A hint of Spring!

I received my Daffodils! The local Stop and Shop Grocery Store had them. They opened up and were beautiful. One of my sons sent me Tulips for my B-day. The house felt like Spring! It was wonderful.

Here's hoping Spring is on it's way! I'm ready to leave Winter behind!

Where are the Daffodils?

OK, it's my birthday! Not that that's a big deal but usually on my birthday I look forward to daffodils. Since we moved to New England there is nary a daffodil to be found on March 2! Even the florist shops do not carry them. Having lived in PA and NJ, you could always find daffodils beginning to peek their heads up out of the ground and the florist shops always sold them as a reminder of the warm weather and spring colors to come. It always was a refreshing respite from the cold grey winter. Daffodils represent to me the coming of Spring, a change in the weather, and new life that is breathed into everything on earth including me! I loved that they were always available around my birthday. It meant Spring was just around the corner.

Well it won't happen this year! We had a snow storm last night that left at least 4-6 inches of snow and freezing rain on our doorstep. March is being true to form and coming "in like a Lion". I only hope it goes out like a Lamb sooner than later!

So as I begin another year of my life and am thankful for that and all the friends and family that surround me, I will continue to look for the daffodils and wait for their emergence. SPRING WILL COME!

Community Projects

The fiber community is vast and far reaching. It extends around the world. It includes all forms of fiber art both of the every day functional type and the thought provoking statement making type. It is exciting to be a part of a community that has roots which go back thousands of years. (check out Elizabeth Wayland Barber's book Women's Work) It is also exciting when this community comes together to do a collective project. Such is the case with The International Fiber Collaborative. It was started by one woman, Jennifer Marsh, who wanted to bring this international community together by doing large scale public art projects. The projects were to express social and environmental concerns. Her first project was to wrap an abandon gas station in fiber panels. The panels were submitted by fiber enthusiasts all over the world, no age limit or ability turned away. There is a wonderful article about this in Fiber Arts magazine, Nov/Dec 2008 issue.

Once that proved to be an overwhelming success, Jennifer sent out a call to all fiber artists to participate in a new project. This art installation is called "Interdependence". Participants will create a full sized tree made out of fiber leaves. Participants from around the world are to create fiber leaves and send them to Huntsville, Alabama where the tree will be displayed April 2009 at Big Springs International Park. The target number of leaves is 30,000!

Check out the website at http://www.internationalfibercollaborative.com/.

If your interest has been peaked, send in a few leaves and be a part of this project. You have until March 15 to submit your leaves.

I mailed my leaves yesterday. It was fun doing something totally out of my normal genre and so exciting to be part of a large scale international project.

Thank you Jennifer for extending this invitation. I can't wait to see the tree when it is done.

Crayons and Creativity!

I am reading a book by Madeleine L'Engle called Walking on Water, Reflections on Faith and Art. In it she quotes Finley Eversole who wrote The Politics of Creativity. He states that by "the age of 5, 90% of the population measures high creativity. By the age of 7, the figure has dropped to 10%" and by adulthood "high creativity is only 2 %!"

I find that staggering and sad that at the age of entering school creativity drops by 80% in 2 short years! Madeleine's point is that most of us as children have an innate ability for creativity but we are often discouraged from using it and developing it. It is only the few who survive. No wonder so many adults say, I'm not creative. I hear it all the time.

A child creates all the time with imaginary play but is soon discouraged in order to grow up and learn the facts. How sad to loose this ability! Think back to your childhood. Remember the smell of that new box of crayons? Remember how it felt to try all the colors? So, what blocks were put in your way from developing your creative ability? Mine was a Jr. High School Art teacher! Of all people she should have known better and been more encouraging! It took me to adulthood to realize that I did have some creative ability that needed to be developed. My wonderful artistic mother-in-law said, "You can do it!" and encouraged me.

As a person of Faith, I've come to believe that a Creator who made beings in his/her image would also give them the ability to create. We just have to use it!

Let me know how you explore your innate creative ability. I'd love to hear.

