POWERFUL WOMEN

I’m doing a short series of portraits of powerful women. The first in the series is Sojourner Truth. I picked her because she was chronologically one of the first women and a woman of color, to fight for women rights and an abolitionist. She was born in slavery but escaped to freedom with her daughter in 1826. After going to court to recover her son in 1828, she became the first black woman to win such a case against a white man. There are an abundance of powerful women like this, Sojourner also has a very recognizable portrait.

SOJOURNER TRUTH - ABOLITIONIST & SUFFRAGIST

Next in the Water Series

I’ve completed a second project in my water tapestry class. I really like the colors and shapes in this tapestry. It’s very organic. I love the play of the dark purple against the blue and the wavy shapes. I tried doing more pick and pick in similar value melange bundles. I’ve framed it in a driftwood color frame. It’s small but really nice.

RIPPLES

RIPPLES

Weaving Water in Tapestry Class

I am taking an online class from Elizabeth Buckley on weaving water in tapestry. Very challenging and fun work. Our first project is to weave a small tapestry (mine is 8” x 5” ) of reflections and sunlight on fairly still water. I learned several new techniques. I wasn’t thrilled with my weaving representing the photograph realistically, but it made for great practice for future water work. Our next project will be ripples in water.

Water Study I - Waccamaw River

Water Study I - Waccamaw River

Craft Hilton Head 2020 Honorable Mention

My tribute to the Women’s Movement entitled “Women’s March” received an Honorable Mention award at the Craft Hilton Head 2020 exhibit. It will be on exhibit at the Hilton Head Art League Gallery until October 31.

“Women’s March”" - Honorable Mention Craft Hilton Head 2020

“Women’s March”" - Honorable Mention Craft Hilton Head 2020

Dreaming of Fall

I entered a tapestry that I wove during the COVID isolation as I was studying Hachure technique and dreaming about cooler the weather of fall. I used a combination of random hatching and hachure in this piece. I really like the uneven top edge of it. This piece is currently in an exhibit at University of South Carolina Beaufort (USCB) “Art Speaks” until December 16.

Dreaming of Fall

Dreaming of Fall

Dementia I and II Completed

I have completed the black and white study of dementia and a small color version with a second technique to show memory loss. The first technique was to weave slices of the head as background. In the second study I decided to use the loose nature of bare warp to symbolize memory loss. Both works are hanging in the gallery but the black and white study isn’t for sale.

Dementia I

Dementia I

Dementia II

Dementia II

Study on Dementia

I have started a tapestry whose subject is dementia. This one is dear to me. My mother died four years ago from dementia. i am using a photo of my mother from when she was still able to speak. One of the first things that happened to her was that she got aphasia and was unable to remember certain words. Then it progressed over the next six year to the point that she couldn’t speak at all. My mother was a wonderful listener and talker. She LOVED to talk to people especially friends and family. When we talked on the phone, my dad would say hello and then he’d say okay you do what you do.

I am beginning the process with a large value study in grey tones. I haven’t ever woven a face in full color and I was nervous about doing this. Switching to monotone, grey scale made it much simpler for me. There are some fantastic tools out there to work with photos and the one I used is Notanizer. I was able to do my mothers photo in 5 different values of grey. The result is a tapestry that looks like my mother but wasn’t difficult to weave.

Next I had to introduce something that symbolizes dementia. This step is difficult, how will viewers understand what I’m trying to express? I’m trying a linear version of deleting parts of the photograph and blending them into the background for this study. I’ve also toyed with removing chunks of photograph and leaving the background. There are definitely more versions in my future that will be done in color.

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Women's March Tapestry is Finally Complete

I started a tapestry to express my feelings about the Women’s March of 2016 about a year ago. Many things caused me to delay working on the tapestry. But as soon as I moved to Atelier I committed to finishing the tapestry. The inspiration came from the 2016 Women’s March in Washington, D.C. It was actually my first large march and man did I pick a big one. I knitted a pink hat from hand dyed and spun yarn. (my friends would say, of course you did). I attended the march with my three daughters-in-law and their mothers. It was truly a momentous day for me. The mood was excited but scared for our future as women. I tried to capture the emotion of the participants in this tapestry. the bare tree and the grey skyline reflect the realism of the cold winter day and the austerity of the moment. The multi colored shapes along with the pink hats portray the great diversity of the participants.

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Laura's Loom Moves to Atelier off Bay

I haven’t posted in a long time, since I left Maye River Gallery three years ago. I’ve finally found a new home at Atelier off Bay in downtown Beaufort. I have my own room with plenty of space to show my work and create new work in my studio. Normally there is plenty of foot traffic but since the pandemic, there hasn’t been many visitors. We can’t even have First Friday’s or a reception for our newest members.

But it has been fantastic for my creativity and inspiration. I finally finished my tapestry about the Women’s March in 2016 and did a small tapestry of fall leaves. Right now I’m working on a tapestry depicting dimension. Stay tuned for lots of updates here!

Love my new digs. Lots of light and great artists around me.

Love my new digs. Lots of light and great artists around me.

