Eclipsed

We were supposed to have had a partial eclipse this morning about an hour ago. I wasn't prepared, but we had a perfect weather for it, so I rummaged around the house to see if I can find something to view through. (Is that even English??)

I first used a blue glass decanter and found the lights distorted too much. Next I put some red wine in a cheap square vinegar bottle. By this time there was a substantial dent in the circle, but you'd never guess, would you?

Second try: I did not look directly but tried to shoot it directly. By this time there was a substantial bit missing from the circle. Honest.

Third try: I switched to a tiny bottle of Sambuca flavoring in a much better-quality bottle than the vinegar. The sun appeared to be missing about 1/4 of its usual circle, not the camera wanted to cooperate. In NZ, the most you could see was 89% missing, the radio said.

I put some distance between the Sambuca bottle and the camera. And now I do see a resemblance of an eclipse!

I listened to the birds for about an hour, if they would indicate that something is up. It felt as if they were particularly noisy just before, but I'm not sure if it had anything to do with the eclipse. I couldn't tell if it was noticeably darker, and it's been a cool morning anyway, so if I didn't hear on the radio that we had an eclipse, I get the feeling I wouldn't have known about it. I don't know if it is I who am so divorced from the potential mysteries of life, or we as species make those things up. But I'm glad I tried to experience this one. 

* * * * * 

Since the day after we hung the exhibition a lifetime ago, I've worked fairly consistently, and yet only if I'm lucky I'll finish weaving only the fourth piece this afternoon. That's a whopping 45 days for four medium-sized scarves. And the house is a mess and the garden, well, we won't go there. I haven't done much else besides go to figure drawing class four times. And I'm thinking of nothing else but work I need to get done before I go to Japan in Feb. The saddest thing is, I've been working consistently, so this must be my break neck speed. It's a turtle's neck; maybe I need to wear those less often.

I could weave faster if I didn't use multiple wefts, true, but then I'm weaving an unprecedented four-in-a-row using drafts from Handweaving.net, so the delay from multiple wefts is made up by the usual long-drawn draft editing. I could use fibers and sizes that's faster to weave and the next warp is cashmere at 16EPI, PPI not much more than that. But I need a few three-block drafts I'll make. 

I can't weave for very long at one stretch. With the color-swapping, my attention span needs time to settle at the start and then runs out after a couple of hours and I start to make mistakes. Even with one weft, I have to leave the bench after about that long so I don't incite prolonged damage on my arms. So, a little bit at a time and every day is all I can do. 

And this has been so frustrating! I hate getting older. Or dumber. Or something-er.

On Marketing

I adore websites and blogs that don't blather but show the works and the artists at their best, the kind that have separate tabs for CV, exhibitions and awards, gallery, that, printed, can be submitted straight away as grant applications. I imagine those artists look and embody their artwork, be they in colorful clothes, inhabiting minimalist interiors or traditionally-elegant garden. The opposite of me. 

The first website I had from 06 to about 09 was elegant, if I may say so myself. Ben and I worked hard on it. I started this and the Japanese blogs to augment the news section of that website. But I learned I enjoy blogging and the blogs became something else, and I wouldn't be surprised if I became someone else.

With this third incarnation, everything merged here, and separate websites disappeared. And I guess that's who I am, where I am, now. I'm more interested in making contents, (cloth!!) than presentation. For now, I've got my Big Girl Pants on and stopped worrying about "having" to have a "presentable/marketable" online presence. That is all.

Surprise!

In that, once in a great while, I am satisfied with what happens on my loom as I weave. In this instance, a measured one, but I am happy with the colors I chose and how they are appearing. 

 

On my screen, D looks pretty accurate, but I think A is pinker and B redder. C and E are dark in value and would have looked lovely next to each other, but I didn't want a flat-looking cloth, so I inserted the whiter D, and I'm glad I did it. I had to label the paper bobbins because under florescent light telling the difference can be hard. I also think the draft, Handweaving.net's #   modified, suits the color arrangement. Or is it the other way around?

