Plymouth Art Stroll

I'm getting ready to do the Plymouth Art Stroll on Saturday the 15th. It is in conjunction with the opening of The Plymouth Art Guild's Annual Tent Show which opens on Friday night. I was lucky enough to have 2 pieces accepted into the show this year. They had 500 entries and only accept around 200 pieces.

This is one of the pieces accepted into the show. Sorry the picture isn't better. I shot it quickly in my studio just for reference. It is a shrug made out of cotton and rayon chenille with a hand-dyed (by "moi") silk bound edge. The other piece acepted was a painted warp scarf from the Faith Elements series called "Spiritual Path".


The Art Stroll is a wonderful town event. Artists are paired up with businesses and can demonstrate and sell their work. I am paired up with a high end clothing shop called "Collections on Court". I will have one of my smaller looms there and will demonstrate weaving along with letting others try their hand at throwing the shuttle across the warp. It is a wonderful way for people to get a small taste of what it is like to weave and the whole working process of an artist. I look forward to doing it because it gives me a chance to touch base with customers , do some educating about what I do, and it is a fun day out of the studio. It's so easy for us artists to become so isolated from the world when we are working in our studios. We become self-absorbed and the world can easily pass us by. I look forward to connecting with those who are curious about my work and how it is made. I also look forward to introducing weaving and the world of textiles to maybe just that one person who would like to learn more! The world can always use another weaver in more ways than one!



If you live near Plymouth, come visit me on Saturday, chat, and try your hand at weaving.

Beginning a New Season

I can't believe it's September! Fall was certainly in the air this weekend as I did a show at Mad River Valley in VT. Even though it is early for fall foliage season, there was definitely a chill in the air. It was so refreshing. The scenery was beautiful with tents set up in the valley, music playing, and people enjoying themselves during the last vestiges of summer.









The show was fun to do. I met lots of wonderful people and even had some good sales. Yea!!! Many of my customers came from PA and NJ. They too were enjoying the last care free weekend of the summer or is it the beginning of a beautiful season full of promise and newness?




The show was a fund raiser for the Valley Players, a small theater group in Waitsfield, VT. We stayed at the home of the Play Director and the view from the third floor bedroom was to die for! Thank you so much for your hospitality, Alex and Bill. Thanks also to Laura, the Craft Show Manager, who found lodging for us and also provided a lovely dinner Saturday night. Bob, your cooking was excellent!


My booth was next to a potter from Canada, Deirdre Wilson. Her pottery was thrown so thin that it looked like porcelain. Of course that was a disaster as, you guessed it, we came home with 2 lovely pottery pieces!!!! (A mug for my new studio and a beautiful serving bowl for our dining pleasure!)



My husband Jeff was my wonderful "Roadie" for the show. Here he is helping to get the tent secure.

















Hope you all have had a wonderful Labor Day Weekend and are looking forward to all the new possibilities the fall season has to offer. Maybe I'll see you at my next show. Check my website, http://www.judyconnorjones.com/ for locations and details.

NEWS

Well, I'm back from the NEWS conference and am mulling over all the wonderful things I saw that inspired me. So much to do, so little time! That definitely could be my mantra both at the conference and now after the conference. It was fast paced trying to see all the exhibits, going to class, eating, shopping in the vendor hall, chatting with other weavers, and attending the evening lectures and fun events. The treasure hunt at WEBS yarns was a blast! And the chocolate that was served was to die for!!!!!

I had a wonderful time meeting old friends, staying up till after midnight talking, and also getting to know some new friends. Mary Alice and I became fast friends at the salad bar when we couldn't reach across to the other side to get the item we wanted. The buddy system works great in these instances!

Do I look a little exhausted here? This was the last day of the conference and this is one of my dear friends who I haven't seen since we left NJ 2 years ago. We had a lot of catching up to do.

It's been a long time since I stayed in a dormitory room. Does it look a little monkish?


The room was not too bad but it was across the hall from the elevator and the bathroom. Convenient for me but why were those woman up at 5 am taking their showers for the day! It's not often that I see that time of morning. I have to wonder what kind of person is functioning and ready to go at 5am?!!!!!! I am definitely a later riser! To make it to class by 8:30 was a stretch! My brain doesn't wake up until 10am . And with out my cup of tea, it's all over!

