Aldered state of mind..................

What can I say - the move towards spring has been full. I have been struck by everything around me near bursting - the alder trees speak of this with their catkins changing ever gradually to their full colour as we enjoy the 'feathers' of alder, a backdrop against the hills that are still dusted with snow and it is all about the subtleties that express the need to design....

All in one day - from alders to raspberries to cloth...

And it continued into other designs.....I have had this scarf that I purchased from the guild sale, one, because it was woven by my friend Trudi and the other because I loved the bubble effect - using cotton and wool and then felting it a bit and the cotton  bubbles up - very cool.........and it was in the back of my mind for some time when during this 'aldered' state, I also came across a print that another friend of mine had - a birch tree forest. I made a warp of alpaca and a linen blend and on an 8 harness twill, in equal stripes attempted to weave my birches. In the weft I used a linen and an alpaca and wove a couple of yards and I love the drape and the effect - a gentle bubble, but I didn't want to full it too much more as it was a lovely weight. I realize that I have been in a natural mode as far as colour and I am limiting myself with colour and technique - going for the fibres and how they react with each other. I am loving linen and alpaca together - it just works.

And spring continued to burst - we were blessed with a beautiful grandson, Cale McNie, joining his sister, Belle Emily Rose and cousin Easton Witt - what can I say, except that the I didn't think I could feel so much more joy.

Oma welcomes Cale McNie

Lots more to come and I am working on it as we speak - the student work is outstanding!!!!!

Complacency and creativity.......

As usual I have left such a gap between my posts - there just has been so much going on in the studio, teaching seems to be what I do and not much time to do much else. Lots of ideas of course, which is what I love the best and when one completes an idea, there is muchsatisfaction!

So many ideas and moments of sure joy - not a great picture, but just seconds before there were about a dozen geese swimming in and out of these trees. The water is so high (Shawnigan Lake and just down the hill from home) and I have been doing a daily photo record as an exercise - "what do I see" - kind of exercises -  form, colour, movement, it gives me a good start to the day and ideas abound. 

I chose the title to this post due to one of most wonderful experiences that I have had in the studio. A week or so ago, a woman came in - someone I knew - and had read the article in the Voice about Leola's sStudio and felt that this was the place to be gifted something she had.  Had I heard of Theo Moorman, yes I said and wished I had responded as Barbara had answered her some years back, had she heard of Wayne Gretsky??? So she put in my hands, the Weaving as an Art Form, which I love and have a couple of copies that I love to lend out, another book on permanent loan, Theo Moorman 1907-1990: Her Life and Work as an Artist Weaver. I hadn't seen this book, so I was very excited. But then she placed another gift in my hand wrapped in tissue - a piece of Theo's weaving done with a fan reed............it was quite an emotional moment. Helen, then told me that Theo had been her mother's best friend in Leeds and had visited her mom who lived in Chemainus - she had been here in the valley!!!! I knew she taught internationally and had been in Banff because my old weaving partner Christine had taken a workshop with her - and took Theo sightseeing around Banff. I have done a few pieces of the Moorman technique and loved this "poor man's tapestry" technique.

The book

The little weaving done by Theo using the fan reed

The fan reed that I made years ago and that is broken but will still work I am sure!

But why the title.........
Theodora Moorman quotes:  ..."One is, of course, aware that complacency strikes death at the heart of creativity, but it is not so easy to accept failure as a step towards progress. The rare occasion when something comes off the loom that one knows in one's bones is good is a matter for rejoicing. To realise a positive side to one's failures is much harder and needs a lot of courage.  Courage, persistence and an exploring and adventurous mind are our greatest assets.  It is good to 'push out a little into the deep'.

This all came about after watching Archie Brennan cut up a woven tapestry! I love it when my students lose a cross, or make mistakes - as I always tell them it is an opportunity for new design and gives me a chance to teach and I learn as much as they do - and there is always room for potential 'new' mistakes.

Barbara really wants to have a Theo Moorman workshop in the studio, so we are looking at a Theo Moorman Birthday Party and Tea - May 25th is her birthday, so we will letting you know of further developments....let us know if you want to take part. If you have some pieces that you have woven please let me know as we would love to showcase them.

And what other amazing things....

Community Tapestry is coming to town!!!!

