John Campbell Folk School preparations continue...

Over the years I've developed handouts for my classes.  I almost always do revisions to the file and that's what I'm working on now.  I continue to find mistakes and correct them... then new ones pop up!  The technical things are fine, it's typos that I discover.  Since I don't have an editor who double (and triple) checks me I just live with it and hope the students understand--and try again with the next revision.

ANYWAY, here's what I did for part of yesterday... diagrams of structure:

You can see from the X and scribbled out areas that I screw up when "weaving" with marker!  It's easier to take out when weaving with yarn.  With the diagrams, I just have to start over and hope I can stay in control.

I don't know if any of these diagrams will make things clearer than demonstrations or photos.  I do demo of methods in class.  In fact, I have a loom with a large warp on it that I do most of those with... easier for students to see what I'm showing, I think.  I also have photos of detail in my handouts.   But nothing takes the place of doing it yourself and seeing the results and, I hope, understanding what is happening.

Now... for a bit of springtime from the backyard:

I've been watching the budding of the small ginkgo tree in the yard for about a month now.  About two weeks ago the buds were showing green at the tips.  Now they're bursting out with tiny leaves.  I LOVE them!  The ginkgo tree is one of my favorites.  There's a large one at my studio yard and a glorious one on campus at the university that I always enjoy seeing in the fall.

These were on the sidewalk at the studio last fall.

This is looking up into the big ginkgo on campus:

I've woven one small tapestry in the past with ginkgo leaves featured... don't have a photo of that on this computer... maybe I'll add one later if I can find it on the laptop at the studio.  I turned it into a pillow--and gave it to a friend.  I get to sit on it when I visit!

OK... later today... I found the photos of the ginkgo tapestry.  First, here it was before it became a pillow.  I designed it by doing a scan of ginkgo leaves with a piece of handwoven fabric from Central America--the leaves were laid on the scanner bed and the fabric placed on top of them.

Here's the pillow and the chair it rests on at Noel's house.  The chair is a handmade one and as you can see by the spinning wheel, Noel spins (among her many other tasks!)

Stacking those stones

More stone work

Slowly, slowly, slowly the stones are stacking together.

I've been in the studio only for short times over the last few days.  And my weaving time will be curtailed next week as I'll be doing preparations for my class at John Campbell Folk School that will begin on the 13th.  I'm looking forward to the week--should be beautiful springtime weather in Brasstown and the group that's meeting for the class will be a mixture of old friends and new folks.

My June class at Peters Valley is beginning to have some enrollees... hoping for a few more, though, to be sure that the class will make!

This and That and Another Thing

My time at the studio has been scant in the last few days since my husband had a bit of surgery.  The surgery was outpatient but we still were at the hospital for most of yesterday.  While there, I didn't even do my usual waiting room sketching.  Just spent the time by reading and waiting; waiting and reading.  Oh, watching the clock and waiting for the call from surgery was part of it all, too.

He's doing pretty well so today I'm at the studio for a couple of hours to put in a few passes on the tapestry and catch up on emails.  I've just learned that I have a piece accepted in the exhibit, The Art of the Cloth, that's going to be in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania in 2014 and 2015.  That was exciting news and I'm happy to be among the artists included.

Next week I'll be sending off a tapestry to another juried exhibition, American Tapestry Biennial 10.  The show will be in three locations across the country between this May and next April.  The exhibit's first venue is the Visions Art Museum in San Diego.  Next will be the Kent State University Museum in Kent, Ohio.  And, the last stop of the exhibit will be Kaneko in Omaha, Nebraska.

Since the work will have thousands of miles to travel and be unpacked and repacked several times I've invested in a sturdy box from Uline.  I called them late yesterday to order the box--and up drove the UPS truck with it today!  Talk about service--I've never ordered from Uline before but, so far, I'm impressed.  This box is indeed a bit of an investment as it cost way more than I'm used to paying for packing materials.  But the description reads well...

and the real thing looks as sturdy as promised.  So... I'll pack it up, send it away and keep my fingers crossed for safe journeys for the tapestry!  

Another thing to add to this post is a link to the wonderful article Janette Meetze has written about the tapestry diary practice that I've been engaged in for several years and that others are exploring, as well.  Janette's writes about her own tapestry diary occasionally at her blog, as does Jan Austin.  Here's the article link at the American Tapestry Alliance's website.

Now... time to close up shop here, go home and see what I can prepare for the guy for dinner!