"All Artists Begin with a Box of Crayons"
(Detail of multi-media wall hanging done by me to honor the 100th birthday of Crayola Crayons. Images were scanned and printed from my computer printer onto cotton fabric. They were sewn together in "crazy quilt" fashion with my handwoven fabric and then embellished with stitching and buttons.)

Art In Our Lives

I often look at the Obituary page of our newspaper and read about the lives of the people listed there. Many of them I wish I had known. One caught my eye this morning. Her name was Dina Vierny and she was a model for French Sculptor, Aristide Maillol. She also modeled for artists Henri Matisse and Pierre Bonnard. Her life was interesting but the thing that really impressed me was what her sons said about her. They said, "she spent a lifetime passionately attached to art". Wow, what a statement - "Passionately attached to art"! They didn't say, devoted or interested. They said "passionately attached"! To me that means that art was so much a part of her being that she couldn't help but be passionate and she would never be separated from it.

What a wonderful thing for sons to say about their mother who not only was a model for artists but also a collector of art and a gallery owner. They understood how much art was a part of who she was as a person. And even more, they honored that with the wonderful descriptive phrase, "passionately attached to art".

As an artist I can understand that phrase completely. I've learned that I have always looked at things with an artist's eyes. I have not always known that about myself. Others who saw that in me made me take notice. There is a passion inside me for art that invades all I do and I cannot let go of it.

So I can relate to Dina Vierny even though I never met her. What a beautiful lady you were.

Inauguration Day

We now have a new President! Along with that we have new hopes and dreams and possibilities. It was a beautiful day and we celebrated. A group of friends came over for an inaugural luncheon, average style. You know cold cuts, potato chips, salad. And we watched together the swearing in of our 44th President of the United States. It was not without tears as we all realized the enormity of this day and what a great country we live in. Where else do you have this coming together every 4 years in peace to celebrate the wishes of the people. Sometimes we make mistakes but we can always correct them by electing someone else next time around. The key here is it is always in "Peace". As Americans we always come together whether we voted for the person or not.


Today we began the process of righting the awful history of prejudice. We still have a way to go but we have made a big step. In 2017 I hope it will be a woman! And I hope I am alive to see it! But for now, Barack Obama is the right person and he has brought the people of this nation together once again.


I am so proud of my country today. Now is the time for new direction, for change, and for renewing the way the world looks at us. We are truly an amazing nation! Let's show our better side with leadership, humility, and grace. Best wishes President Obama and Mrs Obama. May your time in the White House be the best years this country has seen.


Waiting with anticipation for the moment we can say, "President Obama"!





And what would a celebration be without food!

Thanks everyone for celebrating with me. It was a fun day! And we were inside and warm!

Snowy Day

Today was a beautiful day! The snow that fell last night was a heavy snow which hangs on the trees. As I was driving around doing errands today I was surrounded by a winter wonderland, the kind you see in Christmas Cards or on movie sets. The sky was a soft blue/pink grey and the white on the trees was a bright clean white. It was spectacular. Of course along with that kind of snow comes power outages! We have dealt with them on and off all day. You know the kind, you just get the clocks all set and then the power goes out and you have to start all over again! What fun! It is amazing how many appliances have to be reset!

When we lived in Rochester, NY, it snowed just about every day and I discovered that having white surround your environment influenced choices of color that you wore. I sold more white mohair scarves there then any place else! White with pastel blue and white with pastel pink were very popular. When we moved to the southern part of NJ where snow doesn't happen so often, I could not sell one white scarf! Interesting, huh?

I'm heading into a period of designing and producing new items. This will involve not only new designs in garments, I hope, but also new color choices and yarn. I haven't figured out whether that white/pastel combination works here or not. Do you think mohair will come back in style? I have a lot of it! I just might give it a shot.

Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope your Christmas was a good one. Mine was tiring but wonderful as usual. Both my sons and my sister-in-law are here. Two of them live in Florida so coming to the cold North is a challenge to stay warm. My other son lives in Boston but comes for Christmas Eve and stays a couple of days. It's a full house and I love it. I'm exhausted but I love it!

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwansa, I wish you those memorable moments of sharing love with your families.

Christmas Snow!