Anne Clarke and I have begun to get ready for the community tapestry. We have decided on a design and over the holiday, Anne took the design to Island Blue Print and had it copied onto mylar, so we have our cartoon at the ready. It seems that there is tapestry happening in the studio more than ever and another tapestry loom is coming our way - so plenty of opportunity to create. I am very excited abou it as I have studied tapestry over the years, and have mostly worked on community tapestry and minatures. It has been some while since I have 'indulged' and my fingers are itching to do so. It is so much fun to work big and although this first tapestry in the studio will only be about 34" X 50", it will be a beginning. However I am the holdup, as I still haven't warped the loom - after the Spin In at Metchosin on February 25th (as in tomorrow!!), I can settle down and get it done.

A print of a detail from a larger oil painting done by my friend Lucy Schappy, and sent to me when I first opened my studio - I have loved it from the beginning and always thought it would be a great tapestry. The photo doesn't do it justice, but it is from a painting called Steppin' Out.  Perfect for spring don't you think?

http://www.lucyschappy.com/

The cartoon on mylar - the floor boards are showing through!

I just read on the MIWS blog that Sarah Swett will be conducting a workshop in September - I admire her tapestries so much AND  Archie Brennan, Barbara Heller, Jane Kidd, Sarah Swett, Murray Gibson etc etc. etc...........Sarah weaves grocery lists!!!!!! http://www.sarah-swett.com/

So I am going to just add some photos now - getting tired and still need to get ready for the Spin In tomorrow....

The Comfort Shawl in action. A first time weaver, Megan weaving a comfort shawl for her sister who was to undergo surgery - she went home with a beautiful handwoven gift.

Catharina's Liquid sky - thrums and rags!

My Valentine attempt at summer and winter hearts - 8 harnesses,  with mistake!

Jenna brought me some eggs, I was weaving on Ray's warp, the colours fit - a little lichen, beautiful eggs, one of the eggs was olive coloured, the weft was the same colour of linen and I just happened to have my darning egg in my pocket that my husband had carved  out of arbutus, with a heart on it - "for my love, for my socks" is what it says. But the whole 'nest' was perfectly coordinated with the warp - so very cool.....

Speaking of Ray - he has a contract with the Weavery....30 yards of handtowels....

Perfect edges, perfect beat....and weaving for only a couple of months.

Devon's first blanket warp - beautiful

I walked out of the studio one evening to this amazing sky..........

And I have saved the best for last - a very old picture - about 30 years ago, in my hippie gear (I was known as a hip-pie tomato at one point in my life!) a handwoven shrug with handspun mohair I grew myself, and a little girl I also grew myself (not such a happy duo here), but I swear I could see better with those big glasses..........

Tribute to Trudi!

I Love the Loom

Check http://www.ilovetheloom.blogspot.com/ 

The Loom - 38 years and going strong!



Chills and Twills.....

On my way to my fabulous diesel mechanic's shop I was completely surrounded by a frosted environment,  and my mind then went into winter twill land.  I am always looking at my surroundings in any case and recording future warps or designs that may play out into a structure of some kind. My husband then picked me up and we continued on to the studio - passing by the blueberry farm where the twill was so obvious in the regimented planting - Glen wouldn't stop for a picture, so will post one later if I manage to capture that image. It truly was a wonderful way to begin the season.

An 8 harness twill

detail from 'dancing leaves' - a straight 8 harness twill....

Later on the same day, I had a wonderful conversaton with a local guild member about the remarkable world of twills and how one can explore for a century and never exhaust the simple threading on any amount of harnesses (excuse my calling harnesses harnesses, I have never got into the habit of calling them shafts - after all my looms have horses........).

The Glenora Farm Christmas Fete was lovely and the weather was sunny and bright. Lots of textiles there and of course the Weavery had plenty to show. I bought yet another couple of handtowels and another tea cozy. Leola's Studio will be carrying some of their weaving, so if you cannot get out to the Weavery located at the four corners in Glenora, you can come to the studio.

Bucket bags, Deanne working hard as usual and incredible rugs.
My friend Ann runs the Weavery and the participants weave spectacular projects.

Lovely handwoven towels at the Glenora Farm Christmas Fair.


Our newest additions to the studio....



A tapestry woven with rags....

The studio has new weavers. Catharina has her loom set up and is weaving every day. The above tapestry is a study inspired by a card that she purchased at the Guild's show. It is quite lovely and from every angle we see something new. It is about 28" by 45" (I think) and quite fabulous. Catharina isn't sure that she likes using rags as her weft, but had fun anyway. Her husband Ray comes with her as well. I asked him one day if he would like to weave and he said he always wanted to try. He sat at the loom and it was if he was born to weave. His edges and beat are precise. Ray has diverse abilities and is challenged only by filling the bobbin. The studio is made richer by this couple. 

