Navigating Truth

Here is a picture of the top of the Chinese chest that is in our dining room. Does it look like I am someone who would enjoy craft fairs?

Some objects we have collected in our travels.

Ethnographic fairs--YES--but craft fairs....? Yesterday, however, I dragged my husband away from painting the house (thunderstorms) and down to a famous one in New Hampshire. Once again I find myself thinking that I should try to make functional textiles; that the economic climate is only good for the .000001 percent of the artists who are showing in top NYC galleries; and that $25 is probably the price point of what most people are willing to spend on non-essentials. I thought maybe I would get inspired by seeing what others are doing. Instead I found myself thinking of one of Fran Lebowitz's statements in Public Speaking (the Martin Scorsese excellent documentary on this outrageous and brilliant writer). She was telling an audience that just because you think something doesn't mean you have to write it--in fact, please don't share it with us. If I remember correctly, she even specifically mentioned blogs (I do note her words, even as I ignore them and write). So change writing to THINGS and you know how Mark and I felt at the fair.

There was a bright spot though in the middle of the tents, where Sarah Heimann had a booth of her beautiful, incredibly intricate carved ceramics. Seeing her work was worth the price of admission. One of her pots would look very good indeed on our Chinese cabinet top.

Sara Heimann with her wonderful hand carved ceramics.

This might not seem related, but I have been busy reading cookbooks and chef's memoirs this summer. Have you read Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton? I might not want to become her close friend (and what is the likelihood that I will ever get a chance at that?) but I loved her book and the truths she writes. I related to so many things she wrote about, relating her chef's experiences to my weaving experiences--being invited to a panel on women's chefs and getting quieter and quieter as she internally compared the reality of her life to the bromides of enthusiasm the others were throwing out; or her "lack of enthusiasm" as she approached Vermont thinking about people in cars going the other way "...fellow travelers, people like us who enjoy other human contact and human activity and who don't need to be secluded on a hundred acres without even a house pet..." And now I am almost done with Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. I know I could never keep up with his drugs, and drinking, sex, and rock and roll but I really get it when he talks about good chefs failing when they stop doing what they do well and think they can do everything. So maybe I won't go the functional textile route, other than for my own use, or if I do, I will have to stay close to my personal likes and my strengths, and ignore the market research of finding out what others are selling.

Scale model of upcoming exhibition at Fuller Craft Museum
(work by Fuyuko Matsubara on back wall, Deborah Carlson on side wall, and Bhakti Ziek's Nomad on right wall)

In light of that wisdom to stay true to one's self ("Follow your bliss" is the way Joseph Campbell put it), I am refinishing the six panels of my weaving Nomad. I am going to be in an exhibition at The Fuller Craft Museum opening September 15, 2012 with an artists' reception on Sunday, September 30th. Cyndy Barbone, Deborah Carlson, Fuyuko Matsubara and myself will be exhibiting together. Cyndy and I put together a scale model of the exhibition and decided I should put the panels together. That led me to decide that I should stretch them onto bars so I can exhibit them taunt--the way I see the cloth on the loom--the way I like seeing the work as I make it--the way I intend it in my mind. It was going to cost almost $700 to purchase frames and canvas, and they still would have to be put together (by Mark, of course) so I was thrilled when he said he could make them from scratch (another words, stop painting the house for a week and work for me). So it is only costing one-quarter of the purchased price and it is much better because these are exactly the size I need.

Panel 2 (of 6) from Nomad by Bhakti Ziek, 2010

When I was weaving Nomad, thinking about how large the world is, how vast the ocean, how dark the deep waters on a night without the moon, remembering living on an island in the Yucatan for eight months where the sound of the waters was always with me, I could see that the words, which map places I have lived or travelled and that take the shape of the continents of the earth, were very subtle, floating in and out of the ground water. I decided to give myself permission to be as subtle as possible, to create an experience where one has to sit with the piece and look long and hard before the piece revealed its secrets. I know I have created a difficult work for these times, where looking seems to need big panels of explanation next to a work, or a voice tour that you access as you tour an exhibition, or those recently ubiquitous QR codes. But I hope the new installation will invite some people to look, experience, and be inspired. A dark night, moonless....just you and the vastness of the ocean, the sky, the air, your memories, and your thoughts.

