Artist's Date

I'm spending A few days in Sarasota FL to meet my new baby grandson! He was born on Feb 9 and is my first grandchild. I know, I know, you're saying she can't be old enough to have a grandchild! Oh but I am! I've already started my grandmother's brag book! I'd bore you with a picture but I'm writing this on my I-pad and I haven't figure out how to get those pictures on my blog.

I came down to help my son and daughter-in-law because I remember what a crazy hectic, tiring time it was trying to get use to the needs of a newborn when sleep is at a premium. I'm happy to say that he is such a good baby that they are not experiencing that at all. This baby actually sleeps!

So today I had some time to go on an "artist's date". Tonight was the art walk at Towles Court in Sarasota. I've been to this before and always enjoyed it. It was great fun to walk around and see the art and meet the artists who are so engaging. Being in this atmosphere replenishes my artistic soul. It makes me feel energized and gives me lots of inspiration. I feel excited to go back to my studio and work on new ideas.

The life of an artist is so isolated that going to events like this and talking to other artists is almost a must. It is so easy to become one dimensional when one is holed up in their studio alone working. These artists are so lucky to be in a place where they can be a community
and share ideas and thoughts. I feel like I am in the right place when I am visiting there but I also have a longing to have this experience at home. Inspiration comes from many places but there is nothing like being around a group of artists to discuss, discover, and explore together.

It was a fun night. I met some new people and had some wonderful conversations, was inspired, and saw terrific art! What more could an artist ask for!

How do you energize your artistic battery? Where does inspiration come from for you? Would love to read how you answer these questions. And while you are thinking about it, check out the website for Towles Court at http://www.towlescourt.com.

What's New on the Loom?

I'm back to weaving again after spending January doing inventory, gathering info for taxes, and filing Sales and Use Taxes in several states where I do shows.  While this is necessary for the business side of what I do, it is not the most creative time for me!  It feels good to sit down at the loom and weave.  It almost doesn't matter what it is I'm weaving.  I just have to get into that rhythm of throwing the shuttle back and forth across the warp.

So what am I weaving to get back into the groove?  I had a few chenille scarf warps in my basket that didn't get woven last year so they are my first task.  It's familiar and a good way to ease back into producing new work.  This task of weaving what is left behind helps me to clear my studio of projects and move ahead to designing new work.

So here's the process so far:

After putting the warp on the back beam, it gets threaded through the heddles.  This is one place where the pattern is determined by the threading sequence.

The next step is to bring all the threads through the reed which will keep them in sequence and the correct spacing.

After this the warp gets tied onto the front apron bar and a heading is woven in.  This step helps to even out the spacing of the yarn.  It can be any material. I use toilet paper which is easy to rip out when the piece is taken off the loom.



Ready to Go

This is a new color way for me. While using compliments (opposite colors on the color wheel - blues, purples, orange in this case) can be a challenge to find a weft that blends well and is pleasing, I welcome it.  When it works, the piece usually pops! It is never dull! So my task at this point in the process is to weave a sampler of colors for possible wefts.



Completed Sampler

So I have at least 8 possible choices represented here.  I added a textured yarn called "Wool Pom Pom" from HABU yarns in NYC for interest to see how this might work.  I like the effect it makes.
Here are close up pictures of the sampler. I have my favorites. What ones do you like?

Amethyst and Navy

Navy with Pom Pom and Blue Purple



Eggplant and Dark Teal

Dark Teal with Pom Pom and Hunter Green

I think I have made my choices for the six scarves I will weave from this warp but would love to hear what you think. Comments are always welcome.





 

Comments are welcomed

I wanted to let everyone know that I do welcome comments on this blog.  I love to hear your views and ideas in response to what I post.  I also welcome dialogues between you and others that post here.  As a note, I have changed my comment settings so that if you comment on a post that is older than 7 days it will be e-mailed to me for moderating. This is so that I can respond to your post.  When posts are older than 7 days I often do not know that a comment has been posted.  Moderating keeps me up to date.  So if you don't see your posted comment right away, trust that I do and it will be posted in a day or two.

Hope everyone is having a good beginning to the New Year.  I am doing my usual year end filings, record keeping, and inventory along with deciding about what shows to participate in during 2012.  Have any recommendations?  Where would you like to see my work in 2012? 