On the more serious side, I took a 2 day class with Jackie Abrams who makes baskets out of paper. They are bias plaiting technique. I have admired her work for years and felt very lucky to take a class with her. Her work is exhibited in shows like the Philadelphia Museum Fine Craft Show.

That's Jackie with 2 of her baskets.
Here is my meager attempt at the technique.

This is a pillow basket.

Here are the beginnings of a cylinder basket.












My mind is spinning with new ideas. I bought some beautiful yarns from HABU yarns and I am anxious to use them. I also am designing in my mind new pieces of cloth and new garments. I only hope that I get to make them before the ideas dissipate.

Weekend Inspiration

I am getting ready to go to the NEWS conference. NEWS is the New England Weavers' Seminar. It is held every other year and is put on by the weaving guilds in the New England area. It will be 4 days of workshops, lectures, exhibits, networking, meeting other weavers, spinners, and dyers, and of course the "shop till you drop" vendor hall! Yahooo00000!

I look forward to these events because it is always a wonderful source of inspiration to me to see what others are doing and to be a part of the great exchange of information that takes place. I am always amazed at the number of weavers, spinners, and dyers that are out there and we all converge for this long weekend. It is also a time to connect with friends I've met over the years and do not often see. We get caught up on each other's lives and what we are weaving now.

Discussions of warp and weft, loom brands, number of shafts, drafts, ends per inch will go on all weekend. It's like a secret coded language will be spoken! And I love every minute of it!!!

Hopefully I will have pictures to post when I get back.

I can't believe it's July!

I can't believe it's July! The summer is almost half over and I feel like I am just beginning to enjoy it. I haven't been to the beach as much as I would like and I am just beginning to enjoy our back yard and deck after planting all the flowers.

I hope everyone had a safe and fun 4th of July. We had a 4th celebration on the 3rd! The painting crew who helped me with the studio came and had a cook out and then we all went to the beach to see the bonfires and fireworks.

We initiated our new fire pit by cooking s'mores. Yum!!!!!! Remember those from camping days?!






We had a lot of fun and it was nice to share this with everyone.



It's been a busy week here as we also had friends from PA come and visit. We all went to a Chinese Red Egg and Ginger Party for the baby of mutual friends. Our children played together when we lived in PA years ago. It was a great reunion but I have to say seeing them all grown up and some with children of their own brought back memories of raising them. They are now close to the age that we were when they played together. Do I feel old!!!!!!! OH MY!!!!!!!!!!!


Here they are all grown up!!!

The party was fun. The food was great! And seeing old friends was even better!!!

Guild Day

Today was the Cranberry Country Weaver's Guild picnic. This is a wonderful group of weavers, spinners, and dyers who live anywhere from south of Boston to Cape Cod. We even have one member who comes from Rhode Island. We are a small group as guilds go but have a wonderful time together learning, sharing, and eating (!) together.

The last meeting of the year is always a picnic and sale. Everyone brings a dish to share and we meet at a member's home and share stories, weaving tales, and our lives. There are always lots of goodies (yarns, books, periodicals, used equipment) to buy that can be added to our already over abundant stash! There is no contest here. We are all going to die with more yarn than we can ever use! But we are happy!!!

I am thankful for this group. They keep me grounded in the joy and love of just being a weaver.

They are my source of inspiration and they are all my mentors.

The Day After!

The day after a show is always a catch up day, catch up on the business end and hopefully catch up on sleep!!!

I thrive on meeting customers at shows but it also is a very exhausting time. I was thankful this time to have help from some of my new friends, Linda, David, and Carolyn. I feel very blessed to be here at this place and at this time and to have such good friends willing to help. They are a gift to me.

Saturday was a beautiful day! Perfect weather! I had a lot of interest in my work and a few high end sales. My mailing list is growing and there seems to be great interest in attending a studio open house when I have it. Remember all that painting that needs to be done? Well it still needs to be done! This is the week I will set aside weaving and try to get more painting done. Hopefully the open house will happen at the end of summer or this fall. Stay tuned!

Show Time!

