Autumn Splendor

Its interesting how the colors of the season affect me! Here it is Fall and I've woven my latest piece using the colors that surrounded me in the NorthEast.  Sure there are some of these colors here in Savannah, GA... but not like the Adirondacks of upstate New York and throughout the NE states where I spent most of my life.  It must be in my genes! I've carried it with me to the South! I always seems to gravitate to these colors when Fall is in the air. 

My newest Saori-way fabric is now washed and fulled and waiting for me to have time to make it into something.  I wonder what it will be???

WORK ART WORK: paintings, photographs, drawings by JEFF WORK

I've been quiet for a bit, but working hard on getting an exhibition of my brother Jeff's artwork together for Savannah opening Saturday, November 14.  Jeff was an incredibly talented artist... and that's not just his loving sister talking.  Everyone who sees his work is blown away. Two retired professors from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Anne Bessac who is curating the exhibition for me and Margy Betz who is reviewing the work and serving on a panel discussion, have been very helpful in making this exhibit come to light as have photograper Michael Turner and graphics designer Sylvia Severance, and gallery owner/arts activist Jerome Meadows.  It certainly takes a village!

When Jeff passed away October 2, 2013, he was in the midst of creating pieces for an exhibit of his artwork in Berlin.  The work is mainly figurative and autobiographical based on photos he carried (or as he said, "schlepped around") as he traveled all over the world for business and pleasure.  The past few years as his health failed Jeff spent hours and hours in his Berlin flat watching movies and tv programs streamed through his computer.  Always a clever guy... he took screen shots from several the films and shows and these were the basis of four diptychs and some individual paintings.

I made a screen saver for my computer of one of the pieces from the film "the Artist."  You may recognize the mail character, Jean Dujardin and if not Jean... the dog is most memorable!  My daughter Kristin also made a screen saver of her favorite Jeff Work painting... based on his Helmstrasse St. Berlin balcony flower garden: Blumen - four paintings that work together to form a whole.

We have had a wonderful response to the post card invitations and several people are traveling long distances to come to the exhibit.  On November 19 on what would have been Jeff's 66th birthday, we are having a Birthday Celebration - which has become a memorial.  Several people will talk about knowing the creative side of Jeff.  I'm especially looking forward to the stories that friends and family will share of knowing Jeff.  Pulling this all together has made me vividly aware of how much of Jeff I do not know.  I know his work which carries his essence, his soul, but the details of those years we hardly communicated will be interesting to hear.

I had some fabric printed through Spoonflower.com from a wallpaper pattern Jeff designed when he was living in London.  He had hoped to get a highend wallpaper design business started but unfortunately he kept hitting roadblocks.  In this day and age of computer businesses, he probably could have made it happen. Anyway I picked one of his designs and made a reflected pattern from it and sent it off to be printed.  I then found a dress pattern that would not only help make me look skinny (always the goal!) but also show off the wallpaper design.  SO here it is in progress:

The fabric:

 

 Kristin has also had some fabric made, so it will be fun to see what she comes up with!

More coming later... working on a catalog of Jeff's artwork.

"The Left Behind" by Stacey Piwinski

 

"Working with objects, memories and energies of what's left behind, 

this work is more about inclusion than exclusion."

When I decided to go to Worcester, Mass to see the Loom in Essence Saori exhibit I knew I had to make a side trip to Framingham to see the work of an old friend, Stacey Piwinski.  My day was complete.  I was full of all things Saori and glowing from the experience.  But before I could head home I needed to do one more thing; head in the opposite direction towards Boston to see "The Left Behind."  It was all I had hoped for and more! I was SO excited that I had made the effort to experience it. It was chock full of memories for me... memories that we shared.  Bits and pieces of things left behind.

The exhibit is rich and wild and wonderful and shows an exuberance that is the essence of its creator Stacey.  Whenever I think of Stacey, I remember her enthusiasm and the twinkle in her eye.  She is one of those people who make you feel warm and fuzzy when you meet her because she engages you with her vibrant being!