Catherina, originally from Belgium (she makes great waffles!) then Galiano and now in our warm valley. Lucky us.

Ray on handtowel duty!

Detail of tapestry

It is hard to keep up with all the goings-on in the studio. I have fifteen students from Shawnigan Lake School

that come every week, half on two afternoons and all of them on another afternoon. They are industrious with their knitting and very creative.....

Drinking tea is a must, felting, embellishment, knitting, quilting (with hand dyed fabric) and weaving are just some of the techniques we do.

The rag rug looms are busy every week and all one must do is book a day - it is fun. We have a new blanket warp on - very neutral and just calling for a weaver! The comfort shawls are warped up with a new bird feeder by the window, books with great writings and just the special private place to weave for some one that requires comfort. This project is by donation  - some kept for materials and the rest to Hospice or Care Givers. Please pass this information on. It is a win win project.

In January, tapestry will be alive and well in the studio. Ann Clark, a fabulous tapestry artist,  and I have joined forces and we will be initiating a community type tapestry. Our first design is in the works - a detail from a painting by a wonderful painter friend of mine, Lucy Schappy....the painting is called "Stepping Out" and is just so darn happy! The cartoon will be approximately 36 X 50 inches. We will be warping up in the next few weeks. I will keep you informed. Strangely enough, Catherina has come into the studio, Lynn brought her tapestry loom in to share and then another tapestry loom came in just the other day.....wonders will never cease!

I was having lunch with Gaye down in the Bay, and I got a frantic call from Ann that I had a felting crisis waiting for me! I came up to find my friend Evee with this gigantic felting project not felting so great....hmmm is about all I said (I remember Wanya expressing the same way, so now I actually know why..), anyway, the only thing I could think of was elbow grease with added hot water and soap - so we set off on a very cold but sunny day. The next day the whole darn thing was frozen, but we kept at it and lo and behold it felted rather well and the much smaller piece is being embellished as we speak - a floor mat for her son. I was kind of sore for a few days - a great work out.

May you have a wonderful new season, the light is coming and soon spring will be here. Happy holidays and please come and share the space - would love to see you.

Open House

Although the studio is always open, we are having an official Open House and Christmas Sale.

Please join us. We would love to see you.



Playful Processing...

This my attempt to be quicker and shorter with my postings. Playful processing is my

bloggity blah blah blah today.

In order for me to process any little inspiration, I have to play - whether it be flowers, leaves, bark or a passing conversation, I have to put it down into a collage, a drawing, a photo montage, a meal or a poem. Sometimes years go by for me to actually understand what drew me to that particular moment of 'buzz' in my head. The off shoots, or as I sometimes call them, my sidebars, are often part of the network that one small leaf, bug or moment can produce. A warp most often results, a theatre set, or just a simple arrangement of some collectibles.....a moment of design, colour and composition. All of us are composing without awareness, so we are practiced. The next step is to somehow record it,  if you wish or translate it in some fashion- it isn't necessary, but it sure does assist in creating and developing our art. It is like anything we learn; one practices, one gets better.

During a week of thinking of little art pieces to enter the Portals (Cowichan Valley Arts Council Gallery) Teeny Tiny Show, I attempted to do the above - and I had a great time. However my photos aren't that great (good excuse anyway), but I had a great time with this small goal I gave myself for the week. And did I learn something from this? Yes, I want to do more!!!

This is one of my exercises this week - the cedar bark, I will post the resulting piece but it isn't a great photo. The technique is thread painting on raw silk using my sewing machine as my brush, oh,  and it somewhat an abstract piece! The small piece of 'cedar' gave the 'reader' a clue as to what it might be. The best part was it was fun to do.

The other piece was also fun to do - my virginia creeper. Again, same technique and my photograph which I took outside my studio, I changed it to black and white and printed it off on some silk - it is almost a hologram (I think that is what it is called), with the structure of the silk - very subtle, but when you see it, it is like a little surprise. One has to see it in person to understand. So my inspiration....

and the resulting piece...you can see a little of the above picture on the silk background and the 'leaf' is of course all raw silk....

Now, my little pieces have a neighbour - an Alison Irwin paper weaving - absolutely delightful and I feel honoured to have such a neighbour!

Alison sent me this photo to replace my inadequate recording - this sets it off perfectly. The title is Black Poppy.
So enough for today. Play - it is good for you!