I know that color is the first thing I noticed about textiles, and when I select yarns, I concentrate on the hue; intensity and values are more subconscious, or as afterthoughts, as a way of justifying or understanding my decisions. I don't like facile gradations, (therefore, my problem with Warp of Shame,) and likewise the gradation in this piece's wefts pleases me only as a step. But I am happy that I went against my usual tendency and made a place for D, and I hope I'm a step closer to understanding using values and intensity in making interesting cloths. 

But just so you know I'm not completely, uncharacteristically, happy, the B-side of this cloth is not interesting, right selvedge is wreck, and it's still that coarse warp so the hand will be more suitable for an exfoliating cloth.

But I must be happier because the first piece, in spite of being in more "my" colors with three purples in the weft, I couldn't be bothered shooting. The colors shimmer, but I feel it's more predictable. Maybe not.

My mom is struggling with colors; that's been the topic of our weekly Skype sessions for a few weeks. But let me tell you, Mama, it's like anything else; the more you try different things, it most definitely gets easier. Remember when I owned only navy blue wool yarns? One way of looking at it is to try and make the ugliest thing you can ever make and see how not ugly it turns out.

Hodgepodge

Ronette said, "Collage!", so I did. Joanna's unfinished mechanical legs, seated.

I don't get collage, eh. I get glue on the wrong side of the paper, hands, face, clothes, and sometimes hair, and yet the pieces don't stay stuck and sometimes end up on my person. I thought I'd work mostly with analogous value variations and build up to create shapes but while trying this approach I realized I had to see/know the shapes and be dexterous enough to tear in approximately those shapes. Then glue.

But it was a small light-bulb day. You know how "they" say practicing art makes you look at the world differently; well, I had never understood it; it hadn't happened to me; I don't see things differently. Today it occurred to me that the shape of highlight on Joanna's right shoulder to upper arm looked familiar; I know that fan shape; it features a lot when I build shapes with light and shade. It took me three+ years, but still a small yay!

I also noticed something in relation to what Annabelle said last week: over the years I have developed a "physical" understanding of sizes relating to body parts. When drawing, my preference has been the A1 size paper; it's as if my subconscious (??) understanding of human figures has developed in that size frame (or slightly bigger), and my eye/hand automatically want to create figures that fit in that size. The above piece is A2 and if I had continued upwards, I would not have had her torso let alone her heed/face. But the first piece I worked on, on A3, is so disproportionate and weird.

* * * * * 

I'm not participating this year but Marlborough's "Weave It, Felt It" is on again this weekend, and when I was sent electronic posters I was shocked.

This is Poster 2. The scarf at top left I wove way back; it and three others were shown in a gallery on Waiheke Island near Auckland, and then in WIFI. Then in March 2011 I donated it to Handmade for Christchurch, an online fund-raising event after the second, big quake there. An old colleague from my previous incarnation bid on it but it got lost in transit. There was a bit of toing and froing between the organizers, the bidder and me, and the bidder was justifiably annoyed. The upshot of this is an approximate recreation of the piece on my To Do list since pre-Pillars days.

Last night I wondered if it mysteriously resurfaced and found a place in this year's WIFI, but no, Rose just dug up pictures form the past for the poster.

* * * * *

A weaver told me to check a gallery because another weaver had copied my colors. Now, you know me to go all huffy and puffy when photos get pinched online. Strangely I don't get bothered when work is, well, similar. It goes back to my thinking that there's very little new in weaving. I don't know if/how/when I copy others; I don't do it consciously but impressions of lovely textiles do stay with me so I can't say I never do subconsciously. But now, my "thing" is changing constantly I'm not sure if there is "my" thing. 

* * * * *

I wouldn't wear these socks, I don't think; I like socks to be in one color, but I love the geometric designs and the colors; some combinations are so out of the left field for me it's almost refreshing.

