, I still find his thinking and making connections between cultures from vastly different times and parts of the world, totally inspiring. Even more inspiring were our neighbors, Kelly Green and Forest McGregor, shown below. Kelly's stuffed baked potatoes were superb (we had some for lunch today) and so was her outfit. I especially love her gloves.

Kelly Green and Forest McGregor at the end of a great gathering

Reading, Architecture and Holloween

Architecture 2051 at Vermont Technical College

(top left to right: Holly Walker at her house; Erin Fajins; James Vincent;

center left to right: Michael Wilson; Professor Paul Hartmann and Jamison Cook; Jamison Cook;

bottom left to right: Jess Mosman; Majken Thomas; Ashley Fernandes

I just finished reading The Women by T.C. Boyle, about the wives and mistresses of Frank Lloyd Wright, a novel that vividly brings all the contradictions of Wright's personality and creativity to life, and filled me with images of the horror of love and divorce one hundred years ago. One hundred years ago--that sounds like a long time, doesn't it? Yet Wright is still seen by most people as a contemporary architect and visionary. Just this summer my brother, a long time fan, went on about Wright's attempts to marry buildings with landscape. I remember reacting with a slightly bored, jaded attitude--but reading this book has rekindled my curiosity about him, getting me to take another look at images of his buildings.

Coincidentally to my reading, Holly Walker and Geof Finkels invited us to attend the presentations of the students in Professor Paul Hartmann's Architecture 2051 class at Vermont Technical College. The students had come to their house to see the site, and were making proposals for a pottery studio for Holly. When I was a teacher, I sometimes had projects where students made proposals for real sites, and I know how working this way makes a project really tangible for them. There were actually two classes, and two days of presentations. Almost all of the students took the project very seriously and made clear presentations of their ideas. It seems as if they fell into three categories: an addition to the west, connecting the garage and the house with a studio, or a separate building to the east. After the second critique, I walked around the property with Holly, offering my own suggestions, trying to consider her needs as well as the feasibility of construction by Geof. On Saturday Mark and I went back and all four of us walked around, standing in different spots so Holly could go inside and see if a building where we stood would affect their views.

I love architecture and building, probably inherited from my mother, though I never considered it for myself (though my sister became an architect). Of course the reading and discussions has made me think about buying land and starting over--really getting it right this time. I don't think we are going to move any time soon, but it has to be sooner than later if we are going to do it in our lifetimes. Going into a classroom full of young people coming into their own strengths and ideas was so invigorating. It did make me miss being a teacher and how vital it is for everyone involved (teacher and students) in a studio where questioning is encouraged, and all ideas are allowed expression.

Now I am reading Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. It focuses more on Mamah Borthwick than Frank Lloyd Wright, fleshes her out in a different way than in T.C. Boyle's book, makes her dilemma about leaving husband and children for a married man seem more complex than in his book. She was an early feminist, a creative force who couldn't quite find the right outlet for her own intelligence. I feel that Horan has captured many of my own frustrations through her character. Again, this is a novel based on historical figures. Many known facts are accurate, but it is Horan who supplies the angst and internal conversations. Mamah's frustration about how to use her intelligence is hitting me hard, as I see myself spinning my wheels instead of going to my studio. Good books do this, don't they--make you think about your own life and what you are doing with the gift of time.

Well, Holloween came and went in Randolph along with a fierce rain storm. We live in an area where children and parents from all the surrounding villages, as well as our own town, come to say "Trick or Treat!" I was prepared with too much candy, knowing I could bring back unopened packages to the supermarket. Last year we had between 300 and 400 visitors, this year I gave out about 250 pieces of candy. The rain became a deluge just when I was at the bottom of the bowl. I could open another package, knowing I would end up eating most of it since parents and children were running to their cars to get out of the rain, or blow out the pumpkin and turn off the lights. I choose the later (can you see my halo?). Many of the parents, as well as all the children, were in costume. I remember going out with siblings and friends on Holloween--we were allowed to expand our circle wider than just our known neighbors, so I didn't mind giving candy to all these strangers. Plus I got to take alot of nice pictures.

