Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Back in my studio finally. It feels good and bad though. It's summer, which means it isn't raining here on Whidbey Island. Salmon fishing, crabbing, clamming, crawdadding, hunting, berry picking, our new boat, the hammock out front, the garden, and the sun shine are all calling me. I feel cooped up a bit, but I'm really inspired by the work I am doing and I want to be in my studio. Finding the balance is a challenge.

Since my visit to the east coast I have been able to get out of bed earlier. Unfortunately, my fibro caught up with me today and I couldn't roll out of bed until 0900. I've made it into the studio but it's going to be a slow work day for me. I've done almost 40 hours this week, and at that grueling pace I will most likely put myself out of commission. I'm working on figuring out how to get everything done with less strain on me physically. I'm sure there will be some changes in my process to accommodate my physical ability. At least when I was laying in bed trying to will myself up I came up with what may be some pretty fantastic ideas in my humble opinion. Fia wants me to do some color studies before really digging into my process. I think this is a good idea, but it had me stumped for a short time. How do you do color studies for a sculpture? So I set up sketch canvas in a grid on my easel and just lived with it for a few days while I worked on weaving. I have a good idea of where to start now, and if they aren't too embarrassing I will post them next week.

This week I wove. I wove until my back was aching, my hands and arms were sore, and my eyes were burning from staring at the weaving. I tore it apart 3 times, broke some warp lines and had to restring, and didn't pull it tight enough to get what I wanted. Yesterday, I managed to produce two usable strips for my woven "flag/ribbon" piece for my flag box. FINALLY!

This is hard to see. The two weaves in the middle have green, orange, burgundy in them.

This picture is a pencil schematic of the flag boxes with all the measurements so I don't waste time making something too big. The weaves on the outer parts were really just practice. They are terrible and need to be redone. Problem with learning a new craft is the time it takes to learn to do it right. Those larger weaves took me about 35 hours of studio time. The smaller, cleaner, more intriguing color and weave-wise took me 30 hours as well. BUT!!!!.....

I think things will move much faster now. I've got a good technique down and I'm getting more comfortable with my loom. I may actually vary the thread I am using to get some different textures as well. Really, right now everything is just an idea. Once the process starts there has to be room for change and variation. I've also been thinking about color use more critically. I'm reading What Color is Sacred by Michael Taussig, as well as, many books from last semester and my Roland Barthe Mythologies. The reading really helps me slow down and think through my working process.