OK, we had a real snowfall yesterday and last night! It's still flurrying and another storm is on the way.



I finished my last weaving order for this year and spent yesterday and today baking Christmas cookies. I love to bake when the snow falls, so the timing was perfect. Of course when I heard it was going to snow on Friday, I made sure I had all my cookie baking supplies on hand and ready.

We all have our favorite Christmas confections. My family has a love of homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries which I have made almost every year since I learned to make them from my cooperating teacher, Mrs. Lyday, when I student taught. I won't tell you how long ago that was but it has been a tradition ever since. Usually I am making them on Christmas Eve Day but this year I am ahead of the game! Yea! My family from Florida arrives on Tuesday and I am aiming to have everything ready so I can enjoy them and the few days we have together.

I also want time to reflect on the season and all the people for whom Christmas brings on added stresses and burdens. Several of my friends are job hunting and having a tough time of it. Jobs are few and far between. There are so many applicants for the same jobs that it gets discouraging.

If you know of any jobs that can help my friends, please let me know and I will pass the info onto them. They live in Plymouth, MA. One is looking for full time administrative secretarial work. She has accounting and computer skills and a good sense of humor. She would love to work with non-profits but needs to be paid. She already does a lot of volunteer work now.

The other friend is looking for something in the human services area. She is struggling to make house payments and would like any hours that would give her an income. She has experience volunteering with social service agencies working as a mediator. She is a person with a lot of initiative and is very resourceful. Both of these women have helped me in my business on various occasions.


No matter what your circumstances this Holiday Season, I wish you Joy, Peace, and Love. May you see the blessings around you and may your heart be filled with graditude and Love.

Holiday Studio Open House

I'm a little behind in telling you about the Holiday Studio Open House that I had on December 5 & 6. A few people came and shopped, mainly my friends. As one of my friends was trying on scarves and tops, her daughter who is in Kuwait called her on her cell phone! She was calling from half way around the world to ask her mother for information while addressing her Christmas cards. I found this truly amazing and at the same time an oxymoron. Christmas cards representing Peace, Love, and Joy being addressed in the middle of a war. Even in the midst of war or maybe I should say, especially in the midst of war, Peace, Love, and Joy need to be heard and expressed. What a crazy "turned upside down world" we live in. We need the Joy of Christmas.

My friend, who is a wonderful pastel painter, modeled a scarf and hat for me. She looks terrific in it. We traded our work. I love my pastel, "The Little Tree".







Heidi is modeling one of my "Zip" scarves which are a tribute to Barnett Newman who was a wonderful abstract expressionist. Look him up!


















I wish Heidi, her family and especially her daughter Peace this holiday season.

Baking traditions

I'm going to deviate from talking about weaving to talk about baking traditions. I learned how to make Baklava or Paklava (Armenian) today. I had a wonderful day with a woman from my church who makes the best Paklava. When I asked her if she would be willing to pass the recipe on to me and teach me how to make it, she said yes! Today was the day. We had a wonderful time, not only making the Paklava but sharing each other's stories about our lives and the paths we have gone down. And the Baklava came out good. Not as good as she makes it but she has many years of practice on me. Someday I'll be able to pass on the recipe to someone close or dear to me and share her story that now is blended with mine.
I love family traditions. They are what brings people together with a common thread. There's that fiber reference! I knew I couldn't stay away from it.
You know weaving has those same traditions that have been passed down from the people I call our "weaving treasures". A few summers ago I met one of my "weaving treasures" It is a woman named Joyce Harter. She was at a weaving conference where I was manning my friend's gallery booth. She came in and sat down and began telling us her weaving story. It was wonderful!!! She was so willing to share and teach! I'll never forget it.

There have been others like that, my first weaving teacher, the "weaving mothers" in the Rochester Guild, the study group women in the Philadelphia Guild, and I could go on and on and on. Some are famous, others are not. It doesn't matter. What matters is that they love to share their stories. And I am richer for that.

This Holiday Season, seek out someone you consider a "treasure", spend an hour or a day with them sharing your stories. You will be glad you did.


"Dancing Ladies" by Cheryl Olney of Louise's Daughter.