Just want to end by saying I had a wonderful day at King Arthur Bakery last month, the gift of my generous friend Steve Ford (superb baker and artist extraordinaire, partner in Ford/Forlano). He took me to a sour dough bread workshop (Amber Eisler was the excellent teacher), and Mark to a rye bread workshop. They have remodeled their facilities and the class room was terrific. I still have to learn my way around the new store, but I am sure I will.

Amber Eisler teaching sourdough bread making at King Arthur; Steve Ford and Clive in middle picture left; the classes beautiful results bottom right.

Spring Post

My Roof: West by Bhakti Ziek, 2012

Detail of My Roof: West by Bhakti Ziek

Although I haven't written in this blog for many months, I certainly have thought about it. Too bad you can't read my mind, some of the posts were intelligent and interesting. On the other hand, maybe it is a good idea you can't read my mind.

I wanted you to know that I finished my six panel weaving My Roof and have shown three of the panels in Philadelphia at the Art Alliance (My Roof: East) and tomorrow the other three panels (My Roof: West) debut at the Durango Arts Center in the exhibition Textiles Today: Redefining the Medium, curated by Ilze Aviks. The exhibition will run from April 24 - June 2, 2012. 

Pat dipaula Klein preparing Chocolate Tart from Lovin'Oven in Fenchtown, NJ

But I admit the thing that really got me excited about posting was the chocolate caramel sea salt tart shown above. Pat dipaula Klein is a wonderful artist who lives near Philadelphia. We were colleagues together at Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science, but our friendship really developed through the connection to BigTown Gallery in Rochester, Vermont, where we both show. She and her husband come to Vermont each year to visit good friends and we have gotten to know each other, which has also blossomed into a wonderful email exchange. Pat's daughter Julie owns the Lovin' Oven in Frenchtown, NJ and she was featured on the Food Channel's The Best Thing I Ever Ate. I saw the program and have lusted after her salted chocolate caramel tart ever since. We even stopped at the restaurant on our last trip home from Philadelphia but forgot to check days and hours ahead of time and pulled up to find it closed. So when Pat said she would bring dessert to dinner this week ("something from Julie"), of course I requested THE Tart. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful evening of friendship, laughter and buzzing energy. I can still taste the burst of salt mixed with the chocolate and caramel. Next trip to Philadelphia we will time it for a full meal at the Lovin' Oven with Pat and Phil. I know what I will have for dessert.

After the Storm

Opening of Pat Adams and Bhakti Ziek exhibition at BigTown Gallery, Rochester, VT

Hard to believe that a week ago I was at the opening of my show with Pat Adams at BigTown Gallery in Rochester, VT. We knew the storm was on its way, but the evening was clear and calm and lots of people showed up to make the opening very festive. At 4pm there was an informal talk between Anni MacKay, Pat Adams, myself, and the audience and then there was the whirlwind of conversations and greetings that happens at openings. It was a really great evening, and as we left, Anni said she was heading out to pick her vegetables before the rain started.

We had 24 hours of rain, nothing seemed particularly severe, and I woke Monday morning to a clear blue sky day and fresh crisp air cleansed by the rain. We had electricity and when calls started to come in asking if we were alright, I was a bit puzzled. The news up here didn't mention Vermont, but apparently the rest of the country knew that Vermont was a mess. Then at 10am our electric and phone went out. Rumors flew about causes and length of time--I really didn't like the prediction of three weeks before it would be fixed. A small stream turned into a river and took out a substation and most of Randolph was without electricity for 2.5 days. Minor inconveniences (we got charcoal and pulled out our weber grill and I bought these 14 hour candles and found that reading by candlelight is not much fun) compared to many places in the state, and to some other people in Randolph who did have serious problems.

