The bad news is, I've been sick all day.
The good news is, that explains why my limbs were shaking uncontrollably yesterday.
The bad news is, I had to postpone meeting with Ali this morning, withdraw from a 3-week design session with Ronnie Martin starting tomorrow; I might even have to skip an art film tomorrow night. But I am going to Napier for the design symposium on Friday.
The bad news is, I had hoped to read some fiction today, but I couldn't be bothered with reading words, and I kept dozing off.
The good news is, in between dozing off, I gazed at the pictures on the Woven Shibori book, and because I experimented with shibori a little, the pictures make sense.
The bad news is, I discovered Procion dyes are no good on wool. I think Dianne told me this, but in my enthusiasm to downsize and simplify, I got rid of all dyes except Procion, and every one of them worked on wool.
The good news is, there is the Internet, and tomorrow, (or the day after at this rate) is another day.
2010/05/05
2010/05/04
Because I Don't Have Enough Yarns, Again...
Ben and I don't win stuff.
Well, I understand Ben won school honors when he was a student, quite a lot of them, but me, just once, and it was oh, so, insignificant.
If it's for a good cause, we still buy whole books of raffle tickets, but we don't win. Once, while we lived in Auckland, we won a trip to Golden Bay, just north of Nelson, (airfare on Ansett!), but they couldn't accommodate us when we wanted to travel, so we took parts of the prize after we moved to Nelson: two nights accommodation and a dinner. It was wonderful, but somewhat anticlimactic. And yet, I keep hoping, and continue to send for giveaways, especially when there is a book at stake. And we buy raffle tickets.
So, imagine me jumping up and down when I got an email from DEA Yarns saying I won a draw! For 7kg of yarns!! And other than the natural merino, I was asked to pick the colors, so they are definitely not stuff they are trying to unload. It even included 2kg of my favorite 2/20 cottons.
I must tell you Ben was even more excited than I was. It must have been the extra big box!
Well, I understand Ben won school honors when he was a student, quite a lot of them, but me, just once, and it was oh, so, insignificant.
If it's for a good cause, we still buy whole books of raffle tickets, but we don't win. Once, while we lived in Auckland, we won a trip to Golden Bay, just north of Nelson, (airfare on Ansett!), but they couldn't accommodate us when we wanted to travel, so we took parts of the prize after we moved to Nelson: two nights accommodation and a dinner. It was wonderful, but somewhat anticlimactic. And yet, I keep hoping, and continue to send for giveaways, especially when there is a book at stake. And we buy raffle tickets.
So, imagine me jumping up and down when I got an email from DEA Yarns saying I won a draw! For 7kg of yarns!! And other than the natural merino, I was asked to pick the colors, so they are definitely not stuff they are trying to unload. It even included 2kg of my favorite 2/20 cottons.
I must tell you Ben was even more excited than I was. It must have been the extra big box!
To Bear or Not To Bear
Another Dylon play session yesterday.
The words said "dark brown", but I believed the picture of a pine cone on the packet and thought I'd get a yellower, paler brown. Never mind, I love the rich, chocolatey color, and my gray-olive shirt turned out nicely. Except I intended the design to look like fluttering leaves, and instead, I have a March of the Amebae. (I'm trying not to think of cockroaches.)
The problematic second shirt, I really should have left it where it was looking lovely in pale Wedgewood blue. No, Ben didn't clean his engine or drive over it.
For this, and my third Kaz shirt, I used the ball method. I bunched up (is that the phrase?) each shirt into a tight sphere and put on rubber bands in different directions to hold the shape. The tiny Kaz shirt, I wound several rotations of polyester threads on top of the rubber bands and made a tiny tight ball of cotton.
My shirt, I intended to soak in the second batch, but I got a little inpatient and stuck it in with the rest. What a big mistake. I was envisioning this pale yellow-brown mist over the annoyingly vivid blue enough to take away the brash appearance. I've saved the solution, and am wondering what I can do. Of course there is the option of dedying because I found a tin of color remover, too.