First Snowfall

It snowed today! This was the first snowfall of the season. As I was driving down the road I was looking at the pure white beauty of the snow on the tree branches. What an awesome sight!

I love seeing the snow fall for the first time. It always makes it feel more like Christmas, at least when you live in the North East! I remember when we lived in Rochester, NY. We would go to church on Christmas Eve and you could almost always guarantee that by the time you came out of church it would be snowing! I miss that guarantee for even though we live in Massachusetts, when you live near the coast it does not necessarily mean it will snow. So today was special. It was a Christmas snowfall, just enough for a blanket of snow but not so much that you cannot get around. "The new fallen snow", remember that phase from The Night Before Christmas? How does one relate to that in Florida?

My son lives in Florida but he comes North for Christmas. I can't help but think he likes to get his snow fix that one time of year. Here's hoping we have a White Christmas.

Another Show

Tomorrow I head off to set up for another show. I will be doing the Duxbury Art Association's Annual Crafts Showcase. This is the first time I have done this show. I visited it last year to see if it would be a place where my work would fit and be receptive. It is always a gamble doing a new show. I never know exactly what to expect from the ease of set up to the number of people attending to the number of sales to the ease of break down. It's always a new adventure, some more adventuresome, unfortunately, than others!

I am looking forward to this show for many reasons. It is close to home. It has artists I know and whose work I appreciate and admire. And it looks like a nice show with good atmosphere and energy. Oh yes there is also food!

I have listened to customers and added some hats to my line that are slightly larger in size. They too will have a small amount of elastic at the back so they can fit several head sizes. If you have tried one of my hats on before and been disappointed that it feels too snug, come visit me in Duxbury and try the new size.

The show is Saturday and Sunday, November 22 (10-5) and November 23 (11-4) at the Duxbury High School, 130 George Street in Duxbury, MA. I am booth #21.

Hope to see you there!

Historic Day

What a historic day for The United States of America.! Dreams do come true. Congratulations to President Elect Barack Obama. I can't remember a time when people actually went to the streets to celebrate a candidate wining an election. President Obama, you truly are the candidate "of the people, by the people, and for the people" to quote a famous document! We as a nation have made a tremendous statement not only to ourselves in overcoming racial bias but also in showing the world that we are a nation that honors it's diversity. The eyes of the World were upon us yesterday. I have many friends in other countries and I know that they are always interested and aware of what happens in our elections. I'm hoping that we have regained their respect.


Now the hard part comes. We, the people, must realize that change is hard and doesn't happen overnight. It will take all of us talking to our congress people and doing our part to help make change happen. We have a leader who will guide but we must support. Since I am a weaver I think of it in weaving terms. In any cloth there is a warp and a weft. The warp is the lengthwise of the fabric and the strongest part of the cloth. The weft is the part that is woven back and forth interlacing with the warp to form the cloth. We the people are the warp. We make up the strength of this nation. Our hard work and steady everyday living is what makes us strong. Our new President will be the weft, interlacing ideas, hopes, policies, and new directions to produce the fabric that is America. The two must be interwoven in order to have cloth that holds together. They must guide and support each other. With out that, the cloth falls apart.





So, no matter who you voted for, as we look forward to 2009, lets all come together to make this Nation the best it can be. Let's form the most beautiful cloth the world has ever seen!

Election Day

The day has come when we finally get to cast our vote and see who will be the next President of the United States. Will anyone really miss all the political TV ads? I know I will be happy when they are gone.

That being said I am also so thankful to live in a country where every 4 years we get to voice our opinion on who will lead this great country. Sometimes we choose well and sometimes we don't! We only hope that in 4 years the bad choice will not do too much damage and we can reverse our mistake. Then again some of us can't see the handwriting on the wall and vote the person in for another 4 years! Ah you "gotta" love this country and the people in it!

Anyway, this has been an historic election year. We've had a woman candidate who almost won the nomination. We have a black candidate who did. We have the oldest candidate ever to run for office nominated and we have an unknown "soccer mom" running for VP. Once again you "gotta" love this country! Where else in the world can you have such diversity!

