Fantastic property for sale in Western North Carolina!

No... not my usual tapestry design or weaving post but something I want to share.  Friends are hoping to sell a structure and about 10 acres adjacent to a larger tract of 140 acres that they own, the smaller portion with an Oregon dome on it.  Their interest in the larger portion property is for conservation sake; they'll be making sure that the 140 acres will remain undeveloped in perpetuity.  They've already ensured another 100+ acres in the same way near their home in Western North Carolina.  I wrote about my visit to the upper part of the land that they'll be keeping in a blog post back in 2009... link to that is here.  


So here are a few photos of the dome taken on that visit a couple of years.  The link to the ad in Mountain Xpress with details about the property is here.


This would be such a fantastic location for someone to develop as a small artist retreat center.  If I were younger this would be something I'd very seriously consider doing myself... but with ties and obligations where I am now it's not possible.  I hope the right person(s) will come along and help the place live up to its wonderful potential!

Looking toward the dome from the parking area... a windmill is seen at the right

view of the pond that's near the dome

Looking into surrounding woods from the entry road 

view of the fireplace taken from the balcony on the third level

looking out the windows in the living room; fireplace is at right

Parker and Erica coming into the living room

view from the entrance (where Parker & Erica were in the last photo) 

Kitchen

Steps up to next level (r) and down to lower level (l)... one of the bedrooms through the open door

An assortment of thoughts on the 21st of July

The 20th of July was a long day with view of the interstate ahead, for the most part. Although we didn't see a rainstorm approaching yesterday as on this day a few years back when we were driving to Tallahasee, Florida.



Over the years I've frequently drawn and photographed while riding in a car on the way somewhere. And a few if those images became the starting point for tapestries. The one above, called Rainstorm on the Road to Tallahasee, was included in one of the American Tapestry Biennial exhibits--ATB 5 maybe? Another one that I don't have a photo of handy was in the small format tapestry exhibit last year in Santa Fe--I don't own either of these anymore--or any of the other road images since all have sold.

Here's a photo taken on the road yesterday with a little manipulation with a couple of apps on my iPad:




Now-- for today, I'd call these photos "hotel weaving 101" -- or maybe "travel tapestry 101"-- or maybe "traveling tapestry tutorial" (the thee Ts for getting one's fix while on the road).







This is the tapestry diary for July and since we're traveling for a couple of days it's along for the ride. So here I am in a hotel near I-4 in Orlando, Fl drinking strong coffee made with a couple packs of Starbucks Via and getting ready for the day's adventures in art viewing. We're going to visit the Mennello Museum, the Morse Museum, and then drive to Jacksonville to the Contemporary for a talk tonight. And just faintly I hear Willie Nelson in my mind singing "On the road again..."

Changes are underway for some folks...

Erica and LouLou are at third and fourth from the left, sort of in the top center of photo.  This was taken during one of the weekly housekeeping meetings with tutor and director of the Visual Art Program, Pat Taylor.

I just read a couple of blog postings from friends I made while at West Dean last fall.  LouLou Morris is completing her MFA program at the College and moving on; Erica Diazone is also leaving with a Postgraduate Diploma and heading back to the U.S.  You can read about their progress at their blogs, the gift half understood (LouLou's blog) and Erica's blog, Between the Warps.

I very much enjoyed getting to know both Erica and LouLou when I was in England last year--as well as the other two students in the Tapestry & Textile Art program, Diana and Magenta.  Working under the guidance of Pat Taylor we all spent days and evenings in the tapestry studio, sharing ideas about our work and about life. I'm sorry I couldn't be there at the end of term exhibit to see the work they've produced this year as well as the work of the others in the painting and sculpture studios.  But I treasure the six weeks I did have with them in 2010.

Happy times ahead for you as you leave West Dean, Erica and LouLou!  And continuing success, Diana and Magenta, as you move through the rest of your time there.

more of the quilt tapestry progress...

I took the shelf off of the loom so I could see what was underway before rolling it forward a few more inches.  I'm using the quilt as a suggestion/guide for color and pattern within areas and also the earlier batik.  But the tapestry is different than either of those.  Flat, simple shapes and pattern combined with clear color... that's what the quilt (the real one) says to me... that's what I'm attempting to suggest in the tapestry.

Working on the quilt tapestry...

I'm back from the wonderful two weeks at the Lillian E. Smith Center and getting reacquainted with what I was working on as I left.  I've woven a few inches today above the area I photographed yesterday afternoon before leaving the studio.  I'm hoping to have this piece finished before too many weeks go by and possibly move on to one of the others from this series based on earlier batiks.  

I'm also working each day on finishing details for the assorted tapestry diary pieces.  Using lots of bits and pieces of wefts is a great way to recycle from bobbins... but it leaves hundreds (maybe thousands) of ends to be attended to.  I'm preparing the tapestry diary pieces for exhibit and don't want to have to do them all at once because finishing steps are necessary... but tedious... and, yes... even boring!