I met Stacey about 10 years ago when we were both part of an amazing experience: the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Scholarship Program.  Stacey and I and 198 other teachers from all across the US were selected to spend two weeks in Japan as the guests of the Japanese government.  The Foundation set up a group email account so that we could begin to connect. Before the trip in November of 2005 I created a spreadsheet to keep track of the many participants listing their hometown, the subject and age level they taught and any other information that they had divulged in the group emails.  (I had been overwhelmed by the variety of emails and wanted some way to categorize the wealth of information about these people with whom I would be sharing this amazing experience.  It started for me only... but then I thought others might be interested so I share it...)  That's how I first met Stacey.  We shared the common interest in both being art teachers and it turned out there was more:  we both had an interest in the Saori philosophy of weaving and wanted to go to Kyoto on our only "free" weekend.

Stacey's vibrant collages incorporate her woven Saori fabric, thick applications of colorful paint and kimono fabric remnants. Memories... Stacey's... and mine! I remember going to a Nishigin Textile Center/kimono factory/museum in Kyoto with Stacey and being in awe of the woman weaving golden threads into her intricately woven fabric.  I remember trying to find the Saori studio in Osaka with Stacey only to find we were there on a Sunday, when they were closed and only got to look through the window.  I remember wandering the streets in Gion, the Geisha District of Kyoto near Kiyomizu-dera Temple finding a shop that sold some Saori fabric and buying a scarf and Stacey treating herself to a handwoven Saori top.  I remember being given a furoshiki (traditional Japanese wrapping cloth) full of remnants of kimono fabric saved for many years by my host mother's mother (Obansan) who had used them to create dolls. I remember trying to say that this gift was took much that her daughter and granddaughter would want them.  Obansan who I had given a towel I had woven and  my photos of Nishigin in Kyoto. I felt I had been given a chest full of jewels and gems. (I use the pieces to create special details in my own Saori style weavings.) Did I give Stacey some of these treasures.  Were these some of the fabrics she incorporated in her wonderfully rich collages?

   

Something old, Something new, Something borrowed, Something Blue:

cyanotype, string and acrylic on canvas - 10x10 

Incorporating cyanotypes from the lace from her Grandmother's wedding dress, Stacey created unique memories.  She was also able to cut up and reuse fabric pieces from her grandmother's treasures. This reminded me of the indigo dye workshop Stacey and I visited during our stay in Kyoto where we dyed cotton fabric in a huge vat of indigo after creating an image using melted beeswax.

Palette Remnants (oil and resin on board) and 
Woven Remnants (handwoven fabric on board) -  6x6

Larger 10x10 Woven Remnants

Stacey incorporated clay pieces created by her art students in a unique open screen that divided the space. The yarn was painted by the students and the length of yarn represents the student's height.

Some interviews and articles about Stacey's exhibit "the Left Behind" and her website to see more of her work:
http://www.fsfaboston.com/growingagallery/2015/7/15/the-left-behind-stacey-piwiniski

http://m.patriotledger.com/article/20150717/ENTERTAINMENTLIFE/150718125
http://www.staceypiwinski.com/

SAORI Worcester

Worcester, Massachusetts was my goal today and all things Saori.  I arrived at Mihoko Wakabayashi's Saori Worcester a little before the agreed 10am in time for a couple hours session of weaving.  Not having a Saori loom myself, I looked forward to having time at the loom.  I learned so much from Mihoko and her gentle way of teaching.  

The Saori looms in Mihoko's studio

The most basic was the correct way to wind a pirn for the shuttle.  I was doing it Incorrectly filling areas and moving slowly along the pirn.  OH no... The best way is to wrap the yarn 7 or 8 times around crisscrossing to get started without tying a knot and then placing it on the bobbin winder with the yarn coming over towards you as you wind.  Then most importantly moving you hand quickly back and forth along the length of the pirn to crisscross the yarn not build it up. Such an easy fix and one I'd never known!

Mihoko and one of her students Glenn

technique for 3 clasped weft weaving

After chosing several cones of thin bouclé's in violets, turquoise, green and gold I picked a sample of shadow weave from her pile of examples to learn.  Mihoko quickly explained how you weave with two cones of yarn alternately on one side of the loom on the floor picked up by the shuttle thrown across the web.  Her trick is to catch the shuttle with your hand under the color you want to pull across.  Pull one color further than the other to get an interesting effect.  You can use high contrasting yarns like the violet and gold I chose or more subtle colors like green and turquoise.