On the other hand, I love the Kaz shirt that looks like a child had great fun with a bowl of chocolate cake icing. The decision is whether to put the bear or not. It's quite a clunky button for a wee child, and the button holes are drilled too low, so the bear is going to bow down, I'm quite sure. I might put bright color strings around his neck to secure it.
The words said "dark brown", but I believed the picture of a pine cone on the packet and thought I'd get a yellower, paler brown. Never mind, I love the rich, chocolatey color, and my gray-olive shirt turned out nicely. Except I intended the design to look like fluttering leaves, and instead, I have a March of the Amebae. (I'm trying not to think of cockroaches.)The problematic second shirt, I really should have left it where it was looking lovely in pale Wedgewood blue. No, Ben didn't clean his engine or drive over it.
For this, and my third Kaz shirt, I used the ball method. I bunched up (is that the phrase?) each shirt into a tight sphere and put on rubber bands in different directions to hold the shape. The tiny Kaz shirt, I wound several rotations of polyester threads on top of the rubber bands and made a tiny tight ball of cotton.
My shirt, I intended to soak in the second batch, but I got a little inpatient and stuck it in with the rest. What a big mistake. I was envisioning this pale yellow-brown mist over the annoyingly vivid blue enough to take away the brash appearance. I've saved the solution, and am wondering what I can do. Of course there is the option of dedying because I found a tin of color remover, too.
On the other hand, I love the Kaz shirt that looks like a child had great fun with a bowl of chocolate cake icing. The decision is whether to put the bear or not. It's quite a clunky button for a wee child, and the button holes are drilled too low, so the bear is going to bow down, I'm quite sure. I might put bright color strings around his neck to secure it.
2010/05/03
Awash
I did something a little over due; I washed some scarves that have come home from galleries and exhibitions in the last little while, just the stuff small enough to go into the downstairs bathroom sink. And, whoa, you know what, I'm not a bad weaver. The structures are secure, the selvedge are not bad, (well, not too bad; they can be improved; in come cases, much improved...) and the yarns I use are, except for one I liked for the colors, soft and luxurious.This was nice after a morning of weaving and producing sub-par left selvedge.
I've got two big ones to mend, and then two new and three old pieces to wash in the bathtub later in the week. For now, lunch and getting ready to see Ali Wednesday morning.
I Can Do Short!
I love putting my tiny Kaz Project shirts into charity bins. If I wrapped them up nicely, I wonder if the charity shops will keep them as they are? I can think of two tiny girls and one getting-taller boy for whom I can make special ones!
I liked these two as they were, so no reduction in the cute button stash, however.
* * * * *
Massage Kathleen said I don't need "Women who Run with Wolves"; she was quite adamant about that. What does she mean? I'm wild au naturel?
Said Kathleen was also impressed with my upper body muscle tones. I haven't been to the gym in 18 or so months, but she still said I'm in a good nick - comparable to some men who go to the gym regularly, and she said it must be the weaving. Have you been told anything like that?
* * * * *
Our local Suter Gallery changed policies about a week ago, so we're allowed to photograph artworks. But they haven't changed the signs, and it takes guts to shoot up artworks. I haven't yet. But I need to soon.
* * * * *
I wove a bit of asymmetrical sample for Ali, and I liked it. Ali said I must blog about it, so: I liked asymmetrical.
* * * * *
Sunday night I casually decided I shall weave every single day if I'm going to write about being a weaver, even just a little bit. And I did. In fact, once I sit down, I can usually go for a couple of hours easily, so this should improve my productivity. It was easier than resolving to have x glasses of water every day - now I can't even remember how many I aimed for.
I liked these two as they were, so no reduction in the cute button stash, however.
* * * * *
Massage Kathleen said I don't need "Women who Run with Wolves"; she was quite adamant about that. What does she mean? I'm wild au naturel?
