Full Circle

 Come see the project on display! Read the journals, handle the towels and soak up the 12' weaving. George Marshall Gallery, Lindsay Road, York ME. 

   

Well Used, Well Loved at George Marshall Gallery, York, ME until July8, 2018.

The Eight Journals on display and available to be read.

The 8 towels and journals.

Towel III caretakers Andrew and Bethie.

Panel #2 Off Loom

Panel #2 is off the loom!
It is just as amazingly vibrant with line, color and simple repetitive pattern as Panel #1.

Now it is onward to set up the loom for the two large center panels. These panels will have embroidered hands - which harkens back to the series I did "Now:Letters by hand."

It all seems to turn back on itself doesn't it?

My progress has been challenged by a new puppy -- Frieda! She is a joy -- and a challenge! I TOTALLY forgot how much work (and love) a puppy can be!

Frieda prefers paper collage.

Text into textile

Panel #1 detail

Panel #1 is off the loom. The subtle changes from thread to thread is mesmerizing. This panel is 6' tall by 2' wide. Be sure to zoom in to get a closer look at the shift threads and hand-dyed warp.

Panel #2 is in process - photos below.

If you look very closely you can see the lines of text/writing on the threads. Each writer added color and drawings to the paper prior to spinning.

Panel #2 detail

Second panel in progress

Progress Report

Shifu thread is so easy to weave 

The Shifu paper thread is brocaded on to the surface

 I have begun weaving with the Shifu spun paper thread from the participants in Well Used, Well Loved. Now that the loom is all threaded and ready to weave -- it is a breeze. This thread is so gorgeous that all I have to do is stitch it down with the supplementary warp -- and it looks amazing.

Slight color changes from each paper thread

A long, slow gestation

   Spring is taking her sweet time here in Maine. It's May 10th, the heat is on in my studio, the

Dyed warp threads beamed and ready to thread

daffodils are slowly opening, the lilacs are just small beads of deep purple and the oaks leaves are a lacy light green.
   If you have been following my rumination over how to present the beautiful Shifu threads - you know that I've played with different ways to honor and share these threads spun from your heartfelt text.  I've listened to what others think, considered my own visions and done a number of samples.
  A few weeks ago I made the decision to weave a simple dark blue-black ground cloth on which to "float" these threads.

My sketch 

  I have designed a 4 panel piece. The two outside panels will be 72" by 24" and have Shifu threads stitched down by a supplementary warp, placed in horizontal lines—as though in a letter. The two center panels will be 72" by 40" with Shifu threads couched on to the surface. The design will be a hand gesture or mudra. The warps are dyed, one loom is ready to thread.  Of course all of this is still open to change -- that's how art seems to evolve.

Shifu threads are all spun

Shifu in the shrubbery

 Yesterday I spun the last sheet of Kozo paper into thread. As some of you know I have the good fortune to be south in a warm place for the month of March. While here in the Bahamas I am not idle - I have been spinning, drawing, writing and continually contemplating how best to honor these threads.

  It was often a challenge to spin here -- as the wind can sweep away my bundle of cut paper - making it dance like a ghost.

  Today I took them all to the beach for a photo shoot. A few days ago I photographed a skein in the garden shrubbery.

  I rather like the threads wound in these small skeins. But I can't seem to let go of the idea of weaving them onto a black linen cloth - just a simple way to mount them.

  Obviously I am still figuring this last piece of the project out! But for now -- all the Shifu has been spun. Thanks to everyone for your patience and encouragement.

Shifu in the sand

From text to thread

SHIFU is the process of spinning Japanese paper into threads. This ancient technique of making thread allowed Well Used, Well Loved participants a way to safely and secretly share their responses to the project prompts.

beautifully decorated kozo paper

Fold and Cut

The process begins with the writing and drawing on kozo paper.

The paper is folded and cut into thin strips. Then it is torn at alternating ends to create one long, continuous strip of paper.

Kozo paper is all cut

Each place where this continuous strip makes a turn needs to be pre-spun. Using a little moistness on my fingers, I give this corner a little twist to make the spinning process more smooth. This turning juncture in the paper strip makes a small "seed" and gives Shifu threads their unique character.