Whomever you support this time around, I strongly encourage you to go to the polls and VOTE. It is your right and a right we never want to lose.

I'm headed to my polling place now. See you there!

November News

Well it's only a few hours away from November 1. The "Trick or Treaters" have gone home and as usual there is candy left, always my down fall!

I have 2 shows in November. One is this weekend on Nov. 2. It is at The Pinehills in Plymouth, MA. It is a small show but I'm hoping that it will be one of those shows that you say, "Wow" at the end of the day! If you are in the area come visit me at One Village Green from 10am - 4pm. I'm finishing up pieces so that I will have plenty of choices.

November 22 & 23 I will be at Duxbury High School, Duxbury. MA. I will be participating in the "36th Annual Craft Show and Sale" sponsored by the Duxbury Art Association. I've heard good things about this show and am looking forward to being a part of it.

One of the more exciting things happening this month is that I am included in an article in "South Shore Living" Magazine. The article is about 5 artisans who make handmade fashions and accessories. I am thrilled to be included in the article. If you live in the Boston area, look for a copy at your local Newsstand. I found copies of it in Borders Book Store.

See you around the show circuit!

Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies! If the Red Sox couldn't win I can't think of a team I'd rather see win! Since I was born in Philadelphia I still have some loyalty there. Yea Phillies!

Art in Our Lives

My son had surgery on Tuesday. At 28 he had his tonsils taken out! When he was a child as long as tonsils did not become infected doctors would not take them out. My son has always had sleep breathing problems. At 4 they took out his adenoids but not the tonsils even though every doctor who looked down his throat gasped in disbelief at how large they were! Well, his breathing problems have become worse and the decision to take out the tonsils was finally made.

So we sat in the waiting area at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston hoping that he would be able to go home at the end of the day. At some point I decided to walk around this huge building and discovered some very interesting art work in the public areas of the lobby and some hallways. I was struck with how the art work relieved the tension of all the worries and anxieties that are present in a hospital. It was very comforting to explore the world of these artists. The work was more than just pretty, it was thought provoking in a beautiful and innovative way. I only wish there had been more of it throughout the dim walls to the recovery room and maybe even in the recovery area.



Art hits us when we don't expect it. It is all around us in nature but we need to remember to surround our unnatural settings with as much of it as possible. It does sooth the soul and I'm sure it helps heal the body in ways yet unimaginable.

My son is recovering (lots of ice cream and Popsicles!). He'll be fine but I know he never saw the art work as it was in places he did not go. He's at home where he has his grandmother's art work on the wall. I hope it provides some comfort.

Get well Chris!

Looking for Shows

Today was a beautiful Fall day. It started out cold but the sun came out and it warmed up enough to feel the crispness in the air and wear a light weight jacket. Jeff and I are checking out shows in the area to see which ones might be a possibility for me to try. We visited a show in Woodstock, CT (who knew there was one there too!) which was on the grounds of Roseland Cottage, one of the Historic New England preservation homes. The drive there was beautiful as the trees were peaking along the route. The ones which produce a tangerine color have been so saturated and intense with color this year that I always have to comment on their beauty . They have been my favorite this year.

The show was fun and I saw other artists that I have become acquainted with over the years. It looked like a good solid show. This one is a possibility!

Here's a picture of my booth from Wheaton Arts this year. It was the second day so my scarf supply was becoming low. (That means a have to weave like crazy again!) The show was successful but sales were down from last year. It looked like attendance was also. Of course the show was the week of the 2008 stock market decline and wall street mess! I'm thankful that I did as well as I did. I wasn't sure what to expect.

The shows this year are reflecting people's insecurities and uncertainties as to their financial future. I am seeing and hearing this from my artist friends. Hopefully the election will help calm things down. Another artist friend told me that her sales were down the last Presidential election year. Fears of the unknown affect us in all sorts of ways. Just remember, we artists are trying to make a living too!

It was nice to be back in NJ. I saw some of my cousins and visited with friends. Thank goodness for friends who helped when after driving 380 miles I had car trouble. They knew exactly the right place to have it fixed so I could drive safely back to MA. Thanks Bette and Jack for all your help and hospitality.