Said Kathleen was also impressed with my upper body muscle tones. I haven't been to the gym in 18 or so months, but she still said I'm in a good nick - comparable to some men who go to the gym regularly, and she said it must be the weaving. Have you been told anything like that?
* * * * *
Our local Suter Gallery changed policies about a week ago, so we're allowed to photograph artworks. But they haven't changed the signs, and it takes guts to shoot up artworks. I haven't yet. But I need to soon.
* * * * *
I wove a bit of asymmetrical sample for Ali, and I liked it. Ali said I must blog about it, so: I liked asymmetrical.
* * * * *
Sunday night I casually decided I shall weave every single day if I'm going to write about being a weaver, even just a little bit. And I did. In fact, once I sit down, I can usually go for a couple of hours easily, so this should improve my productivity. It was easier than resolving to have x glasses of water every day - now I can't even remember how many I aimed for.
2010/05/02
Synopsis
Or something like it. In case you're wondering what's doing my head in regarding weaving, weavers and exhibitions, here it is.
1) In New Zealand, there are very few places where weavers can exhibit their work.
Indeed very few, outside a) weaving guilds/groups; as much as I like weavers, particularly my group because it's the best in the nation, these are still mutual admiration societies, ergo exhibitions have a distinct feel of preaching to the choir, sometimes to the choirmasters, OR b) solo exhibitions, or independently-organized group exhibitions.
2) In New Zealand, for as long as I've been involved in weaving, the craft is most often seen as something "my grandmother used to do, with handspun, natural wool. By the way, do you know someone who would like a loom, because if we can't get rid of it, it's firewood this winter." I feel the public perception of the craft, on the whole, is stuck in the 1970's and 80's, from the responses I receive.
3) On the other hand, other textiles crafts such as felting, dyeing and embroidery, both hand- and machine-, are enjoying a resurgence/re-recognition and can be seen outside Guild/group exhibitions, particularly in textile/fiber art or contemporary art exhibitions. And I must say, sometimes, even if they're not well-done.
4) Ergo my quest for concepts, because I've been told repeatedly that's what elevates the humble craft into art, and inquiry into how to get our humble handwoven cloths into textile/fiber art exhibitions, preferably sans the layers upon layers of embellishments, to make them something other/"more" than the handwoven cloth.
There are, sometimes, reasons for my mad ranting. Though I can do a good rant without reasons, too.
1) In New Zealand, there are very few places where weavers can exhibit their work.
Indeed very few, outside a) weaving guilds/groups; as much as I like weavers, particularly my group because it's the best in the nation, these are still mutual admiration societies, ergo exhibitions have a distinct feel of preaching to the choir, sometimes to the choirmasters, OR b) solo exhibitions, or independently-organized group exhibitions.
2) In New Zealand, for as long as I've been involved in weaving, the craft is most often seen as something "my grandmother used to do, with handspun, natural wool. By the way, do you know someone who would like a loom, because if we can't get rid of it, it's firewood this winter." I feel the public perception of the craft, on the whole, is stuck in the 1970's and 80's, from the responses I receive.
3) On the other hand, other textiles crafts such as felting, dyeing and embroidery, both hand- and machine-, are enjoying a resurgence/re-recognition and can be seen outside Guild/group exhibitions, particularly in textile/fiber art or contemporary art exhibitions. And I must say, sometimes, even if they're not well-done.
4) Ergo my quest for concepts, because I've been told repeatedly that's what elevates the humble craft into art, and inquiry into how to get our humble handwoven cloths into textile/fiber art exhibitions, preferably sans the layers upon layers of embellishments, to make them something other/"more" than the handwoven cloth.
There are, sometimes, reasons for my mad ranting. Though I can do a good rant without reasons, too.
New Toy
Not a torture equipment, as you know, but I was so happy to have it last night, I even tried combing my hair. That hurt.
