Summer Ends Soon--Time for a bit of catching up!

 

Yes, a bit of catching up although I won't put the whole of summer in this post. Maybe I'll follow up shortly with another post or two (or more).

In the last post I mentioned the break I'd had in late April while I was at Wildacres for an artist retreat. Since then, I've had good recovery with the help of physical therapy. I still have some pain but not so much that I have to take anything for it other than topical application of arnica gel. I'm continuing the exercises recommended by the physical therapist and added those to the ones from the abdominal surgery PT follow-up last year. The morning routine now includes those exercises, along with writing morning pages, walking, and--of course--weaving my day in the tapestry diary.

I've had a busy summer in spite of the temporary setback from the broken arm. I was able to finish an article for an upcoming issue of Easy Weaving with Little Looms, weaving with one hand to complete the samples. I took a writing class at John C. Campbell Folk School with Annette Sanooke Clapsaddle in June and another writing class there with Dana Wildsmith, that one in August. I was able to put warps on two of my larger looms at the studio and develop cartoons for both of those. I started weaving on the largest one a couple of days ago and I'm hoping I can finish it before the end of the year. I had tapestries included in the exhibit "Three Voices" with two other artists (Jennifer Sargent and Pat Williams) in an exhibit at Clayton Center for the Arts, Maryville College, Maryville, TN throughout the month of July. And, I was able to teach a long awaited workshop for Convergence 2022 in Knoxville in July. 

Convergence was originally scheduled for the summer of 2020--and we all know how the summer of 2020 turned out. Handweavers Guild of America (HGA) holds their major conference, Convergence, every two years at different host cities in the U.S. I was excited to learn of the Knoxville location back in 2018 when it was announced because it would be a little over three hour drive for me. For the first time, I applied to teach a workshop. My proposal was accepted and I was happy to be part of the instructor roster. When the event was cancelled the same schedule was postponed until 2022 with the hope that by this year the pandemic would be past and all would be back to normal. Well, that hasn't happened but we're learning how to carry on in spite of the virus. 

I really enjoyed my Convergence experience even though it was a hectic few days, The Convention Center next to the World's Fair Park was the location and the conference hotel was just across the street at the Marriott. Each morning I walked to Market Square or through World's Fair Park before going to the Convention Center. The first morning, I was at the Schiffer Craft booth in the vendors' marketplace to do book signing. Later that day Pat and I drove to Maryville College to attend a reception for the exhibit we were in.

On Sunday, my workshop was held during the day and in the evening I was part of a panel convened by Cathryn Bergeman "The Handweavers of Modern-Day Southern Appalachia" along with Karen Donde, Pam Howard, and Barbara Miller. On Monday, the American Tapestry Alliance had the speakers' session and later in the afternoon I was able to see the small format non-juried exhibit sponsored by ATA, "Tiny but Mighty," at Emporium Gallery. 

A busy summer! I'm glad I was able to do everything that had been planned in spite of the little setback in late April. Now, continue to stay upright for the rest of the year and get some weaving done! Here are a few photos from Convergence:

The Sunsphere from the 1982 World's Fair was just across the street from the hotel and next to the Convention Center.

 

I was thrilled to discover that a detail of my tapestry "Revelation" had been selected to use for the cover of the Conference & Gallery Guide!

 

 

I was at the Schiffer Craft booth on Saturday morning for book signing and a classmate from Dana Wildsmith's online writing class showed up! What fun to meet him and his wife in person.

Bob Thomas and I are communing with the Schiffer Craft crane.

This was at the reception at Denso Gallery, Clayton Center for the Arts, Maryville College.

Conference room where the workshop was to be held. The intern assigned to me as an assistant and I set up the room the evening before to be ready for the 15 participants first thing the next morning.

Lots of activities squeezed into the day! The workshop focus was to explore the elements and principles of design with paper, paint, charcoal, and crayons rather than yarn.

Tiny but Mighty exhibit. This is only a small portion of the over 100 small tapestries that were on display.

One of the morning views as I started walking.

And at the end of the stay in Knoxville I took the last walk in World's Fair Park.