Of course I was also able to visit with my Mom. We had a good time together. I was able to help her with her storage needs and closet rearranging . It was hard to leave her. She's now wheel chair bound and needs the Aids to help her move from one place to another.

My next show is coming up Nov. 2 at the Stonebridge Club in the Pinehills in Plymouth, MA . If you live in the area, I hope to see you there. Until then, enjoy the beautiful fall foliage and GO RED SOX!

Exciting Things Are Happening!

Exciting things are happening! Last week I had a photo shoot for a magazine article which will be on handmade fashions and accessories. A reporter for "South Shore Living Magazine" contacted me and interviewed me about my work and the pieces that I make. The photo shoot included 4 other artists. It was great fun as we posed for the camera! There was even an art director setting the poses! I realized that this is why I hire a model to photograph my clothing as I do not do that well! The article will be in the November issue and I can't wait to see it. This is the first time I have been included in a magazine article. Look for it if you live in the Boston and South Shore area.

Exciting thing #2: My work was accepted into the inaugural exhibit of "The Guilded Tulip" in Lancaster, PA. This is the new home of the Pennsylvania Guild of Designer Craftsmen of which I am a juried member. They are located on Gallery Row which is a new art initiative in Lancaster. The opening for the exhibit was September 5 at which time the Mayor of Lancaster welcomed the Gallery and the Guild. You can see more info on their website, http://www.pacrafts.org/. Check it out! Even better, if you live near Lancaster, PA go visit the gallery. Let me know what you think on the comment page of my blog.

Exciting thing #3: Two of my pieces were accepted into the Plymouth Art Guild Annual Tent Show in Plymouth, MA. Out of over 500 entries, 200 were accepted. The show is on until Sunday, September 21. It is under the tent on the Training Green in town. Check out show info on the guild's website at http://www.plymouthguild.org/ and all you Plymouthians, go visit the show!





















Shrug: "Tribute to the Women of Jane Austen"


8S Point Twill Variation Tencel Scarf
My next show is "The Festival of Fine Craft" October 4 & 5 at Wheaton Arts in Millville, NJ. This is a fabulous show and I love doing it. The website is http://www.wheatonarts.org/. Hope to see you there!

Mad River Valley Show

It was a great weekend. Sales were good, the weather was nice, and the camaraderie of artists was congenial, friendly, and fun. We even had a rooster to wake us up in the morning! (It's Vermont, remember!)

Since we were one of the first ones to set up our canopy, I was aware of the empty field and had thoughts of that empty field becoming alive with artists selling their wares and customers strolling down the aisles. This always creates excitement and anticipation. I thought about the "Circus" coming to town. It's like that, empty field all of a sudden becomes full of tents, artists, buyers, food, music, and excitement. It doesn't hurt that the setting is in a valley surrounded by the Green Mountains! When the show is over within a few hours the area becomes an empty field again. It would make a great time sequence video. Any of you video artists want to take that one on?

Hope you had a wonderful Labor Day Weekend and are refreshed and ready to enjoy the fall. I am gearing up for a series of shows this fall. Check them out on my website, http://www.judyconnorjones.com/ . Hope to see you at one of them. Let me know that you read my blog. I like to know who my "groupies" are!

"Getting Ready"

We had some friends from NJ stop by last night. It was so wonderful and such a surprise to see them. I was in the mist of putting a new warp on the loom when they arrived. I found myself saying, "I'm getting ready for a show over Labor Day Weekend". I began to think about that statement this morning and realized that I seem to always be getting ready for something! I'm either getting ready for a show or getting ready to work on a new project or getting ready to make dinner or getting ready for a meeting and the list goes on and on and on! You get the idea. As I thought some more about it I wondered if I will ever be ready! Will I ever feel like I have made it and getting ready is not important any more? And what happens when I get there? Will I be satisfied or bored?

Any of you have thoughts about the perpetual state of getting ready? Are we so busy getting ready that we miss the wonderful things in life that are around us everyday? I also found myself saying that I live so close to the beach but haven't found time to go to it because, you guessed it, I am too busy getting ready!