The Dog On the Loom Part 2

A few months ago I wrote about "the dog on the loom", http://studiojottings.blogspot.com/search?q=The+dog+on+the+loom, and explained what that meant. I was weaving a liturgical stole for my husband for the 40th year celebration of his ordination.  Well the day came and went and the stole was not completed. The celebration was in May and since we were entering the common time in the liturgical calendar he was not going to need the white stole until later in the year. Much later in the year - Christmas Eve!  Guess what! He needed it for tonight!  I am happy to say that the "dog on the loom" became the beautiful white and gold stole that my husband wore tonight. It was transformed - like magic (with a lot of patience and help from me)! Kinda like the transformation that happens on Christmas Eve.  To put it simply, a baby comes into the world in a lowly state and transforms it.  What a mystifiying and magical night! May the world and all who live in it be transformed once again.  O Holy Night!


Handwoven Stole - Christmas Eve



New Scarves

I just finished four new scarves.  They are in the Collapse Weave technique. I wrote about this in previous posts. Check out http://studiojottings.blogspot.com/2009/07/collapse-weave.html & http://studiojottings.blogspot.com/2009/08/this-and-that_10.html to get more information on how these scarves are made.  I love making these scarves!  Better yet I love how they feel after they are finished.  The weaving on these scarves is very labor intensive!  It is slow and exact in order to have the technique work effectively but the results are wonderful.  The time it takes to weave them is worth it. The wool/silk yarn that I use is beautiful and soft and I love working with it.  It is like butter to the fingers! At shows I always get the comment that wool makes people itch.  Some wools many times do because of the processing the yarn has gone through at the mill.  Unless you are allergic to Lanolin, the itching is most likely due to the shortness of the wool fiber in lower grade wools or the chemical processing that the yarn has been exposed to. That is not the case with the wool/silk yarn I use and believe me I would know as the yarn is always going through my hands and fingers through out the whole process.  I never itch once! And I love to scrunch up the scarves and feel them in my hands.

In making any handwoven item, the yarn must be measured before going onto the loom.  This process is called warping.  While warping it is important to make a cross in the yarns so the sequence for threading is there and the yarn does not tangle. When all the yarn is measured it is removed by putting it into a chain.  When in the chain form it can be stored safely without tangling until ready to be put on the loom.

Here are a few pictures:


Warping Mill measures the warp



Warp Cross



Warp Chain



After weaving the scarves look like this.  They have a stretchy quality to them due to the technique I use and the over spun wool crepe yarn which is the second yarn used in these scarves. 



Four Scarves



Close up of four scarves 



During December you can purchase one of my Collapse Weave scarves at Guilford Art Center in Guilford, CT, http://www.guilfordartcenter.org/, Some Things Looming in Reading, PA, http://www.somethingslooming.com/, or my studio in Plymouth, MA.   

Designing a Shrug

I'm getting ready for a show in Reading, PA at a gallery called Some Things Looming.  I am a follower of their Face Book page and receive their e-mail newsletters.  I recently visited STL and was impressed with what this mother and daughter team have put together.  They are devoted to Fiber Arts and that in itself is rare.  There are very few places that have devoted their space entirely to Fiber Art. Some Things Looming's mission is to work with fiber artists, exhibit their work, and bring  Fiber Art to the forefront with the public by education through classes and exhibits. I use to work for a gallery in West Chester, PA called Woven Fiber Art House.  Woven had the same mission but sadly had to close.  I am so happy to see STL pick up the mantle.  For this reason I am happy to be a part of the Handmade Holidays 2 show which opens Dec. 3 and runs through Dec 24. You can go to www.somethingslooming.com to get more information about the show and what's happening at STL.

This show has inspired me to work on a new shrug.  My shrugs are all one of a kind.  They are made from extra fabric I've woven and various embellishments from my "stash of stuff ".  My stash is BIG so there is plenty from which to choose!

After careful consideration and playing around with the various choices I have, here is a picture of the elements that I gathered for use in this new shrug.  It consists of my handwoven fabric, some hand dyed samples from a workshop I took on "Art Cloth" with Jane Dunnewold, hand dyed yarn, some polymer beads that a friend made and gave me, and some glass beads.

So the first step was to make bias trim from the hand dyed silk pieces which were only about 8" x 10" big.  From this 2" wide strips were cut and sewn together to form bias binding.

These bias strips became the binding on the neck edge and the trim on the sleeves, the beads were hand sewn on and the shrug was ready to be worn.



Front view



Back view





















So I have a chance to send 12 pieces to this show. Should this be one of them?

Detail

 

What other pieces of my work do you think I should send?  I welcome comments.

I'll be posting pictures on Face Book of possibilities.  You can go to my fan page without having an account on Face Book.  Just follow the link on the right hand side of my blog. If you have a FB account, don't forget to "Like" my page and then let me know what I should send to Some things Looming for the show.

Pricing work

It's always a challenge to price handmade work. Number one it takes far longer to produce than commercially made goods and number 2 it takes an appreciative and educated audience to understand the value of the work.  Many artists tend to devalue their work by pricing it low just to make a sale.  I have friends who do this.  What they do not understand is it devalues not only their work but also the work of all artists.  A buying public gets confused and then perceives the value of handmade work as something less than it should be.