I shared some of my woven pieces.  She was especially intrigued by the piece I had woven Saori style on the Blazing Shuttles warp.  She took photos of it to show one of her students Kris Nelson who space dyes her own warps.  Kris will be teaching a workshop for Mihoko's students soon.  Mihoko and her apprentice Annie were also every interested in our fiber guilds Oatland Mighty Oak fiber installation in Savannah.  So I shared some photos I had of it on my iPad.  It was great to be able to share experiences with Mihoko.

The two hour session (only $20 including materials as it was my first time) went so quickly!  After cutting my sample off the loom we were ready to go to lunch. The Saori way of ending a weaving is so easy.  Kenjo Jo the inventer of the loom designed a long dowel with a groove cut the length of it.  The dowel is placed under the warp near the beater leaving plenty of warp yarn for fringe and so it doesn't unravel.  A very thin long stick is pushed into the groove.  And the warp is turned around the dowel and stick a few times and placed on the tray until the whole piece can be tied easily to start the next weaving.  Genius!
 
Mihoko arranged for us to have a Mediterranean lunch with two of her longtime students and friends Susan Gardner and Alice Webb (the moderator of the Facebook Saori Weaving group.  What fun it was to be able to relax and discuss Saori with kindred spirits.  Susan is an inner city 4th grade teacher and Alice is a landscape architect in their other lives.
 
Mihoko showed me where her storefront studio had been and explained that she had to move because of how wonderful yet distracting it was to have drop in visitors all day every day.  Her current studio is in a very urban neighborhood of two story clapboard homes.  She has a very long one story nondescript building down the driveway.  It's not beautiful and there isn't even a sign to say what magic lies beyond the door, but once you step inside you can feel the energy.

We wound our way past downtown to the other side of Worcester where the Sprinkler Gallery was housed in a former factory building that now is home to several small artist studios.  The gallery is on the 2nd floor.  Once we turned the corner my eyes lit up to see a light filled gallery brimming with colorful textured Saori clothing, wall hangings, banners and more!  It must fill Mihoko's heart with such joy to see the work of her students so beautifully displayed.  The high factory windows let light stream in and the exceptionally tall walls were draped with cascades of woven fabric banners.

Mihoko did a beautiful job curating the show, finding the perfect way to display each piece. Novice beginner weaving was intermingled with more seasoned expert weavings and even some of her own work.

I was particularly drawn to the rainbow banner with loopy selvedges that Mihoko wove displayed on one corner with one woven in a more controlled way by her student Glenn, an older man who comes a couple times a week to weave in her studio.  There were several beautiful pieces by David who is dealing with a loss of short term memory due to head injury and is able to create wonderful fabric that Mihoko helps him turn into garments.  The women we had lunch with also had standout pieces... I loved Susan's open weave wall hanging and was pleased to see a SOLD sign on it though it was grossly undervalued at only $40... It was about 2' wide by 6' long!  

Susan Gardner's weaving

detail of Susan Gardner's weaving

Alice had a very textured golden hanging with trinkets attached that was quite interesting.  

woven wall hanging by Alice Webb

detail of weaving by Alice Webb

 The work of space dyer Kris Nelson was spectacular.  it was unlike other Saori weavings as it wasn't textured.  There were several long narrow wall hangings with bold blocks of color woven with a single colored yarn.  

Space dyed banners by Kris Nelson

Mihoko's top woven with elastic yarns was intriguing and masterfully constructed to create lots of visual interest utilizing the elasticity to create shaping and a folded collar.  Her jacket in large bold blocks of red and black seemed the perfect coat for the NE winters and though more traditional in design it certainly had the elements of Saori!  Guarded by a long haired calico cat, each woven Saori pieces glows and was obviously woven through eyes that shine.  It was a magical space and I was so happy I was able to see it for myself!

 Article about Loom in Essence in Worcesters Telegram.
Here's another article about the show. 

images of Mihoko's elastic woven tunic

weavings by Glenn (banner) & David (top)

detail of weaving by Susan Gardner

woven Saori dress by Leslie Sudock of Ready to Hand Saori studio, Philadelphia

detail of Leslie Sudock's dress

Winter jacket by Mihoko

Thank you Mihoko for sharing your day with me.  I have learned so much and your inspiration has touched my soul!

Instead of starting for home after all of this stimulation I turned toward Boston to go to Framingham to see the work of an old friend, Stacey Piwinski.  More about this in my next post.