Rochester was one of the 13 (or more?) towns that were cut off from the world. Bridges were destroyed, the road over the mountain that we had taken the night before had become a river bed and washed away the road and some houses. Once we got power back we started looking at everything we could find online hoping to get some info on our friends at BigTown. Finally we saw a photo and could identify Anni and Dunne, so at least we knew they were okay. And yesterday we got a call saying everyone there was okay, and would it be acceptable if they extended the show until October 23rd! Seems a bit selfish to be thinking about my show in the midst of all the mud and cleanup and suffering, but I admit I was happy to hear that people will have extra time to see this show. Pat's paintings and my weavings share the space in very compatible harmony and at times seem to be talking to each other.

Macarons

 So what did I do as soon as the electricity came on? I baked Macarons! I have made them before following a Martha Stewart recipe and I thought they were delicious and perfect, but what did I know? Recently I bought a new cookbook (Sugarbaby by Gesine Bullock-Prado). The cover picture of spun sugar spoke to my heart and then I realized this was the Gesine who had a pastry shop in Montpelier when we first moved here who made magnificent sweets, so of course I had to buy the book. So I followed her recipe and they were a total failure. Because I had eaten at her shop, I knew it was me, not the recipe--so I went on line and found this great video of her making macarons. And I watched it several times, maybe more than that, and then I tried again. The pink cookies shown above show that I still had problems--but they tasted great. 


So then I went back to the internet (this was all pre-storm pre-opening--a good way to focus my energy at stage fright time). And I discovered the most incredible blog by a woman clearly more obsessed than me. Not So Humble Pie has 8 posts on macarons--really a thesis on these cookies. So I tried again--and you can see the perfect little feet and nice flat shell of the yellow ones (though the color seemed to bake out). These not only looked great, they tasted sublime. All these macarons were done using the Italian Meringue method. I don't have a picture of the ones I made once the electricity came on--I used one of the Not So Humble Pie recipes for French Meringue Macaron. They looked okay (but again my coloring, blue this time, baked away), and tasted fine, but they were kind of hallow inside. Another words, I haven't figured it out yet and will have to bake some more.

Linen for Kelly's Curtains

Lucky for me I was already working on a project on my Macomber loom (no electricity needed) when we lost power, so I could keep working during the days. You can see the 18 yards of linen competing with the woodpile for size above. I really am afraid to cut and sew it myself (we all have our expertise) but will do it so Kelly can have her curtains.

Digital Woven Pixel

Alice Schlein and I have been so gratified by the response to our book, The Woven Pixel: Designing for Jacquard and Dobby Looms Using Photoshop. We have had two successful editions sell out and have decided to go with 21st century technology and instead of printing more books we will offer a digital version of the book.

This will be a win-win situation for all of us--especially our overseas readers who have to endure such high shipping costs from the U.S. The cost of the digital book will now be $125, payable by check in U.S. Dollars or by PayPal. There will be no shipping or handling fees. Buyers will have the right to print one copy of the book for their own purposes, and agree that the CD contents will be for their own use. Once payment is made, we will transfer the book and CD contents via a free on-line exchange. Details will be sent to purchasers upon receipt of payment.

We have tried this method successfully for a few weeks and all our readers are satisfied. This will be the same edition as the 2006 book, which was written for Photoshop CS2. Although some items have moved to different locations in the newest version of Photoshop (CS5), we have not had any trouble using our Woven Pixel methods with this version. Although, we can not guarantee what the developers of Photoshop will do in the future, we can say our methods work in any version of Photoshop CS up to now. To order the digital version of the book please email either Alice or Bhakti.