I am getting ready for another show this weekend at The Pinehills in Plymouth, MA. It looks like the weather will be better this time than the last show. It's been cold here in New England but they are predicting weather in the 70's for Saturday. And no rain in sight! Perfect!!!! I hope! The weather in New England can turn quickly! Pray , Pray, Pray!

If you are in the area come visit me at the show. You can find information on my website, http://www.judyconnorjones.com/ and directions on the Pinehills website, http://www.pinehills.com/. Look up info on events and then "Art on the Green".

Painted warp scarf by Judy Connor Jones

My Home Town

I had the great experience today of going on a whale watch. Boats go out from Plymouth Harbor spring, summer, and fall. My son is visiting and we decided to go whale watching before too many tourists hit town. We didn't realize that this would be prime time for school field trips!!!!! We must have had about 100 elementary age students on board. They were pretty good until they became sea sick! One by one they went to the deck below to try to get a smoother ride. That left a clear upper deck for us to view the whales! A blessing in disguise?!

We were fortunate enough to see 6 humpback whales and 2 fintail whales. They truly are majestic! One of God's marvelous creations. And to think they are in our home town waters just off Cape Cod Bay. Wow! It makes me remember that we are caretakers of this earth and we must make sure that these magnificent creatures are protected and survive.

I attempted to take pictures but was only able to capture a small portion of the whales as they came up or down in the water. It's hard to spot, snap, and capture! Anyway here is my humble attempt. See if you can spot the whales. One picture has 2 whales which were swimming in tandem.

Here is my Home Town and America's Home Town.
The portico you see to the left is over Plymouth Rock.

Designing out of Chaos

I've been spending some time looking through pieces of fabric I have woven and stored away for the day when I would be inspired to use them. It has been fun revisiting these pieces of cloth and spending time to design a one a kind piece. My latest project turned out to be a shrug which uses 2 pieces of cloth that were created from 2 different warps that were left over from weaving tops. The colors worked perfectly together. In thinking about my stash of sample items I remembered some silk fabric that I had dyed at an open studio class at The Studios at Cannon Hill where I use to work. The colors were perfect to become the trim on the shrug. What started out as just a fun dying project with no specific purpose became the perfect accent for my one of a kind shrug!




It's always good to have a stash! You never know when that piece you created some time ago will be the perfect complement to what you are working on at this point in time.




I remember the creation story as I think about this. Out of chaos, God created! And it was good!
My studio is still chaotic but I am creating! And it is good!

On the Road Again!

It's been a busy month trying to get ready for my first big show since October 2005.


I've been working on shawls made from Tencel which is a cellulose fiber that looks and feels like silk but has the care properties of cotton or rayon. It drapes beautifully when correctly woven. I was very happy with how these came out.




The show I was preparing for was at The Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT. It was this past weekend. Unfortunately it rained and was very cold all day Saturday and only the hardy came! They didn't seem to be buying so I have to wonder if they were really Ducks in Disguise! Sunday was a nicer day but the buyers just did not come out to play. Such is the unpredictable life of the show circuit!
The good news is my work was awarded a cash prize at the show! It was a wonderful surprise and helped toward the show expenses. I have a ribbon to prove it! That is the first time I have won an award at an outdoor craft show.
The people who organized the show were wonderful, Sue Brown Gordon and Ann Vonstruelpnagel (that's a mouth full!). They provided food, help, and support for the artists. There was a lovely reception Saturday night with great food. The awards were given then.
Here are some pictures of my booth set up at the show.













It's a lot of work getting ready for a show, setting up at the show, taking down after the show, and unpacking again when you get home. I usually need 1 - 2 days to recover! When a show is not successful it is hard not to wonder why I do this. It's just that I'm one of those crazy ones who ,as Carly Simon says in one of her songs, "wants to be touched by the sun"! In otherwords, I'm a little bit CRAZY!
I have a new web site. Check it out, http://www.judyconnorjones.com/ . My show schedule is listed there.

Happy Easter Everyone

"The Rhythm of the Music"

I've been working on weaving one of the warps that was packed away in October 2005. It feels so good to be creating again. I love to see the cloth develop before my eyes. The chaos of the loose ends of yarns becoming a piece of cloth is always an amazing thing. The rhythm of throwing the shuttle, bringing the beater bar forward and the return keeps my soul in tune with the process of creating. It's a little dance we weavers do with the creating of cloth! When I am "in the zone" I am totally one with the cloth.