* * * * *

I think (hope) I'm done with cosmetic changes to the blogs/websites. Next is content; I like tidying/cleaning, but I am not a woman of few words, and, oh, boy, there are a lot of posts and links to check.

Happy weekend, everybody.

Weird Week

Because Ben hadn't taken enough leave this year, he had planned to have this week off and we looked forward to a little downtime, gardening, walking, café-ing, perhaps the Italian Cinema Fest in town. But until yesterday, Day 9 of his strange cold/sinus problem, he was a zombie. Now that he's on the mend, I'm a bit crook. The weather has been lovely for the aforementioned activities, but all we've done have been to get a car warranted, (a semi-annual requirement); Ben went to see a doc and got a script for antibiotics which he probably won't need; and butcher-, veg- and fish-shopping. It's already midday Wednesday. What bothers me is I can't tell if mine is a cold or a weird/new bad hay fever.

I have been weaving a little, on the strange hot pink cotton in the previous post, sett unchanged. I'm using smaller geometric drafts downloaded from Handweaving.net, the first piece being the two-triangles-making-diamonds in the middle, the second probably the first/far right, which looks totally different on the two sides and which I turned sideways.  I love the drafts with long floats, but this thread feels so coarse when allowed to float, so I the finer drafts work better. I love the ropy draft third from the right, but its B-side is muddled and unattractive in this thread combination, so no go this time.

I've been thinking about complicated drafts and blocks again for the next cashmere warp, and bang, have a look at this by Zeni; so beautiful, so subtle, so sophisticated, so attractive, utterly desirable because of its deceptive simplicity. Friends who know me in person laugh when I say my first preference is achromatic/analogous; it's true I do weave a lot of colorful stuff because that's what sells around here and what the galleries request. After I clear my backlog, though, I am hoping for a color strike, a bit of a analogous blitz.

I'm continuing to simplify my online life; I've been working on this and my Japanese blogs; there will be some cosmetic changes as I learn to navigate the new Blogger editor, but nothing fundamental. I apologize in advance if the process gets bumpy for you.

OK, pics.

I'm enjoying taking pics for a change; I'm using Ben's old Canon G3 circa 2002.

EDIT: We came to New Zealand to live 18 years ago today. Forgot about that while flipping from one website to another all day chasing the election results.

Days Leading up to Fridays

First off, I know Blogger gets naughty from time to time disallowing comments, but Michelle says Unravelling said she has no "permission to leave comment." Has anyone else seen this? My relationship with Blogger's "new" editor remains tenuous but I haven't changed settings in a year or two or three and have never blocked anybody. So this one was totally from the left field and I'm not sure what to do. Know anything?

I got two Santa Fe-bound pieces off of Warp of Shame. I like these and, while fringing, thought these were "well-crafted", but while pressing I changed my mind again. It's the usual thing; they are technically wonky. At least they both have that scintillating color/sheen thing.

Next is an iffy project; the warp is a strange cotton. Look at the label; it's 3 sets of 3 sets of 60/2; wiry, kinky, stiff and hard, in hot pink. It may suit bags and possibly jackets, but I can't think of suitable usage within my short list of things-I-make, (i.e. scarves, shawls, and tea towels.) It's almost an unfriendly yarn. And yet I put it on the loom and sampled because I love the color and the size in contrast to 20/2s. I'm not sure if it would work as a scarf, other than, say, splashes of color to go with a rain or trench coat; you get the gist. I sleyed at 36EPI but may resley at 30.

Santa Fe wants colors from me, so naturally I keep thinking of cottons, but Pat said to send wool as northern winter approaches and I may be categorized as a New Zealand weaver. Truth is, I don't have the good merino in colors so I turned to my cashmeres. I made one warp using from Indigo to blue-red, but I don't like it so I'm putting it on hold and make another, possibly in greens, purples and pinky oranges.

But... no gardening; it's been a bad year for hay fever, and yet our place could so use some TLC. Ben has next week off, so perhaps, perhaps.