And They're Off

We left Beaufort today for our annual trip to Florida by boat. Our destination is Ft. Pierce FL for two months. We shoved off of our dock at Port Royal Landing Marina at 7:30 this morning in drizzly windy conditions. Captain Bill, otherwise my husband, decided to try motoring off shore. However, the waves were pretty high and I'm not a fan of bouncing around on deck. We did most of the cruise on the ICW. We averaged about 18 mph getting us to our first stop at St Simons Island in time for happy hour. 

 

This year we're accompanied by Bill's longtime friend Biff for our first two days. Next stop will hopefully be St Augustine tomorrow night.  

I digress for a moment to talk about provisioning for a two months with two cats and a weaver. The food and clothes are never a problem, it's deciding which projects to pack to keep me happy. I have my brand new electric spinning wheel and tons of fiber. That got me started thinking that I could do some felting by packing just a few more simple tools and a little more fiber.  

 

I'm hoping to spin a ton of yarn to weave with when we return in March. And maybe a couple of cute felted purses too. 😊 

 

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Excited for New Store

I've been weaving like crazy to generate inventory for my new store space rented from Studio B Marketplace in Bluffton.  I'll attach a photo of my space as soon as I have finished.  I am renting a large column in between two walls of framed fine art.  My husband built a ladder to hang my handwoven accessories from.  I will feature an alpaca throw on the top, followed by a shawl and then several scarves.  Finally, I have a table with my evening bags and tea towels that I'm hoping will fit in the space.  I'm very excited because I've always felt that my work really sells itself when customers are able to hold it and feel the soft fibers.  This little store space will test that theory.

 

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My new space at Studio B Marketplace.  

My new space at Studio B Marketplace.  

Passionate for Overshot

I've got a new goal for my weaving that should keep me busy learning the rest of my weaving days. I want to learn as much as I can about Overshot. You're probably thinking "over-what?" unless you're already a weaver. I've posted a photo of overshot below. It's a weaving structure that makes beautiful textured (almost 3D) patterns. Because of the density of threads it's often used for upholstery, coverlets and table linens. 

 

Handweaving almost disappeared after the civil war but it experienced a revival in the 1920's due to some inspiring weavers. One area of the country that contributed greatly to this revival was the Appalachian area of Kentucky and Tennessee. Being from KY myself and having gone to college very near the epicenter of this revival in Berea KY, makes this even more significant for me.  

 

I would like to take a trip to Berea this fall and visit the college and the weavers that helped popularize the handweaving revival in the 1920's. Another significant weaver in KY was Lou Tate in Louisville. She was an educator, chronicler and collector of historic weaving pieces. She founded the KY weaving guild and the educTion center, The Little Loom House. My mother bought me a replica of the tabletop loom that she developed under commission from President Hoover's wife during the depression. 

 

I've bought several books and watched a video to start my education, but now it's time to start weaving overshot. I'm going to do a couple samples and then try my hand at table linens that I can sell on Etsy.  

 

I can't wait to get started.  

 

 

 

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From coverlets to sample in monochrome and multi color. The patterns you can achieve with overshot are amazing! 

Missing My Loom

I've been in St. Augustine for three weeks and the weather has been much better here than at home. But I miss my loom, my projects, my friends and my much larger than a boat, house.  

Since I couldn't bring my loom with me, I brought several other needle craft projects. I tried knitting socks but that's not really my thing. So I gravitated to knitting an afghan, very much is my thing. Here's a picture of my progress. It's made of a super soft hand dyed merino wool from Malabrigo. I ordered 10 more balls after I decided I loved it. The pattern came from Lion Brand and it's full of cables that hearken back to Celtic knot work, another love of mine.  

Today I opened a Facebook page for my Etsy store and invited all my FB friends to visit. I can't wait to get back home to pick up my work and make more beautiful things for the shop. 

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Vacationing in Florida

I'm spending the month of January in Florida on our boat. We spent the past two days cruising down here and now we're setting up in St Augustine for the coldest part of the winter. I hate the cold, except that it makes me wear boots and sweaters which are two things that I love. 

We spent one night in Fernandina Beach on the way down and I shopped the tiny tony stores the way I always do. I looked for things that I could make and how much they were selling for.  One store had a draped shawl cardigan knitted that is basically one large rectangle with two slits for arm holes and two smaller rectangles for sleeves. I love rectangles because they scream, "weave me"!  Gonna try this on some muslin for sizing and then weave me one in merino wool when we get back in February. 

I'm excited to do some tapestry while we're camping on the water. That's how I think of our boat trips. However, our "camper" has two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a fully equipped kitchen, so we're not talking tent camping. I set up my new Mirrex tapestry loom with a 10epi linen warp and packed a bunch of cones of wool rug yarn.  Mostly in coastal nature colors like blues, yellows, greens. I'll post a pic when I get something done. 

I've also got my knitting to fall back on. I bought 3 balls of yummy wool sock yarn and I'm going to try my hand at knitting socks. Done it befor but a LONG time ago, so I'm still afraid of "turning the heel". Should all be fun! 

 

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