Friday, May 9, 2008

more about the calendar/journal tapestry


The tapestry I'm working on daily (the Month of May tapestry) is being done by weaving about 1-1/2", then marking the end of the day with a dark marker (it's had the ninth day added here). As I began this month-long-process I created rules to follow (of course, since I made the rules I can break them at will!). So, briefly, my rules for this game are:

  1. use weft only from my many bags of left-overs from tapestries past,
  2. respond to each day with the number of shapes as is the day (one shape for May 1, nine shapes today, May 9...)
  3. end each day with two passes of dark weft to be ready for the next day's weaving--on the next day,
  4. and have the background be mostly the same throughout each day's section while the shape colors may change.
Last week I was energized by the process, excited to see what would happen daily. I was also spending several hours every day in awe of the beautiful spring as it develops here in north Georgia. I found that the colors selected for each day were very influenced by those observations of and reflections on nature's renewal.

As I began the second week yesterday I felt all of out of sorts...nothing particularly jumped up and down in my sense brain and said, "Weave about me! Weave about me!" So when I glanced into the weft-box my eye spotted a large bundle of yellow...I thought, "Ok, so I'll weave a yellow ground and place eight shapes of different mostly intense colors on it." Well, that turned out to be less than the desired effect but I left it in place...since I guess that's pretty much another rule that I didn't mention before...try very, very, very hard not to be too judgmental and start ripping out!


So, today I was even more blah...so the 9th day has 9 shapes...all red on a light gray field...except one is more pink than red. And it is also smaller than the others. Seems it's an outsider...by choice? By exclusion? I've said this before...don't quite know where since I'm writing in about five different journals currently.

Anyway, it is what it is...now there's a famous and significant quote, huh?!

Oh yeah, I'm still working on the fiddlehead compositions...or rather, struggling with them.

And on my yesterday's trip to the woods found windflower and false solomon's seal, as well as wild ginger...plus a few more things not yet identified.

There was also a wonderfully clear raccoon print in the mud by the creek...got a great photo of that! Now I'm wondering about how to use it in tapestry.

3 comments:

  1. I'm really fascinated by your daily tapestry journal. It seems like you have to suspend your judgment until you're all done, and then look at the whole thing together. Maybe then things will make more sense? Kind of like a mini-retrospective, where you suddenly see how your work over the years all fits together.

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  2. Isn't it interresting how we can have that roaring first fire of creativity and then on another day really have to dig deep to find it? A woven journal is an excellent way to document that process. There's such rich psychology to the interpretation of color and form -- unstructured stimuli, that it would be fun to sit back after a month and really analyze what feelings each section evoke.

    Very cool!

    Cheers,
    Jane

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  3. how lovely to see it all. Later in the year I'll be teaching a short workshop in journal weaving and your tapestry journal has inspired me to get started on it already. It's so easy to put things off, but now I've got no excuse anymore. KaiteM.

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