Emperor by Bhakti Ziek, 2011

handwoven jacquard using shaded satins

photo by Michael F. Sacca

I have a show opening this week at BigTown Gallery in Rochester, Vermont. The weaving above will be in the show. It goes with the weaving I posted a couple of weeks ago. Here is the information about the show or go to the gallery site for more images and more information:

PAT ADAMS & BHAKTI ZIEK

GEOMANCER

August 24 - September 25, 2011

OPENING RECEPTION

SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

Reception 5 - 7pm

Artist Discussion 4pm

NEWS 2011

I want to share some images from NEWS 2011 (New England Weavers Seminars) with you before my next activity (Michele Wipplinger's Color Institute) fills my head. NEWS takes place every other year and is held at Smith College in Northampton, MA. There were exhibitions (a juried gallery show which I co-juried with Laurie Carlson and Carol Birtwistle; a faculty show; the static fashion show; a special exhibition of ethnographic textiles; and guild table exhibits); half-day, full-day, and multi-day workshops (I taught both a half-day and a full-day workshop on Photoshop and woven design using techniques described in The Woven Pixel); Vendors Booths selling items (yarns, Guatemalan products, tools, dyes and books) and publicizing places (The American Textile History Museum); and there was the fashion show one evening and a lecture by Laurie Carlson on the last evening. Of course there was also lots of comings and goings, meeting with old friends and new friends, meals in the cafeteria or downtown, and just wandering the campus and visiting their wonderful gardens. Many of the attendees have attended many of these gatherings. It was my first, and I really enjoyed how friendly everyone was so no matter where I went I could enter into an interesting conversation. There are some amazing weavers in New England as you can see from the images below.

Top Left: Brenda Rosenbaum of Mayan Hands, a truly remarkable and compassionate woman; Top Right: a view of the Faculty Exhibition with my weaving Continuum on the table and Sara Goodman's stitched, dyed and pieced work behind it; Second Row Left: some of Sara Goodman's samples of natural dyed fabrics on a table in her workshop; Second Row Right: Jody Brown and Norma Smyda standing in the inspiring Special Exhibition that they organized of world textiles; Third Row Left: Co-First VP Programs Ruth Ward and Virginia Coolidge standing in front of the display of the American Textile History Museum which was enthusiastically manned by Linda Carpenter, a trustee of the museum; Third Row Right: a table runner by Janney Simpson of Connecticut that was entered into the table runner category of the gallery show; Bottom Row Left: an image of the gallery show; Bottom Row Right: some of the new weavers setting up their first weavings in Carol Birtwistle's class.

Top Left: Best in Show was given to Scott Norris of Pioneer Valley Guild in Massachusetts for weaving these incredible linen towels; Top Right: Jurors Choice and Peoples Choice both went to this fascinating shawl woven by Suzi Ballenger of RI (it was woven in plain weave but had variable denting that changed in the cloth creating undulating stripes that reminded me of Syrian textiles); Second Row Left: Michele Belson and Deborah Holcomb in the Lunatic Fringe Yarns booth near the beautiful natural brown cotton yarns they are selling (I thought I was going to get some linen this week but when I saw this yarn I just had to have it--it is called American Maid Yarns); Second Row Right: a detail of the Guild Booth supporting breast cancer research; Third Row Left: Dorothy Solbrig of the Nashoba Valley Guild of Massachusetts entered this colorful deflected double weave to the gallery show; Third Row Right: Carol Birthwistle showing two of the new weavers how to do something at the loom; Bottom Row Left: Diane Villano taught several workshops on polymer clay and in the one depicted students made buttons with wavy marks that reminded me of marbleizing; Bottom Row Right: another view of the Faculty Exhibition showing my weaving Mindscape on the table with Laurie Carlson's optical fiber sculpture in the background.

Top Left: Wonderful scarf by Norma Smyda of RI with undulating threads shaped by the special reed she uses (some scarfs were in the fashion show, shown here, and others were in the gallery show--it was the weaver's choice were to enter them); Top Right: Marjie Thompson of NH is a legendary weaver in these parts and you can see from this image of a table runner that she entered into the gallery show why she is so revered; Second Row Left: a lovely space-dyed scarf shown in the gallery exhibit by Carol Wooten of Cranberry Weavers of MA (Carol too is well-respected and she won prizes in both the gallery and fashion shows); Second Row Right: another scarf by Carol Wooten, this one entered in the Fashion Show and Static Exhibition; Third Row Left: Laurie Carlson Steger helping one of the students in her workshop, Carolyn Wetzel, weave fiber optics on a backstrap loom; Third Row Right: a close-up of the fabric Carolyn Wetzel was weaving which lit up when finished; Bottom Row Left: the table display by the weavers who were supporting breast cancer research; Bottom Row Right: a fantastic textile in the Special Exhibition (which I think was woven in Peru).