Having way too much fun........

The last two months have been incredibly busy with classes, weaving, dyeing, and well, most people know that transition from summer to fall busyness. A great way to sort out priorities and projects....

Virginia Creeper was the inspiration for the dyed fleece

 Indigo ready to rock and roll!

There was a lot of activity around dyeing this past month. We had an indigo dye day - several of us had indigo plants that Barbara had provided - such beautiful plants - and we put them together and proceeded to go through the process. Barbara had done a test run a few weeks earlier and got the most glorious blues. Unfortunately, although we did exactly the same process, we did not get any blue - just a hint.  So we have had a few explanations. The only thing different were, the water (high iron content), the time of picking - were the plants past their prime? and the heat - were we accurate enough. We will try again next year - all of us have plants beginning to seed and they will be next years experiment. We were disappointed, but the exploration of this wonderful colour, although elusive, was still fun and magical.



Jenna, Betty, Alberta and our team leader, Barbara hard at work preparing the sacred indigo...

The Juan de Fuca Fibre group came up for a day in the studio - wonderful spinners. Pots of tea, and a couple of dye pots were the order of the day. It was another fun time with women passionate about their fibres. We were having the time of our lives, dyeing raw fleece (local Churro from my friend Gaye) and overdyeing some roving.

 Happy Hallowe'en!!!

I admire this group as they are so devoted to their spinning. It was a fabulous day. All guilds and interest groups are most welcome to come and spend a day in the studio. It is a pleasure to share the space I get to work in, and it is a joy to have like-minded people in the studio. And we all learn - wow, how much more fun can we have?

My youth textile artists have been busy. One in particular just produces and creates lovely projects and already has sold a piece! So not only are they becoming textile artists, they are also becoming entrepreneurs!

 Morgan is 12 and won a first in the Cobble Hill Fair for her needle felting and then promptly sold it. She is saving for a sewing machine.

Her 'Snowy Winter Morning' scarf admired by all.

The community rag rug looms or the 'girlfriend' looms have been going strong. One week I had two separate groups of friends, six in all enjoy learning to weave and going home with a rag rug. They were all lovely as were the participants.  The comfort shawl loom is almost ready to go. We are preparing a lovely space for the project, so there will be privacy if required, music, lovely books of support and a comfy chair to take some time to reflect on the gift you are making. We provide the warp and you can weave with your chosen weft and all we ask is for a donation towards the fibres and anything left over will go to hospice or some other charity. Just book a week or so ahead. Due to all the generosity we have received, we would like to give back.



Blankets!!!!

There have been about 15 blankets woven in the last couple of months - maybe more. I am losing count.

Absolutely beautiful warm blankets that had everyone drooling.

Jewel has woven about 3 projects previous to these blankets. Her confidence in designing and warping is phenomenal. She wove two big blankets in two days along with her little shadow, Little Bear who sings to us on occasion!

Little Bear on his new rug, one for home and one for the studio...woven with Pendalton blanket selvedges...

Another blanket weaver, Lori has made three rugs in the last month, each one unique and beautiful. Lori's sense of design and colour is awesome, each blanket well thought out for the personality that they will be gifted to. Lori is quite petite, so it was fun to see her working on a 60" loom - the blankets spoke of greatness!

The first two

and the third.....

The Cowichan Fleece and Fibre Fair was this past weekend and there were lots of people enjoying the many fibres - I believe everyone went home inspired. Good job Annie and Kathy. I didn't get around to take pictures but managed to get a shot of our booth. My dear dear friend, Joy,  that I learned to weave with in Cherryville came down from Cortes Island to help and brought her beautiful Romney yarn. And the vest was a hit - soon to be kitted up and quite possibly be available in the studio!

Joy's Wool

I finally met Jane Richmond, a fabulous knitter and designer. http://janerichmond.blogspot.com/ and she took some great photos of the fair and of the most beautiful buttons by Franziska, who will be providing buttons to the studio as well. Check Jane's blog out - tutorials and everything. Great stuff.

The booth

And now for some random pictures

The ladies

The little goat...

My dear friend Ann loves goats as do I and so I knit her a little picture - it was fun! and speaking of fun, a final picture of my crazy girls who disappeared one day out of the studio, and although I didn't capture the perfect shot, I think I captured fun in the best possible way - carefree, happy, dancing in a field and learning all about fibre in the studio!!!! Now that's a lot of fun.