I recently came across a blog which talks about this.  It encourages artists to price their work by honoring not just the material costs but also the labor and value of making the work.  I whole heartily agree.  I know many artists who don't charge for their time.  What business person would not get paid for their time? Just because we are artists and that has romantic implications, doesn't mean that we should not get paid a decent wage for what we do.  I share this now for those of you who read this blog and sell your work.  I also share it for those of you who buy handmade work and wonder how work is priced. 

http://www.freshlypickedblog.com/2011/04/why-you-should-raise-your-prices.html

Craft Show Artists are "Jacks of All Trades"!

So what's it like to be a craft show artist?  You travel to many places.  You meet interesting people.  You have friends in many cities. You see artist friends and are inspired by them. Days of preparation lead up to exhibiting your work to hopefully an appreciative audience who will fall in love with your work, purchase, and enjoy it everyday. Halt!!! That's the romantic side!

The unromantic side is you are exhausted from staying up late and working hard to have enough choices for customers.  Your body aches from packing up the car and then unpacking the car at the show (not to mention that this happens on the other end when you go home).  You have to set up your tent and display pieces.  You have to get up early to be at the show to finish displaying your work. As inventory changes your booth display changes.  It is always a challenge to create an effective and interesting display which will draw the customer into your booth.  If you not a morning person as I am not, you have the added challenge of trying to wake your brain up to complete all these early morning tasks.  And if I don't have my high test tea, I am in trouble!

So this past weekend when I set up my tent at the Wheaton Arts Show, I was able to set up the day before. This is always a blessing. My friend, Bette, was there to help me.  Everything was going along fine until I went to look for the bottom leg extensions for the poles to my tent.  They were no where to be found! "He who shall remain nameless" forgot to put them in the car. "Uh Oh" was my thought (actually that was the mild version!).  I am in trouble.  My tent will only go up less than 6 feet high without the extensions and this is not an item that the local Home Depot carries.  While we started setting up the tent, I began to think.  What might be a tempoary substitute that would raise the legs of the tent?  BINGO - bed risers!  Would they be high enough, sturdy enough to work?  So off we went to Bed, Bath, & Beyond to look for bed risers.  Thank goodness they had them in stock!  So for a $15 fix, I bought them and crossed my fingers that this was going to work.   It did! WooHoo!  My creative leg extensions were the talk of the craft people around me.  I was amazed how well it worked and much to my surprise it didn't look bad!

Here are a few pictures:

Not bad, Huh? I may just always keep these in the car just in case......................................


   

New Fall Scarves

Four 14 yard warps for 24 chenille scarves

I've finally been able to get back to the loom to do some weaving.  Before my mother died I had made four rayon chenille warps for 6 scarves each totalling 24 scarves.  They have been sitting in a basket ready to be woven and I was finally able to do the the first warp this week.  Here are the results -------

Weaving scarf #1



   6 finished rayon chenille scarves

Next warp to go on loom - six more scarves!



New warp being put on the back beam



Weaving Silence

To my faithful blog followers I apologize for being silent for so long.  It's been a rough summer except for a brief time away to Sweden and Scotland.  You see my mom had a heart attack in May and never really recovered from that experience.  She died on August 23, the day of the earthquake on the East Coast and then her memorial service had to be delayed because of Huricane Irene.  Family and friends attended the memorial service on September 1 and then family traveled out to Indianapolis on September 13 to entomb her next to my father. My summer consisted of traveling back and forth to NJ where she lived to visit her and to oversee the care she was receiving.  Since she needed additional care, I also had to move her in and out of apartments in the care facility which had been her home for the last 3 1/2 years.

I am trying to get back to business as usual but some days are good and some days are bad.  I haven't been able to write on the blog but hope that in the next few weeks it will get easier to talk about my work and what I am doing.  Please dear blogger stay connected.  I will be back.

For those of you who looked for me at the Mad River Valley Show, I am sorry if you were disappointed to discover that I was not there but I had to cancel at the last minute.  If you had a specific item you wanted to purchase from me, please let me know.  I can always send you pictures and send you the item you would like. 

Meanwhile I am trying very hard to get ready for my show at Wheaton Arts, October 1 & 2 in Millville, NJ.  I'm sure it will be a difficult drive back to NJ as I always visited my mom when I did this show.  I will be with friends and that will be comforting. 

You can always get in touch with me by writing a comment on this blog or visiting my website, http://www.judyconnorjones.com/ and sending me an email.  I am also on Facebook.  The link to my FB page is on the right side of this blog.

Thanks for being a loyal follower.