Two New Weavings

Continuum by Bhakti Ziek

The weaving shown in the last post is finished. I am calling it Continuum, which is also the name of my upcoming show that opens at Chandler Gallery on January 8th. The image above does not do justice to the actual piece. Maybe you can come to the exhibit and see what I mean.

56 Blossoms by Bhakti Ziek

56 Blossoms will also be in the exhibition. I was thinking about this weaving today as I worked at the loom, and this came to me: When you are in dispair, you have to come up for air. Also: Often the solution is found in the problem. Do you think I can sell these platitudes to a fortune cookie company?

Re-Entry: Fall

Night Sky by Bhakti Ziek, 2010

It has been a wonderful summer of friends, weaving, and balance. I am highly focused on work in my studio, preparing for an upcoming show in January 2011 here in Randolph, VT (hope you can make the opening, January 8th at 1pm at Chandler Art Gallery, Randolph, VT), so my blogging is going to continue to be brief, but I will try to keep you posted on the work.

Night Sky is 13.5"h x 44"w, silk warp with tencel and gold gimp wefts, woven on my TC-1 loom in a lampas construction. If you are at the TSA Symposium this week, this weaving and another one of mine are included in the exhibition Binary Fiction: Digital Weaving 2010, curated by Janice Lessman-Moss. It is on view at The Eisentrager-Howard Gallery from October 4 - October 29, 2010.

In another part of the country, Rhode Island, I will be giving a talk on my work this Friday, October 1st. It is for the Weavers Guild of Rhode Island, and will be at 11am at Slater Mill in Pawticket. It is exciting to update my powerpoint presentation, putting in the work I have been doing. Just two days ago I finished a warp, and am tying on a new red silk one now. I will try and post the new work, one at a time, for you to see.

Some Finished Projects

Modelling both sides of Knit Hat

The days are still short, but I can feel them growing, which encourages me to get some work done. Making mental lists of what I need to do the next day is also helping. I finished my hat and have worn it with great satisfaction. It is comfortable, but when the wind blows it still penetrates all those layers over my ears. I saw a friend's knitted gloves, which had a soft flannel-like lining, which makes sense with the open stitch of knits, but it is too late to try and do something like that with this hat. I won't say next time because I doubt if there will be another one.

Roll of hand towels on front beam and finished on right

I also finished my hand towels--well, sort of. I was starting to worry that the roll was getting so big I would not be able to wind any more on the cloth beam, but it never got that big. This morning I stitched between the towels and cut them apart, then washed them in my washing machine and dried them in the dryer. I was worried about both processes but since these are intended to be functional, they have to function properly--which means getting thrown in the wash. They shrunk about three inches in the length and an inch in the width. Even before washing I realized I had made them smaller than I intended. I just measured a finished towel that I like and found it to be 30 inches by 18 inches, while my towels are ending up at about 22 inches by 13 inches. I am still in the process of sewing under the hems, but a few towels are finished and folded.

I want to be clear about this work that I am doing. One of the reasons I am still a weaver, after 41 years (how is that possible when I am only in my 30's?), is that there are so many ways of working as a weaver that it is impossible in one life time to cover them all. I think I told you this already, but maybe not. I began to weave with the intention of taking this skill to a commune--and in the commune I would weave whatever was needed. There was no intention of being an artist, nor, at that time, did I even realize that weaving could be an art form. Later, when I lived in Guatemala and studied brocading on backstrap weaving, I was entranced by the figurative motifs, sometimes abstracted, used by the Mayan weavers. And when I did my senior fiber studio for my BFA at the University of Kansas (which still has an excellent program), and began the body of work that started my reputation as a weaver, I used the brocading process to tell my own stories. Here and there, over the years, I have woven a scarf, or some dishtowels, but I have never seriously undertaken the work of a functional weaver. I have certainly admired other weavers who work this way, and right now I am testing the waters, seeing if I have the skills to make textiles that I would want to use in my own life.