I resolve to spend less time getting ready and more time appreciating what is in front of me, at least after the next show! Which by the way is in Mad River Valley, VT, August 30 and 31. Come visit me if you get a chance and are not too busy "getting ready" for something else! You can get more info http://www.madrivercraftfair.com/.

Hope to see you there!

"Hanging Out To Dry!"

The first warp is rinsed and ready to be put on the loom. It is stored in a crochet chain until I am ready to put it on the loom. This is the Rainbow warp. After it is put on the loom I will weave a sampler using different weft yarns to see what color yarn works best with all the warp colors.

Painted Warp

I've spent the last 3 days painting warps for a series of scarves that I call "Faith Elements". It is a long process of painting dyes onto the tensioned warps. As with most things the preparations take at least as long as the actual painting. Here are some pictures of the process.

The first step is to place a group of tables together so that the warp can be spread out, plastic drop cloths are laid down, and then a row of plastic wrap is spread the length of the tables.

I am using rayon chenille which has a tendency to curl back on itself when wet. To prevent this the yarn is tensioned and clamped at both ends of the long row of tables. It is also spread out and separated in the raddle.

After checking and making sure that everything is in place, the painting can begin. Here I am working on the Rainbow scarf which is part of the Faith Elements Series.

The dyes are painted on with foam brushes and then rubbed with my hand so that the chenille is painted all the way through and the colors are blended together. The dyes look very intense at this point but will be more subdued after they are rinsed. Plastic Wrap is used to cover the dyed section so it can begin to cure.

After the whole 10 yards is painted it is rolled up in the plastic wrap and then must cure for 24 hours before rinsing out the excess dye.

The first 2 warps are ready now to be rinsed and hung out to dry. Rinsing 10 yards of warp takes about 1 1/2 hours. They must be rinsed until the water runs clear.
I'll be rinsing today and hope to have some pictures for you of the beautiful colors hanging on the line.
As you can see this is a very labor intensive project.

"The Power of Women"

One of the Keynote speakers at Convergence was Willa Shalit, daughter of Gene Shalit. Willa founded the Rwandan basketry partnership Path to Peace. She told the story of the Rwandan women and how they gave their country hope after the horrible genocide that took place.

These remarkable women rather than dwell in their grief at the loss of husbands, children, and family members decided that the country's grief was so immense that they needed to focus on Hope. They decided to do what they do best and that was to make baskets. They started making baskets and began to form collectives and as a result brought their country back from grief and economic despair. This was such a powerful movement that the government changed the seal of Rwanda from farm implements, which had become instruments of death, to the basket which became the emblem of Hope. WOW, what a powerful story!

As Willa spoke, a Rwandan woman was seated on the floor, bare foot and weaving a basket.

Willa has been a spokesperson for these women. She has spoken to the UN and she works to have the baskets marketed in the US. You can find these baskets on Macy's website. They are for sale and the proceeds go to help these Rwandan widowed women. You can find more of the story at http://www1.macys.com/campaign/rwanda/story.jsp.

I was thinking more about these women today and it overwhelmed me to think of the power that women have to change things. We have hands that create, minds that look ahead not back, and love that nurtures. We have a rich heritage of working with our hands, minds, and hearts and we can change the world! We just need to claim that heritage!

Kumihimo Ribbon Scarf

While I was at Convergence I took a one day workshop taught by Makiko Tada. The technique was Kumihimo which means braiding in Japanese. I have taken Kumihimo classes before but they always used a Maru Dai which is a lovely piece of equipment that helps you produce many different kinds of braids.

The only equipment we needed to produce the scarf was a piece of cardboard and the ribbon material. This is actually an old technique. The Native Americans call it Finger Weaving and it is an oblique weave.

We used lovely Mokuba transparent ribbon. This is a very expensive and beautiful ribbon made in Japan. After choosing a color and measuring our scarf warps we swapped with others in the class to get an array of colors. I really think that because the ribbon is transparent and other colors are formed as it is braided, that you could combine just about any color and it would look gorgeous! Check out these pictures of the process.

