Friday, July 27, 2012

"Pillars" Pillar One

I cut this off the loom and pinned the header around the drying rod, (is that even understandable English??); this is the only place in my house (except perhaps the garage) I could hang something this long, however long it is. I haven't measured.
I'm not sure what I think.

The colors are nice; an old-lace-like soft appearance, thanks to the undyed (rather than white) wefts. The scale of the draft is right; it looks good from some distance, but strangely not as attractive close up compared to my usuals; I'm going to try looking at it from farther away on the weekend. The position of the "eyes" looks right, too, when I'm looking up rather than straight ahead. There are a few technical untidiness, but nothing dire. So all in all, the sampling and planning seemed to have worked.

I'm not looking for things to dislike. I'm just not sure what I was expecting. This is certainly a lot smaller than what I visualized those many months ago, and hanging lamely in my basement is certainly different from having been finished crisply and hung in a group in a tall gallery. So I still don't think I am seeing this for what it is or can be. But I am not displeased.

We recently watched "A Prairie Home Companion", the film. In it Keillor had these beautiful lines where he said something to the effect Minnesotans know things can always get worse and when they're going well, we wait patiently until things indeed get worse. And I daresay, it's not pessimism but realism. And I guess I'm holding my breath just now waiting for something (more) to go wrong. L. O. L.

This is the best I could do with the draft. I can't figure out why the widths of the pics are different every time.

One pillar requires four days to weave. I need at least one day break in between. I'm not sure if there is warp enough for two or three (or even four) more. I think it's safe to say most of August will be spent on the Pillars. I need to also plan drafts for the Self-Portrait/Friends(hip) pieces. I would have liked to have done one more project, but it's starting to look unlikely.

8 comments:

  1. The gray in the cloth is darker than seen in the two pics here. I think partly it's due to the inadvertent back-lighting - I started a load of washing before I took these photos and left the lights on.

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  2. Wow! It looks amazing, and also 3-dimensional!

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  3. I think it looks really striking, even with the washing machine in the background! I would love to see it in person. If I saw something like that in a gallery it would draw my attention across the room - and then I would immediately walk right up close to it to get a better look. Although then I would have to walk away again, to get a better better look, and so on and so on until the staff started to close in on me...

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  4. I like it very much, it looks 3-dimensional and tactile. It reminds me of waves or perhaps the the small ripples in the sand on the beach made by the water. Have a nice weekend!

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  5. To my eyes you have succeeded in creating a pillar, albeit a soft one, your pillars will look striking hung in a gallery.

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  6. Thank you, Ladies. I'm still not sure how to look at this, but knowing me, that I didn't immediately hate it with a passion tells me it's a good sign. Or am I just stunned?

    I wonder about the fishing lines. If I took it out now and washed, there is a good chance the traces will be less visible. I feel a better weaver/planner would not have needed them but that's by the by.

    Cally, in my solo exhibition I had two chairs in the gallery. LOL. One of us from the group will always be in the gallery, so if you faint, we'll bring you a paper/plastic glass of cold water!

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  7. I really like the look of this, and like Cally said, seeing this in a gallery would definitely draw me in closer, and then lead me frather back to look at it again. A "collection" of 3 or 4 of these pillars should be quite striking. mdmontalvo@yahoo.com

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