Detail of a drawing by Bhakti Ziek

It is not an all or nothing proposition for me, more an addition to an already crowded room. I have an exhibition coming up in the Fall of 2010, and I want to do a new body of work specifically for the gallery space involved. At the same time, i want to keep going with my exploration of functional textiles, using several of my floor looms. I am not sure if I can actually balance several projects at once, but my idea is to devote one day a week, or perhaps part of each day, to weaving curtains for Mark's studio, scarfs for sale, and getting the hand towels right. The majority of my time will be focused on the work for the exhibition. I have an idea of a very long weaving, segmented, but linear, and have started some drawings, a detail of which is shown above. So it is good that some projects are done, clearing a space for new ones to start.

Halifax - Part 2

Halifax Night Lights

Halifax was lit up for the holidays, as well as the usual city lights, but pictures taken in a moving car in snow and rain show it off even better. Last time I was in Halifax there was a fierce snowstorm that shut down the enter east coast, causing a two-day delay in my arrival. School (Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, i.e., NSCAD) was cancelled but some students came in anyway to hear my talk. There was no traffic on the road, snow was knee deep, and I thought the town was a small fishing village. This time I realized it is quite large--especially if you consider Dartmouth and Halifax as one city. I liked everything about it and hope to get there in warmer weather when we can walk along the water and not freeze.

Lesley Armstrong in her studio, Armstrong Textiles

I met Lesley Armstrong on that first visit to Halifax and knew I wanted to see her studio. Lesley produces wonderful contemporary textiles that are woven and then felted and manipulated to become textured and lively. She weaves these fabrics on old looms that she has saved from disuse, bringing some of them from England to Canada. I loved the contrast of the up-to-the-minute cloth with the machinery, which is really industrial revolution (ancient compared to modern equipment). You can see that Lesley is as lively as her cloth--always laughing, smiling and exhibiting genuine enthusiasm. Besides running Armstrong Textiles, she is on the faculty of NSCAD.

Robin Mueller (l) and Frances Dorsey (r)

Textile Faculty at Nova Scotia College of Art & Design

Images of NSCAD Textiles Studios

Morag weaving on tapestry loom, top left

Michelle Alarie at TC-1 Loom, center left

Maddy Andrews wearing her jacquard cloth, bottom right

Robin Mueller and Frances Dorsey are the two full-time faculty in textiles at NSCAD. Although it was the end of the term, and everyone was very busy, they kindly asked me to do a lecture for their students. Before my talk I got to visit the studios, which are in a charming old building, one you could easily get lost in. Michelle Alarie, the technical assistant, was my guide and kept me out of trouble. They have a wonderful TC-1 loom with 12 modules. I wove on it the last time I was there. This time I only looked with envy at the width and the extra modules that i would like to have on my loom. There is a strong possibility that I will return to NSCAD in the summer of 2011 to teach, and perhaps there will be a chance for me to try their loom again too. NSCAD has been a strong program for many years--Sandra Brownlee is one of their graduates. One of the reasons it continues to thrive is because the faculty are working artists, as well as teachers. If you click here you can read an interesting review of Fran's recent exhibition, Saigon. There is also a catalog that can be ordered from the exhibition. Though I don't know Fran well, every time I see her I have the feeling that we are old friends. I guess we must have been sisters in a past life.

