Outdoors!

The lurid cartoon handprint is now covered up, much to my relief; it was necessary, but somehow vaguely irritating.  I have been enjoying using ressaut which is a new technique to me, but renders the image in exactly the way I want.

One of the ways in which my research has been impacted by the pandemic situation is that I realised that my vague notion of ‘displaying my artwork in a virtual landscape if I have time’ has a greater priority, and more urgency, than anticipated.  The second realisation, close on its heels, was that I lacked sufficient visual data to create said landscape (let alone the skills, software, and computer power).  In order to remedy at least the first lack, I headed off to Knowlton in Dorset - one of my chosen locations - with picnic, iPad and doglet (for scale 😆).  It was a stunning day; odd to be driving on a motorway again after two months, but delicious to travel through heath and woodland on my way to the site.  When I arrived, shock! horror! other people!  This was a slight deterrent to filming and photography, but reassuring that, subject to permission from English Heritage to exhibit, there is sufficient footfall of visitors to see the sculptures.

Holding my iPad (in video mode) in front of me I walked the perimeter, then the henge, ditch and plateau; ever decreasing circles and ever decreasing footwear - it seemed appropriate to walk barefoot and labyrinth style somehow.  I am sure people thought me most odd, but I was ready to claim ‘artistic immunity’ if challenged.

Real tea - standards must not be dropped!

I now have many photos and lots of video.  The next challenge is to work with it!  

Variety (and sparkle)

Four types of texture going on here; weaving over singles, doubles with two different weft mixes, and quadruples.

The hand on the cartoon is rather startling, but you see the beginning of the ressaut interpretation.

This is the left hand rendered in ressaut on ‘Nefesh’.

Ouch!

I sat down at Lemminkäinen for an early morning session yesterday, only to have to cease and desist after about ten minutes because of excruciating pain in my lower back.  I have two prolapsed discs, and permanent sciatica as a result, but I can usually manage the issue without too many difficulties.  Yesterday I just had to admit defeat and hobble to bed and the foetal position.  I consoled myself watching some weaving videos until the painkillers kicked in and I fell asleep.  Thankfully, the Chaplaincy part of my work is all remote and iPad based at present, so I managed a Zoom conference later, and I can type lying down sideways.  LouLou will not be defeated!  

Much more mobile today, so at intervals I made an attempt on disentangling an old (2009!) rigid heddle project.  At some point in all my moves, the warp had become unwound from the back beam.  I had begun to work on it at the weekend, but the snarl up made me snarl; sometimes a second person would be so useful to have around!  This afternoon I had a brainwave:

Even tension for winding on by careful use of matching mugs tied on with pieces of old sheet; then it was a cinch.

All ready to continue with Leno.

I chose this yarn long before I encountered Yehuda Amichai, but in reclaiming it, I remembered this from his poem ‘In My Life, on My Life’:-

  5

I know how slight are the threads that tie me to my joy

but from those slight threads I have woven strong clothing,

a kind of soft armour, the warp and weft of joy

to help me cover my nakedness and protect me.

I did a small piece for my 2013 exhibition inspired by those words:-

Somehow, the reclaimed shawl has the same vibe associated with it now, a ‘warp and weft of joy’.  It should not take long to finish, and being so airy, I will be able to wear it in even the hottest weather.

And there’s more.....

More textured progress yesterday, between domestic matters, Zoom drawing class and remote movie night with a pal.  

On Wednesday I had occasion to go into my garage for a ladder (guess who locked herself out when she went to take photos of wildflowers on the green? 🤣)

While out there I rediscovered more of the yarn stash - the stuff for general weaving or knitting rather than tapestry.

I may have a play with some Saori type weaving on my Knitter’s Loom as a Sunday treat.

I Forgot it was a Bank Holiday

....and spent a lot of time at both desk (with chaplain hat on) and loom.  This is where I started today:-

with ‘Nefesh’ shown for comparison:-

And this is where I reached, when I could not feel my left leg any more and deemed it time to stop weaving and stand up.  

I usually set a timer, but I was engrossed in both the texture I was creating, and the music on Radio 3 (James Macmillan’s birthday concert)

I did also make a plateful of macaroons and went to the ‘party’ on the green for a while.  Such gallivanting!

Warp Speed!

I’ve been continuing to make good progress; I’m actually finding it difficult to tear myself away from the loom to do other things (and I still have work to do for the Chaplaincy, so cannot be in the studio all the time).  And I have to eat. And rest my back. 

This is where I left ‘Nefesh’ last night:-

And where I got to today, at the stage where I soon need to wind on:-

But, because ‘Nefesh’ shares the loom with ‘Neshamah’, they need to be at the same level before I do the winding; I have therefore moved across to the latter:-

It is just possible to see the edge of ‘Nefesh’, but would have been more useful to show them side by side, so you can see what needs to be done.

I have a prism hanging in the window of my studio, as well as a solar powered rainbow maker which fills the whole flat with dancing rainbows when the sun shines.  Today the prism cast light onto some leftover warp:-

Still Here, and All There

Geode II (aka ‘Blingy’) is off the loom and waiting to more beads added before I draw the warps up and present it to the client - probably in July when she is down this way again, but possibly via Royal Mail if her course at WD is cancelled.   I shall make no other mention of The Thing.

I started at UCA/UAL in September last year, and writing my registration document took some time, but I passed, and am officially registered for MPhil /PhD, part-time over five years.  It is hard to realise that the first year is half over!  Alongside new sketchbook work for the practice side of the thesis I am going to include the Identity Shrines as a trial run in the locations that I plan to use for the final artworks.  After some vicissitudes with Lemminkaïnen - who I think felt rather neglected - and with assistance from a fellow Varpapuu owner in Wisconsin, I was able to solve the tension and treadle problems, and am now weaving at great speed, aided by Radio 3 concerts and my classical playlist.  My lovely Boy gave me a really good Bluetooth speaker for my birthday, so the sound quality is much improved, hoorah!  As I type this, I am listening to an archive recording of Le Nozze di Figaro (my favourite opera; I listened to a CD of it while I was in labour 28 years ago).

Here is the progress made on the Nefesh shrine in the last week:-

A maquette for a large piece to be made once the shrines are off the loom:-

And a bonus picture of Aphraminta Splodge guarding valuable tapestry samples:-