Wonderful items can be made with this technique: scarves, shawls, belts. Makiko made a lovely coat using wider ribbons. Here is a picture of Makiko in her coat and me in her elegant black shawl which she insisted I wear for the picture!

It was a great class and I enjoyed learning the technique. I plan on adding beads to the scarf that I made in class. I can't wait to wear it!

Convergence, 2008

Hi everyone. I'm back from the Handweaver's Guild of America's conference called Convergence. It was held at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida. It truly is a convergence of weavers, spinners, dyers, and fiber art people from all over the world. I had a great time visiting with friends I've known from other guilds and haven't seen for a long time. I also enjoyed making new friends as we chatted over breakfast or dinner.

It was a whirlwind of activity running from class to exhibits to speakers to vendor hall! Oh yes, Vendor Hall! Always a disastrous place to be if one is watching their dollars! I purchased some beautiful yarns from HABU Yarns and some exotic beads from Hand of the Hills. I visited with my good friend John Marshall who designs and sells gorgeous Katasome hand dyed garments. I once took a class with John and am still trying to find the space and time to do some Katasome. It is a Japanese paste resist method of dyeing using soy milk as a binder for the natural dyes. Making the stencils is a real challenge for me. Check out John's website at http://www.johnmarshall.to/ . He has a fabulous site. If you want to get a flavor of his humor click on the tab for The Divinely Amused!


I'll share some more info about Convergence in the next few days. I had great teachers and came away with a lot of wonderful information.


Here are a few pictures from the conference.




My partners in crime on the Gallery Crawl, Georgeann, me, and Martha! Both are friends from my past! We enjoyed being together again.

My friend, Mary Zicafoose in front of her Tapestry piece at the Art Alliance Exhibit. Mary is doing a series of tapestries which are exploring identities. This piece exemplifies the fact that chromosomes are a part of our identity. Mary also had several pieces on display in the main terminal of the Tampa Airport. After being phone challenged (as Mary put it , "Neither one of us should have a cell phone!") we were finally able to connect and spend some time together chatting and reconnecting. Check out Mary's website at http://www.maryzicafoose.com/.


This is a picture of some of the Yardage Exhibit at the Convention Center. The fabrics were hung beautifully from the second floor railing in this circular rotunda. My favorite was Jane Dunnewold's piece. It's the third from the right with the gold suns on it. The technique is layered surface design. Way to go Jane! The piece just shone when the daylight streamed in.

Catching Up!

It's been a long time since I wrote on the blog. It's time to catch up. Since the Open House, I have been working hard in my studio getting ready for shows. I have been working on some Tencel scarves. They are an 8S weave, 24 ends per inch and take a lot longer to do than the chenille scarves I have woven in the past. Since the fringe frays, they must be finished in some manor. I have chosen to twist the ends. This takes almost as long as weaving it! But it gives a nice finish!

I did a show this past weekend, "Art on the Green" in Plymouth. It was a lovely day but sales did not match the weather. When this happens it is sometimes hard to decide whether a show is a viable option for me. Are sales low because of the economy or the attitude of the people attending? Are they there to shop or to have a fun day out in the nice weather? Unfortunately, those of us who depend on sales to pay the bills and to continue on in this business do not have the luxury of being someone's free entertainment. I'm hoping that the interest and additions to my mailing list will generate sales later in the year. But that doesn't help now when the bills need to be paid.

I'm hoping that this was just that particular show and not the way of all shows these days. It is getting harder and harder to seek out the really good shows where people come to buy not just look. Since we moved to New England I have been searching for good shows where I do not have to travel and stay over night. It has been a difficult task. I could use some help. If you know of some shows that don't cost an arm and a leg for booth space and are in the Boston, Plymouth area where the public is buying high end Fine Craft, I'd appreciate hearing from you.

Meanwhile, I'll be headed to Tampa, Florida in a few days for the Handweaver's Guild of America's Conference. I'm looking forward to being inspired by the teachers, the exhibits, and the wonderful fashion show. I'm also looking forward to seeing friends from around the country and connecting with them and finding out what is happening in their weaving world. I'll return with pictures and lots of stories for you.