Words
There was a lot of weight placed on articulateness in my upbringing, by Dad in the first instance, and the American education I received in the 70's and 80's. And because I was a Philosophy and English Lit major, I had a lot of explaining to do. But without the need for observations, measurements, experiments, or creation. My head was filled with words all the time, and I was lead to believe this equaled intelligence and maturity.
There wasn't much room for silence.
This art thing is different; not everything needs to be explained with words. Sometimes verbalizing distorts, redefines, limits, or even destroys the things in my head. And I don't necessarily have to defend my work with words, not every day, to everyone. I'm just learning that.
* * * * *
Yesterday we ran into Catharine who was photographing her installation before it's taken down on Monday. I had lots of questions about her work which ended up being a massive collaboration, and I kept asking her about the process and her concepts. And she, being articulate, answered each question with great care.
We shared our views briefly on Wednesday night's talk on artists-run spaces and Friday night's exhibition openings, and during the course, I said, because she asked, I thought art, when finally hung on the gallery wall, should be "completed" unless it's a student show following a prescribed formula. I complained there were too many shows where the artist's statements are the most interesting on the wall, and in grown-up exhibitions the works should stand on their own, and not drag on like a blog post showing every single step.
Surprisingly, we agreed we preferred our exhibitions to be "pretty" and "completed" with multiple levels of meanings, but she found my expectations a bit "cynical", siting her brush with death, and how raw energy can be beautiful art. I don't disagree with her, but my expectation for "completed-ness" doesn't comes from a position of privilege, i.e. never being gravely ill, injured, beaten, etc; my expectation for impeccable finish comes from growing up Japanese.
* * * * *
I wasn't in the mood for words in the morning. But I couldn't resist the opportunity to talk to her. Afterwards, I was exhausted I needed to lie down and phase out. For the rest of the day had I had the choice.
* * * * *
Yesterday was another one of those days I wondered if I was suffering from something amiss in the brain. I thought we had theater tickets for 1PM, but when we got there, there wasn't the usual crowd waiting to be let in, and I checked the tickets to see it was for 7.30PM. Ben thought it was in the evening, but seeing me so sure, he didn't question me.
6PM onwards I was convinced the show started at 7PM, and I was boiling in the car because Ben was taking what to me felt like the longer route. He against mentioned it might be 7.30 rather than 7PM, but I was again so sure, we didn't check the tickets. Until we arrived, and the scene once again looked wrong.
We did end up enjoying the show very much, but I have no idea what's going on inside or with my head.
I woke up this morning feeling a little overwhelmed with things scheduled in the near future.
There wasn't much room for silence.
This art thing is different; not everything needs to be explained with words. Sometimes verbalizing distorts, redefines, limits, or even destroys the things in my head. And I don't necessarily have to defend my work with words, not every day, to everyone. I'm just learning that.
* * * * *
Yesterday we ran into Catharine who was photographing her installation before it's taken down on Monday. I had lots of questions about her work which ended up being a massive collaboration, and I kept asking her about the process and her concepts. And she, being articulate, answered each question with great care.
We shared our views briefly on Wednesday night's talk on artists-run spaces and Friday night's exhibition openings, and during the course, I said, because she asked, I thought art, when finally hung on the gallery wall, should be "completed" unless it's a student show following a prescribed formula. I complained there were too many shows where the artist's statements are the most interesting on the wall, and in grown-up exhibitions the works should stand on their own, and not drag on like a blog post showing every single step.
Surprisingly, we agreed we preferred our exhibitions to be "pretty" and "completed" with multiple levels of meanings, but she found my expectations a bit "cynical", siting her brush with death, and how raw energy can be beautiful art. I don't disagree with her, but my expectation for "completed-ness" doesn't comes from a position of privilege, i.e. never being gravely ill, injured, beaten, etc; my expectation for impeccable finish comes from growing up Japanese.
