Happy End of 2016!

I finished weaving my 2016 tapestry diary today.  Here's the way it looked earlier this morning:

Later this afternoon--off the loom!

Here's the next stage, clipping wefts and finishing warp ends. 

And my 2017 tapestry diary warp is on a loom that I can take me when I travel this year.  I'll begin it tomorrow--I don't know yet what I'll be doing throughout the piece--other than a day by day marking with separate shapes.

 

 

For warping, I have the loom propped up on a few yarn boxes at one side and with the legs holding up the other end.

Happy New Year to come!

Hambidge Days

Fisher Studio--where I stayed early in December.

I had an opportunity to go to Hambidge Center for a week in early December and I seized it!  I'd wanted to photograph some of the burned woods in north Georgia as reference for the current tapestry that's underway.  The afternoon I arrived and after checking in, I drove to Taylor House where I'd stayed this past summer.  Christine Jason, the Operations Manager at Hambidge, told me there'd been controlled or back burn done in the woods near the house.  While there, I photographed some of the burned areas and collected charred sticks to use for drawing.

Woods near Taylor House

Next morning, Christine took me on a drive along Patterson Gap Road to see the back burn portions there and both of us took lots of photos.  I also collected more burned sticks as well as some scorched earth to use for painting.

Over the next four days I made drawings and paintings from the photos I'd taken, using the charred sticks to draw with and and also the earth pigments I'd collected and processed earlier in the summer both at Hambidge and Lillian Smith Center.

Some of the collection of charred sticks and twigs I used for drawing.

Overview of inside Fisher Studio with some of the work on the walls.

Before I left on Sunday Jennifer Garza-Cuen wanted to set up a similar photo shoot that she did with me at the Mary Hambidge House last December.  Turns out the day was overcast--just what she wanted.  Here's a selfie I did while I was waiting for Jennifer to get her camera set up at the other location.

Although the drawings and paintings I made while I was at this residency will probably not turn into tapestries as they are, the information I was able to gather about the way the forest floor looks from the burnings will help me resolve the final parts of the current tapestry.

I've now reached the half-way point and I'm beginning to make transitions into ash and charcoal colors.  Another couple of months on this one, I think.  I'd like to finish it before I leave for Penland in early March.

Now... a bit of holiday update. December is always a exciting, busy, stressful month for everyone and our family is not an exception.  This year, flu decided to add to the excitement and it's hit me with a wallop, starting Thursday before Christmas --and is still dragging me down.  I'm up and about most of the day now but still feel pretty lousy.  I'm looking forward to 2016 ENDING on a healthy note! 

A new tapestry is underway

I began this tapestry with a small snippet from a portion of a small painting I did while at Lillian E. Smith Center earlier in the fall.  Now it's growing into a much larger image in the tapestry cartoon.  The finished tapestry will be approximately 60" h x 28" w. 

Here are a few details of the piece:

I wrote about the visual appeal of the strip I cut from the small painting as part of this post.  I've tried several other ideas from the drawings I made while at LES Center--but I finally decided to work with this strip which, as it was cut apart from the whole, became an abstraction of density of leaf litter.

Here's the strip.  I've turned it 90˚ as I'm weaving it.  There is a portion being added to it of equal width that's not being shown here since it's still in the designing stages for color:

I set the loom up and began weaving early in November.  Little did I know when I began working on the tapestry that it would offer a way to express some of my deep distress and sadness about the ravages of the wildfires throughout the southeast over the past months.  The tragedy that's unfolding in the Great Smoky National Park and the communities of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge from the wildfires compels me to make a visual statement of some kind. And now... just in the news, another terrible fire, the one in Oakland, California where many lives have been lost.

Fire is both a gift and a burden.  Fire has been with humans for thousands of years, and many myths and legends involve fire.    It isn't a simple gift, however.  Responsibilities come with fire and there's the burden of learning to live with and manage fire as best we can.  Use it for good and respect its power; these tragic events over the past few weeks remind us of the burden.

Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive

You've got to accentuate the positive

Eliminate the negative

Latch on to the affirmative

Don't mess with Mister In-Between

... at least that's what Johnny Mercer wrote back in 1944.

Well, these days it's harder and harder to Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive but I think it's time to try.  The Negative simply doesn't work.  Mister In-Between, that old fence sitting son of a gun?  No need to mess with him (yes, gotta be a "him").

But before accentuating the positive, I will mention the very negative and tragic events that are happening in the Great Smoky Mountains.   Wild fires have been going on throughout the Appalachians for weeks now (in spite of practically no national news coverage about it).  Many of the fires that have now reached thousands and thousands of acres appear to be of "human origin" (read vandalism, carelessness, or out-right stupidity).  

The fires have been raging throughout North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, stretching resources thin.  Firefighters have come from all over the country to help battle the fires.  The extended drought conditions of the Southeast combined with the fall leaf season, plus several recent days of high winds and the fires have been extremely hard to contain. 

On Monday, November 28 fires that have been burning in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park since around November 23rd spread rapidly down the mountains to the tourist towns of Gatlinburg and nearby Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.  Evacuations began on Monday night as the fires began to surround the Gatlinburg and thousands were quite literally fleeing for their lives in practically a gridlock of cars (if you've ever been to Gatlinburg you know there's a long strip of street with wall to wall tourist oriented businesses and very little in the way of exiting until you pass through the downtown area). 

Bill May, the Director of Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts located in Gatlinburg, was among those being evacuated.  He stayed as late as he was allowed and posted a few photos of what was happening at Arrowmont to his Facebook page as he was leaving.  He was able to get back to the campus yesterday and posted other photos.  With his permission, here are a few views from Arrowmont over the last three days.

This was taken around mid-day on Monday, Nov. 28.  The fires were still miles away and everyone was expecting that the town would be safe.  The smoke and ash was very much evident, however.

As Bill was leaving he was able to capture this quick view of one of the dorms at the campus in flames.

Here's what he found the next day.  One of the two dorms that were consumed in the flames.  A maintenance shed with tools and supplies also was lost to the fire.

But Arrowmont is mostly intact--the view this morning!  Arrowmont's extended family of creative people have determined that the school will rise from this like the Phoenix.  Below is a link for donations to this effort.

Here's what was posted on Arrowmont's Facebook page today, November 30:
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The fire destroyed three Arrowmont buildings – Hughes Hall Dormitory, Wild Wing Dormitory and the maintenance shed containing tools and equipment. All remaining structures on campus are secure. Information regarding additional smoke and heat damage is not available at this time. Power and phone service is limited.
“All Arrowmont personnel are safe,” says Bill May, “We have received many emails, phone calls, texts and social media posts expressing support and concern for Arrowmont and for the people in our community who have suffered loss. We are very grateful for our local and national community and the outpouring of support. Hope is not lost. We will rebuild.” Bill May is appointing a recovery team to assess damage and plan for the rebuilding of lost structures. We will inform the community when more information is available.

Arrowmont has received numerous requests regarding donations to support the recovery. To make a secure donation online, go to www.arrowmont.org and click the “donate” button. Send checks to Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, P.O. Box 567, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, 37738.

A link to news coverage of this is here. 

There is much rebuilding to do not only at Arrowmont but throughout the larger community of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge--as well as other areas in the Southeast that have been devastated by these wild fires.  And there is much sadness about the injuries sustained and especially for the several lives that were lost in the fires.   

Positive note?  Well, it's raining here right now.  And I hope it is at Arrowmont, as well.  And also everywhere over the thousands of acres in several states where there's still a wild fire burning.

Phoneix, Appalachia!