Fridays

Yesterday Ronette continued to make us work on gesture drawings in 30 seconds and 1 minute; I prefer 5 and 10 seconds for these and get bored. It so happened that yesterday's model is also a friend of mine, and I tried different kinds of lines, mainly to fill the alloted duration. The curly lines, to me, symbolized her speaking voice, the side of her personality she shows me, as well as our sometimes tenuous friendship. She's a good model. I'm also learning how to draw with the eraser more.

Anabelle ran out of paper and taped an A3 sheet on the bottom of a A2 sheet, allowing room for a long drawing. She said because we use the A-shaped papers all the time, she automatically/mentally frames the figures in that proportion. I don't think much when I draw; I just don't like heads and feet so when I've no room it's a bonus, though after intensive head and face study during Term I, I find I include them more often than I did in the first three years. My drawings are, in my fourth year, still mediocre to WTH at best, but I don't even "hope to do better one day," because it's being there and doing it that gives me the most pleasure.

Next week we're going to collage figures. Pat P said she doesn't like collages because it's out of her comfort zone. I don't like collages because my glue proficiency stopped at Age 4 so all my stuff end up sticky and wrinkly and horrible, as do my hands, clothes and sometimes face and hair, but not because it's outside my comfort zone. Come to think of it, nothing I do in Ronette's class is outside of my comfort zone; either I don't have a comfort zone any more, or more likely being in the Friday morning class is my comfort zone. I'm game for anything she instructs us to do on the one hand, and can ignore anything I don't understand or don't feel like trying on the day. I feel detached because I'm busy being in the moment if that makes sense. 

I'm a weaver and my bad drawings don't threaten me, though for many in class painting and drawing are their primary methods of expression and self-criticism often get in their way. I understand because this is what happens with my weaving, and it's a valuable lesson to observe their self-flagellations, but much more fun to celebrate their successes especially when they/I can spot what worked.   

Anabelle, Sam, Catherine and I might have a small exhibition in 2014.

Period/Full Stop

Then this morning, we dismantled our exhibition, which in my case took all of 23 minutes. With Ben's help, of course. And now the various piece reside in variously not-exactly-convenient places in my house.

 

I realize now that the one I got really very wrong are the postcards. They look much too dark and unattractive; I wouldn't buy them. I should leave at least a couple of days to work out the colors and values of the printed cards and not feel bad about taking up a lot of the designer's time because, ummm, the values and saturations in my cards are looking sad.

EDIT: I'm doing a little ac/counting. I prepared 96 postcards and sold only 8 at $3 each; I also prepared 68 buttons and sold 24 at $2 each. They are insignificant, but still it's worth making tiny affordable things to take away if I can't be bothered making middle-of-the-road affordable things also. Thanks you, Marlborough Weavers, for the most part! 

Normal

Starting this week, Week 2 of 8, I've been allowed back in the Friday morning drawing class. What a relief. Friends, morning sun, my favorite model. And for once, we were allowed to use a proper, A1-paper. Bliss. 

(The two in front are A3; the one in the back is A1 with some weirdness because I didn't stand back far enough to check the proportions. The poor thing looks like she has a tumor between her legs on the bottom right, but rest assured she doesn't.)

Then I went to see two satisfying films, "The Intouchables", (French, beautiful, comfortably predictable but laugh-out-loud hilarious,) and Mental, (noisy, very Australian, and in a strange twist, a most loving homage to the film"Sound of Music".)

I met Ben for pizza at the cinema, (Nelson's best pizza place is inside our cinema), came home and went to bed early. Nice, eh.

Colors

Mom often refers to colors as the "young" people's dominion and blames her chronological age for not being "able" to weave anything in a new color scheme. Phhhhh! I'm sending two of the more sedate (yes!) balls of Italian knitting yarns I found in the local shop as triggers.

Meanwhile I was a bit stuck for a new cashmere project for Santa Fe, but dithering in bed this morning paid off: I think there are going to be trees and leaves.