* * * * *
I wasn't in the mood for words in the morning. But I couldn't resist the opportunity to talk to her. Afterwards, I was exhausted I needed to lie down and phase out. For the rest of the day had I had the choice.
* * * * *
Yesterday was another one of those days I wondered if I was suffering from something amiss in the brain. I thought we had theater tickets for 1PM, but when we got there, there wasn't the usual crowd waiting to be let in, and I checked the tickets to see it was for 7.30PM. Ben thought it was in the evening, but seeing me so sure, he didn't question me.
6PM onwards I was convinced the show started at 7PM, and I was boiling in the car because Ben was taking what to me felt like the longer route. He against mentioned it might be 7.30 rather than 7PM, but I was again so sure, we didn't check the tickets. Until we arrived, and the scene once again looked wrong.
We did end up enjoying the show very much, but I have no idea what's going on inside or with my head.
I woke up this morning feeling a little overwhelmed with things scheduled in the near future.
Likeminded
Thank you, Dianne, about your thoughts on exhibition pieces. I get the feeling I have a bit looser definition of what the pieces should be, but they should be new-ish, and not just taking a chance to sell off stuff in the back of the closet. It's about the integrity of the artist, and when you're asked by a gallery, collective, or shop to show, i.e. they put their trust in you and your reputation, it affects their integrity, too.
And with weaving given so little exhibition opportunities around here, (especially in comparision to felting, dyeing or textile art,) unless it is a retrospective or themed exhibition, I see no excuse.
Grrrr...
And with weaving given so little exhibition opportunities around here, (especially in comparision to felting, dyeing or textile art,) unless it is a retrospective or themed exhibition, I see no excuse.
Grrrr...
2010/05/01
Saturday Daydreaming: Not Quite Dreamy Just Yet
Here's a stream-of-consciousness kind of a post, which usually stays as a draft until I get collect more words, but for some reason, on this particular Saturday morning, I feel inclined to post just as is.
Long, dark tunnel - not depression - creatively purgatory - "wasting" 24 months?
Wednesday night talk - youth rebelling against establishment bringing changes in art movements - total satisfaction in getting out something unrelated to what the speaker said
Conrad and Deby - being asked what's new in my life and having to type, "Nothing, really, nothing".
Sensing some of the past efforts coming together - directions for short- and mid-terms
Weaving my swirly designs - Carol Hannah sticking to what she does best
Helping Ali wind a warp - the reality/drudgery of weavers' work
Friday night opening - change in attitude - not liking but being curious about some art - art to me is "pretty" and "finished" - when conceptual textile art works
Appreciate my art friends
Feeling dreadful about the gap between "high" textile (??) RT Cally and still thinking of my swirly designs, being true to oneself, and Carol Hannah
Imagining, not planning, what I could weave before the end of this year
Sometimes it feels putting things into words ruins the thought, like verbalizing is intellectualizing and over-analyzing, and even categorizing, and I loose the original picture.
Long, dark tunnel - not depression - creatively purgatory - "wasting" 24 months?
Wednesday night talk - youth rebelling against establishment bringing changes in art movements - total satisfaction in getting out something unrelated to what the speaker said
Conrad and Deby - being asked what's new in my life and having to type, "Nothing, really, nothing".
Sensing some of the past efforts coming together - directions for short- and mid-terms
Weaving my swirly designs - Carol Hannah sticking to what she does best
Helping Ali wind a warp - the reality/drudgery of weavers' work
Friday night opening - change in attitude - not liking but being curious about some art - art to me is "pretty" and "finished" - when conceptual textile art works
Appreciate my art friends
Feeling dreadful about the gap between "high" textile (??) RT Cally and still thinking of my swirly designs, being true to oneself, and Carol Hannah
Imagining, not planning, what I could weave before the end of this year
Sometimes it feels putting things into words ruins the thought, like verbalizing is intellectualizing and over-analyzing, and even categorizing, and I loose the original picture.
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