Trick or Treaters--top picks

More Trick or Treaters

Kent Trip and Movie

I had a quick but wonderful visit to Kent State University to give a lecture on the history of woven figured textiles, i.e., drawloom woven, jacquard woven, and thread controller woven, and also spent time talking to students individually. The lecture was well-attended (the lecture room in the museum seats 130 and it was full), which is always gratifying. I was worried that my talk might be too basic for the fiber students, so was relieved when an art history class filed in. I was also pleased that J.R. Campbell, the new director of the School of Fashion Design and Merchandising at Kent, and his wife attended the talk. We met before at a Surface Design Conference where we were both teaching. He is an expert at digital print and engineered garments and if you click on his name it will take you to his blog where he has posted some good images. Kent is very lucky to have both J.R. and Janice Lessman-Moss on their faculty, and I can imagine that they will figure out interesting ways to have their students collaborate. Fashion and its main players are always more prominent than the designers of the cloth that is used to make the clothes. I don't know if I even knew that there was such a thing as a textile designer until my mid-30's; I just assumed that the fashion designer created the cloth they were using.

Before lecture, people looking at some woven studies by Bhakti Ziek

Visiting with Janice and her husband Al, an artist and musician (member of the Hillbilly Idols) is stimulating and reinforces my commitment to live a life focused on making things. Janice is one of those super women who is juggling many commitments at once, and doing them all well. She has built an amazing department at Kent and the exhibition downtown of jacquard work by herself and her students was definitely a highlight of my trip. She gives to the larger field by activities such as being on the board of Textile Society of America. Most importantly, she is an active practicing artist and her studio is full of inspiring work. You might own a copy of Ideas in Weaving, and have seen an image of Janice's Macomber loom, which she modified in order to create shaped weavings. Her ability to conceive of what she wants to do, and then figure out means to achieve her ideas, is staggering--and this is one of the impressive skills she manages to pass on to her students. In her studio I saw large, well-conceived, time-consuming weavings--and in the fiber department and downtown gallery I saw works by her students that showed that they too have learned to think beyond the expected and put in what ever effort is necessary to execute big, detailed projects. Below is a picture of Janice standing near a few of her new weavings, and below that a detail of her and the work.

Janice Lessman-Moss with some of her recent weavings

Janice Lessman-Moss in her studio

It is fun for me to go into a university program and talk to the students. To catch a bit of the energy of hope and exploration and ambition that is present in a good department, like the one at Kent. The facilities are very good--large well-equipped rooms for both weaving and surface design, and the equipment, which is kept in good shape, includes two TC-1 looms. Below are images of two of the seniors that I met, Katie Rothacher and Lauren Mangeri. Katie's recent jacquard in the downtown show, made with hand dyed weft, is not just ambitious, but mature and successful work; Lauren has just begun working with plastic interlaced with other yarns, and already her initial study shows the work is going to become captivating.

Katie Rothacher in her studio at Kent State University

Lauren Mangeri showing her recent TC-1 jacquard in weaving studio at Kent State University

I was only gone three days, but in the words of Dorothy, "there is no place like home." I used to be a movie fanatic, sometimes going to three different theaters in NYC on the same day to catch films playing only on that day--but that was a long time ago and now it is a rare treat to go to a movie. Julie and Julia is playing at the local Randolph movie theater, the Playhouse, so Mark and I went tonight. I didn't expect to like it (dare I admit that I don't like Meryl Streep)--but I loved the movie. I loved everything, especially all the talk about blogs and blogging--and of course all the food--and for the most part, Streep didn't annoy me. It felt so good to sit in the dark, and laugh, and be absorbed by a big screen. I came home and pulled out my copy of Child's book (13th printing from 1966) and maybe I will make that chocolate cake with almonds tomorrow.

Finishing Projects

Holes drilled in house for blowing in insulation

Insulation blown into this hole

September is here and school has started for the children in this area. That means many adults have returned to work too. The evening air is cool (down in the 30's and 40's), pleasant for sleeping, and the day has that distinct smell of summer into fall. I even saw a tree down the street in full red/orange/gold fall colors. Seemed a bit early to me, but this is only my second season in Vermont so what do I know? It definitely feels like the time to finish projects, and shift to a more internal, indoor life. Our house is being weatherized through the Energy Smart of Vermont program, and I had to find something to do while people were drilling holes and blowing in insulation.