Tearing the edges to make a long continuous strip

Once all the seeds have been pre-twisted I begin to spin the paper into thread - either with a drop spindle or on the spinning wheel.

I will upload a video of spinning in the next blog posting! Happy Shifu!!

From paper to thread

Becoming well loved

Tea dyed paper hanging

This is from one of the Paper Team participants - sharing her process and her beautifully transformed paper ~~

"I admit I was cowed by the beautiful paper that people were weaving. I don't decorate paper....oh, unless you consider tea dying....OK, maybe I do. SO, I did. I used the paper I wrote on and the paper I hadn't yet written on. Some of the text transferred and the paper turned translucent. Still drying but I am so glad to have been "pushed" into thinking outside my own particular box. The paper is becoming, ever more, well used and well loved."

The part of her story that I really connected with is when she compares her paper efforts (her work) to the those of others.

This is the very same trap that I fall into.

I compare myself to others, measure myself with someone else's standards,  -- and guess what?? Whenever I do this - I fall short - I just can't measure up. I feel less than - unworthy.

In an effort to break this habit, I am slowly re-patterning myself.
Perhaps this will be a life long project - but I am committed to becoming well loved (by me!).

Thanks for sharing your tea dyeing story!

Sarah

Our connective tissue

Towel II cools with the bread.

As a weaver and thread enthusiast, I am well aware of all the metaphors that underlie my work.  One of my current passions is thread as connective tissue between living organisms - the element that binds you to me, binds cultures throughout history, binds seemingly disparate tribes. Sort of gluten perhaps?

And yet sometimes our threads do not connect - we have different points of view on the same issue. This is where conflict could arise. But what if rather than conflict we simply nodded our head - and agreed to disagree? Then the connective tissue that binds us together is unbroken.

"Well Used, Well Loved" has a closed Face Book group - where we share our thoughts, response to the prompts and the photos. This is a safe place for our participants to be vulnerable and share ideas, opinions - each one unique. I, for one, have had my eyes opened to feelings that are quite different than my own. 

We are on Prompt #7 "The Dark Side"

For two months we have examined and reflected on different aspects of using and loving.

This week I would like to explore what might be considered the dark side of this topic. It’s a place that some might shy away from – with all good reason.  And yet, to know and understand something – we must be aware of its opposite.  In this case, what might be the opposite of “Well Used, Well Loved”?

Towel VII helps with Easter eggs

In yoga class, sometimes my teacher will have us exaggerate the opposite of a pose – for example if she wants us to relax and drop our shoulders – she asks us to shrug them up, way up to our ears.  And then we dip our shoulders back down with new awareness of both positions. As many philosophers query – how can we know sunshine without knowing shadow?

These opposites are an integral part of Yin/Yang philosophy, Bali Hinduism and many other spiritual traditions.  Perhaps the deeper we explore both sides, the less obvious is the line between “black and white". 

PROMPT #7

• Do you see an opposite to Well Used, Well Loved?
• Do you want to explore this opposite side? 
• If so, what do you see is the opposite of Well Used, Well Loved? 

 As always – there are NO right answers to these prompts. And they are very personal. 

To share them is your choice – not a requirement.

I am so very grateful for your companionship on this journey of inquiry.

Here are two responses: one visual, one written ~

Visual response to Prompt #7

"I can't seem to shake the last prompt regarding opposites, darkness and light... it follows me through my day and even seems to be stalking me in my sleep. Clearly something, I have not given enough consideration to, is seeking my focus and attention. As I sat staring at VIII on my kitchen counter this morning I wondered... is she a continuation of VII and all the woven and numbered towels before her? Cut from the same cloth, but with her own unique sewn and stitched edges. That's when it hit me.... the idea and nature of EDGES is what has been insistently prodding me. Edges, transitions and the nature and power of something to be itself and at some point (visible/invisible/tangible/intangible) become/express something else. It's time to grab some paints and stay tuned to what is bubbling up from the edges and transitions of the dark woods I am about to wander through."