Wendy Landry in her studio showing her velvet loom

Another woman who teaches at NSCAD is Wendy Landry. We visited Wendy's studio on Saturday. I knew she was a velvet weaver and had modified a loom, but I wasn't familiar with her work. Once I saw it, I thought that not only should I know her work, but so should more people. She has her loom set up with two different warps for the velvet pile so she can do interchanging colors in pile. She is also a historian and scholar, and her interests show up in the weaving. The bottom left image above shows a weaving she did where she combines pile loops and an area of weft tapestry, like the Coptic weavers used to do.

Sandra Brownlee weaving and images of her studio

Of course, we also saw Sandra Brownlee's studio. Sandra's work is featured in the new book, Art Textiles of the World: Canada. So if you can't get to Halifax to see her current exhibition, you can see her work in that book.

Speaking of books, if you are looking for a gift for someone who loves to read, I strongly recommend A Pigeon and a Boy by Meir Shalev. It is one of the most beautiful books I have read in a long time. Bittersweet. It made me want to visit Israel. It got me to write to my wonderful cousin Ahinoam, who I had not contacted in a long time. It's a great read.

I finished my plain weave linen for the curtains. Will take a picture soon to show you the moire effect. I didn't get to light Chanukah candles this year (Happy Chanukah if this is your celebration!) so this tree below will have to do.

Festive Halifax Tree

Halifax - Part 1

On the road to Halifax, Nova Scotia

We took a road trip to Halifax, and in the rush to leave before the big snow storm hit, I forgot to bring the cable for downloading images. At least I remembered the camera. The main reason for going was to see Sandra Brownlee's exhibition Departures and Returns: Sandra Brownlee at the Mary E. Black Gallery of the Nova Scotia Centre for Craft and Design.

Sandra Brownlee with her new weavings

Departures and Returns: Sandra Brownlee

Exhibition at Nova Scotia Centre for Craft and Design

The show is wonderful, well-worth the two day drive to get there from Randolph, and the review in today's Chronicle Herald shows that the public is really understanding the passion expressed in Sandra's work. I am going to write an article on Sandra's work later in the year for Surface Design Journal, so it was important for me to see the current work in a gallery setting. She has always been one of my art heroes, and this show lived up to my expectations. There is a broad range of expression here, both in materials and process. The center piece of the show is her book, Departures and Returns, as seen in the vitrine in the center of the gallery. Of course for me, standing in front of her weavings is a visit to a holy shrine.

We have known Sandra since 1980, when we first visited Cranbrook as undergraduates at University of Kansas, thinking about applying to graduate school (which actually happened 7 years later). Sandra was a graduate student in fibers then, and, as the open-hearted person she is, she invited us into her studio for tea and completely awed us with her friendliness and her charisma. When we moved to Philadelphia in 1990, where she was living, she became our closest friend. Our time in Halifax just picked up where we left off--talking and laughing and drinking red wine. Raised near Halifax, Sandra was the perfect guide of this charming city.

Mark Goodwin and Sandra Brownlee

Images of Halifax

Norman Flynn Design - an amazing place

One of the best stops on our tour was at Norman Flynn Design. This is one of the most upscale lighting showrooms I have seen anywhere outside of NYC. The owners, Bruce Norman and Blair Flynn were both there, both extremely gracious and helpful (we were looking for a special bulb). If we lived there, we would save our money and become their clients. They had some outrageous chandeliers that made me smile; and admire them for their pursuit of bringing such a wonderful aesthetic to Halifax. Many of them are textile-related--but isn't everything?

Another stop on the tour was at Eyelevel Gallery, where, speaking to Michael McCormack, the director, we once again saw how friendly everyone is in Halifax. This gallery has an area of artist's books and there is still time to submit to their upcoming exhibition Re-shelving Initiative: Four.

Michael McCormack, director of Eyelevel Gallery

Although we were only in Halifax for 3 full days and 4 nights, we did so many things that I will do another post later this week with more about the trip. We visited three weaving studios--Sandra's, Lesley Armstrong's and Wendy Landry's. Lesley has power equipment, Wendy is a velvet weaver, and Sandra does pickup--three amazing weavers all associated with Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (where I did a lecture on Friday), three friends that exemplify the diversity of the label "weaver." So I will share more with you later this week, but I guess I will end with an image of our last dinner with Sandra. We heard on the radio before leaving home that the lobster boats had just left the Halifax harbor--so we knew what we wanted to eat when we got there.