It seemed time to finally get that slide show of the summer class at School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) online. It took all day to get the images resized, in order, and labelled. I was very erratic in my taking of pictures, so I apologize to the students if I have left out work, or the quality is poor. I haven't edited things--just put them all in a slideshow. If you click here you can see the work. It was an amazing class and months later I am still in awe of all the work these students produced in just three weeks. While I was working on the images this morning, I received an email inviting me to teach at SAIC again during summer 2010. It is almost as if the energy I was putting into the previous class evoked a response from the universe for the future! (Don't you like how superstitious and willing I am to believe in miracles?) I won't even think about repeating the wonderful experience from summer 2009--I will just imagine a different wonderful experience for 2010.

Ashley Townsend presenting her work this summer at SAIC

Chicago Goodbyes

Day Lilies near Millennium Park

Each morning and afternoon I tried to vary my walk between apartment and school, though often it took me through Millennium Park. Yesterday I noticed this cluster of day lilies was in spectacular bloom, and it was a marker of the passage of time that I have been in Chicago. Three weeks earlier there weren't even noticeable buds on the lilies. I felt it was like a metaphor for my class. Many of the students had never dressed a loom before we began, and now they were all busy weaving. They certainly bloomed in these three weeks.

Joan Livingstone and Park Chambers on the ramp of the New Wing of the Chicago Art Institute

If you visit Chicago be sure and make time to visit the New Wing of the Chicago Art Institute. The collection of modern art shows very well in this new space. It also has a wonderful restaurant, and I had lunch there yesterday with Joan Livingstone and Park Chambers. They were colleagues in the Fibers and Material Studies Department at SAIC for many years, though right now Joan is Interim Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Park has retired and moved to New York State. They have both contributed much to the expansion of thinking in fiber studies and work, and are mentors to many artists. I could hardly eat my meal from excitement, but did manage to finish all my dessert and taste theirs too. Joan was wearing the best eyeglasses.

Final jacquard cloth from SAIC class cut off loom today

So today was the final class and I cut off the fabric from the TC-1 while students finished weaving and hemming, or knotting, or twisting ends. In the afternoon we did a final review where each student put up all the work they accomplished in these three weeks. I took a digital image of each of them and their work, and tried to get some details too. I have decided that when I get home I will do a slideshow of the images I took during the class and post a link to it in this blog. Believe me, they all did incredible work, and each one distinct from the others. At the end, one of them took a picture of me holding the plain weave linen that I wove. Although I am ready to go home and can't wait to see Mark, our pets, and our friends, I felt so emotional saying goodbye to these wonderful women who allowed me the privilege to work with them these past three weeks. In a regular semester you don't get to know people in the same way as we did because of the format of the summer program. I don't know if any of them will continue to weave as a major expression of their art (I wish I had a crystal ball), but I do know that the metaphor of blooming lilies is a good one for what happened in this class.

Tamara Malas showing her first ever weavings

Bhakti Ziek showing off the linen she wove

Winding Down

SAIC students reviewing work at floor looms

(Jongock Kim showing the honeycomb she is working on)

Students reviewing cloth woven on the TC-1 loom this past week

Monday we reviewed the past week's work. First we moved around the room looking at work being done on floor looms, then we looked at the cloth that had been made on the TC-1 loom. On floor looms, students are making honeycomb, block double weave in plain weave, double cloth using huck and plain weave, gingham woven with fine sewing thread, summer and winter, pleated double cloth, overshot, brocaded twills and plain weave, undulating twills, variations on an 8-shaft threading, white on white stripes, and a few other things. I find it so interesting that each loom reflects the interests of the maker, and is quite distinct than their neighbors' work. The jacquard cloth is mostly variations of shaded structures, some using metallic or plastic wefts, others using linen or tencel. One student made an interesting huck jacquard, which inspired another to use huck in a weft-backed cloth. We will have the final review on Thursday afternoon, which doesn't sound like much time but I saw several students setting up looms with ambitious new warps today, and I believe they will be finished in time.