Weaving!

I'm weaving again!!!


The warp is all tied on and ready to go. I am weaving a sampler for tops. I weave a sampler to determine what colors I will use in the weft. The sampler gets washed and decisions are made. Sometimes washing makes the colors look different as the yarns full. I am always surprised at how after washing the weft color can change in relation to the warp threads. Sometimes what I think will work doesn't and what I throw in just for the heck of it does. I love working with color!

"Beam me up Scotty"!

It feels good to be back to work! I had to remember how to "dress a loom". That's weaving language for putting the warp (yarn) on the back beam. It has been a long time. I was able to "beam" a 10 yard warp on my Louet loom yesterday. I thought I would share some of that process with you.

Today I threaded the yarn through the heddles. The next step is to "sley the reed"! Where did this terminology come from?! After that I will tie the warp onto the front apron bar, attach the shafts to the treadles and hopefully be ready to weave.

The pressure is on to get ready for the show I am doing in Greenwich, CT at the Bruce Museum on May 19 & 20. I have to weave enough inventory to have a good presentation in my booth display. I also want to make some money!!! That also has been a long time!!!!

Unpacking

I've been unpacking the yarn and putting my looms together. I've found some warps that were packed away ready to go on the looms. Yeah! I'm hoping that maybe next week I can get one of them on the loom and start weaving. Of course I still have loads of interior painting to do but since I am doing a show in Connecticut on May 19 and 20, I need to start weaving some inventory. It is a slow process getting everything organized and unpacked.

Last weekend I took a class with Carter Smith of Shibori (Tie Dye) textile fame. I came away with 3 beautiful silk samples of this dyeing process. It was an interesting day and left me inspired. Those of you in New England area check out Carter's exhibit at The Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, MA. His fabrics are amazing!

Here are pictures of my samples from the workshop.

Moving Ahead, Hopefully!

The "plaster guy" was here last night until 10 pm fixing the walls where the new shelving will be installed. Another mess to clean up!!!! Will it ever be done?

I learned that the "plaster guy" and his uncle were the original builders of this house 10 years ago. Small world, especially in Plymouth! He approved of our additions!

The new shelves will probably be installed next week. Meanwhile I continue to prep and paint!

The Studio Blues

Ok, we are in a "holding pattern"! The "plaster guy" was sick and hasn't shown up yet. The "shelf guy" can't do anything until the "plaster guy" is finished. I can't move in until the "shelf guy" is done. So we are stuck for the moment. But there is always woodwork to paint!!!!!!!

My frustration over this not being finished mounts!!!!!!

Two Steps Backward!

I returned from a lovely vacation in Florida refreshed and ready to paint the woodwork in the studio. When I started to work on the shelves I noticed something "funky". They were warped, some up, some down! Now I know that weavers are sometimes warped (!) but I did not expect my shelves to be warped.

Long story made short, they removed the old shelving and it is being replaced with a California Closet type system. This actually will be better for me as it will be more flexible shelving. The warping was a blessing in disguise. However it does mean more mess and another round of delays. On the positive side, I will not have to paint the book or yarn shelves as these will already be finished.

Tomorrow, hopefully, the "plaster guy" will come and finish the wall.

So we are back to ..................



















I was supposed to be in my studio happily weaving by now. Another month has gone by. The Open House is set back again ---maybe April!?

New Year

Happy New Year Everyone!
The only resolution I have made is to get my studio up and running and my business back on track. It's been a looooooooooooong time!
The final inspections have been done and all is well. Thank goodness! We passed!!!
We have moved most of my weaving things from the bedroom to the studio. All my books and office things are still in the bedroom. This becomes interesting when working on the computer in the studio and needing something in the file in the bedroom on the other side of the house. It's down a flight of stairs and up a flight of stairs and back! Good exercise!
We still have a lot of painting to do, mainly trim and shelves - the FUN STUFF!


Anyway, I thought I would post a few pictures of what the studio looks like just so you can understand the state of chaos that everything is still in. Some day I will be all moved in and things will be organized.


Look for the open house sometime in March or April.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a good start to the New Year!