Sandra and Mark with one of the lobsters

Colloquy 2009 and a Visit to New Harmony

Images from Colloquy 2009

I had a wonderful week in Indiana, first at Colloquy, then visiting Laura Foster Nicholson in New Harmony. The gathering at St. Meinrad's Guest House has been happening each year for about 14 years, and is a continuation of the gathering that used to happen in Mineral Springs, WI at Ken Colwell's place, The Looms. I was not the only new comer this year, but most of the participants have known each other for years, and this is like a yearly family reunion. Everyone was welcoming and enthusiastic and very knowledgeable about looms and weaving. My talks were well received, and I was able to hear some presentations by others. Brother Kim, who organized the event with the help of Kathy O'Neal (seen above wearing her lovely deflected double cloth scarf), is such a lively person it was hard to get images of him not in motion. He brought a group of us to the Abbey to see some of the vestments. They include some amazing velvets, embroideries, and contemporary woven and constructed garments. I was getting confused between labels such as chasuble and cope, and just focused on the cloth. Brother Kim has woven and sewn some of the garments he showed us, and Murlea Everson, one of the participants, weaves the Bettencourt Collection for Meyer-Vogelpohl.

Seeing some of the vestments at St. Meinrad's Archabby

While we were looking at vestments, some of the others were setting up a three-shaft loom in Brother Kim's studio. His studio has a range of looms that include a computerized dobby and a drawloom. I think visits to other artist's studios are one of my favorite things to do. I also love listening to people talk about their research, especially when they are excited about it. I got to hear Teena Tuenga make a presentation on the weaving she has done exploring color and weave, using parameters presented by George Best during a previous Colloquy. Her presentation really explained why these people gather each year--for friendship, yes--but because they encourage and inspire each other to explore their interests in weaving further. I felt very honored to be asked to talk to them, and to be able to share Colloquy 2009 with them. Plus I feel like I have a dozen new friends.

Brother Kim's weaving studio

Teena Tuenga making a presentation of her research

New Harmony is close to St. Meinrads, so my friend Laura Nicholson, who lives there, came to get me and we had our own form of reunion and textile inspiring discussions. I visited her two years ago, and seriously considering moving there, and once again I found this small modern community built on the memory and ruins of a Utopian community quite fascinating. Main Street, where Laura has her LFN Textile Studio, could be main street in almost any small town USA, except Docey Lewis has her design studio right across the street from Laura's--and how many main streets can boast two brilliant textile designers? When you visit the Harmonist buildings, the Visitors Center/Atheneum is a Richard Meier building, and the Roofless Church is a Philip Johnson building. So you see homage to both the past and the present sitting side by side.

Images of New Harmony, IN

Of course, for me, Laura's studio is the most interesting place in New Harmony. The New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art is housed in the same building and all the works in the current print exhibition are shown on their current webpage. Below you see Laura standing in front of her edition of 20 pin cases (I bought two--one for me and one for a friend). You can also see her in her studio. She didn't really want me to take that picture but I love the activity that so clearly shows on her table. She is a force of creativity, and definitely one of my heroes. I also came home with one of her eye sachets--she said I should put it on my eyes and it will help me relax and sleep (it is full of flax and lavender, I think)--but really just looking at it is a feast for my eyes and will bring me much happiness. You can see all the souvenirs I came home with in the final picture. Interesting that Kathy O'Neal gave me an old ribbon loom shuttle (from Henry Riehl and Sons of Philadelphia) and then I bought my most recent additions to my LFN ribbon collection. I never make anything with these ribbons, just keep amassing them--I want one of every design--and always I bring them to show students. Aren't they beautiful?

Laura Foster Nicholson in front of her printed pin case on left and with her ribbons on right

Souvenirs of my trip include LFN ribbons and a ribbon shuttle