Akemi and Chris

Monday evening was festive in my apartment. Chris and Zoe were there, having arrived the night before around midnight from Michigan, Ann from Arizona, Akemi and Jack from Chicago, though Akemi had just returned from a visit to her family in Japan, and me from Vermont. Chris, Akemi and I were classmates at Cranbrook, now we are chosen family. Zoe is starting to visit different colleges to decide where she should apply and she and Chris visited Columbia College on Monday. Chris runs a studio that teaches young people how to do animation and both her daughters have won impressive prizes for their work. Zoe also does photography. It gives me hope for the future watching how the children of my friends are all growing into interesting adults. I took a picture of Chris and Zoe this morning as we said goodbye on Michigan Avenue--me going to school and they off to the Apple Store (Ann and I visited it on Sunday!). Note they both are wearing Keene's. They might be out of fashion in Chicago but my friends, all over, are still wearing them. They are comfortable.

Chris and Zoe Allan-Wickler, note their Keenes

Since all the students are busy working now, hardly needing any help from me, I decided to set up a loom with linen and make some plain weave that I might sew into curtains. When i am teaching I want my students to feel comfortable interrupting me at any moment with whatever questions they have. When I am doing my own work, I get intensely focused and hate being interrupted, so I generally don't try to do any of my own work. So today I told the class that they must break into my concentration and remember they come first. But I was hardly interrupted and managed to weave almost all the warp. I did jump up at one point and take pictures of each student at their loom. I was thinking that Andy Warhol would definitely have a blog if he was alive today, and post his daily round of people pictures.

Here is Jennifer Coster who dressed to match her double cloth today. She is going to start graduate school at Maryland Art Institute in the fall, in sculpture. I don't know whether weaving will be part of her future work, nor any of the students in the class for that matter, but they all seem to have grasped the principles quickly and have a facility for weaving, so i do hope some of them will continue.

Jennifer Coster weaving block double weave

Linen Plain Weave being woven by Bhakti Ziek

The class decided to go out for dinner together tonight at a Korean restaurant and Jongock Kim made arrangements, guided us there on the Brown Line, and ordered a feast that we shared. We had hoped that Katie Loomis and Janette Ramirez would join us, but they had a busy day stretching new covers on the print tables and decided they couldn't. I posted an image of Janette in a previous post. Here is Katie, who worked with me for months before my arrival and made sure that everything was set up correctly. She really made these three weeks go smoothly for me.

Katie Loomis, Administrative Assistant in Fiber & Material Studies Department

Fabulous students and fabulous dinner at Korean restaurant

4th Day Equals 4th Week

Jungock Kim, SAIC graduate student, starting 3-block double cloth

In a three-week semester, each day is equivalent to one week, so today, day four is really week four. All the students have woven on the TC-1 and two have done sizeable pieces. Almost all of them have finished dressing their floor looms and have begun to weave. Jungock Kim, a graduate in the SAIC program, has set up an ambitious three-block double cloth. She and I figured out a "scaffold tie-up" so she can access any of the three blocks variations with 12 pedals. She is doing double plain and has 12 shafts on the loom. I have had many Korean students in my teaching career, and it is a pleasure to work with her. I made her laugh saying I knew some Korean--I can say "kimchi" and "bulgulgi" and "pajeon". Korean food is right up there with dim sum on my list of what is missing in Randolph.

The Sea of Looms in SAIC Weaving Studio includes a TC-1

Judith Querciagrossa Danaher testing her shaded satin image

Judith Q. Danaher is another student in the class. She is an experienced weaver taking the class to learn more, but not because she is pursing a degree. She is always cheerful and helpful and I am really enjoying her pleasure in learning. If the class continues to be this much fun, I am not going to want to go home in July. We will have our first review on Monday and if the students give me permission, I will post some images of their work here.

My walk home (a nice afternoon after another soaking walk home yesterday and more rain this morning so I took the bus) took me through Millennium Park--past the Crown Fountain and the Bean and then I was drawn to Gehry's Music Pavilion by the sounds of Indian (India) music. Part of the Chicago Free Events is Music Without Borders. There were people picnicking on the grass and more in the seats, and I went and sat down in the Pavilion to listen for awhile. 

Children playing in water at Crown Fountain

View of "Bean"

Frank Gehry's Music Pavllion

View of Indian Musicians from inside Pavilon

View of Building from seat in Pavilon