Sunday, January 31, 2010

weaving, sunday evening, and onions sauteing

from dreadfully cold and frozen kitchen water (hot, actually!) to art show to a bit of art work accomplished, this weekend has been full and productive, a wonderful change for me. an anticipated visit from a friend was snow-cancelled, unfortunately, but we have rescheduled. seems like i've been in a tunnel for a while and have emerged with new enthusiasm and ideas. 
see how fluffy this youngster is? there are two 2009 fawns who hang around my back yard. why? no different food there, but perhaps they like living on the edge. sometimes they dare  wendy who will chase them, but only in an attempt to herd them. wendy will give up after a while in the deep snow. a bit before this was taken the thermometer read 15 below 0. 
this is a modest piece of shifu that will become, i think, a book cover. it is not large, but the bits of japanese green paper that were a gift from carol (of warwick press) which i hand-twisted into short lengths to be inlaid into a plain weave web.
a similar in color skein of spun paper. from the little i have read, shifu artists differentiate between spun fiber and twisted fiber--paper that is prepared for weaving is called twisted. i try to understand the difference, but i actually do not. the twisting seems to me to be the same as single ply handspun fiber, except that the fibers are already made into paper (even if cut into thin strips) rather than being separate fibers that have been prepared for spinning by a combing (or arranging as in flax preparation) or carding process.


my little schacht four harness loom (a table loom rigged up with treadles) is fun to use, but a bit finicky compared to my lovely large floor looms. but it is easy to move around! and it helps to weave shifu on this because i tend to make much smaller lengths on it. 

13 comments:

  1. I love the photos taken around your home and of your art... it's all beautiful.

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  2. Did you use a kit to convert your Schacht to a treadle loom? I am almost ready to sell my 8-harness Schacht table loom simply because I found that I hate breaking my rhythm to change sheds. I had a friend make me a stand for it.

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  3. thank you!

    my schacht came to me with the stand and treadles which were made by schacht for this loom. why not google schacht and do a little research?

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  4. Love the little green "flags" rising above the weave.

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  5. i saw a deer on the side of 81 on the drive back home from the airport. i was scared most of the ride about something jumping out. i'm glad some just hang out by you.

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  6. that green reminds me of green tea ice cream.
    spun and twisted does seem the same here. but i always feel like twisted means plied...

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  7. yes, jude's right matcha shifu!! btw lovely!

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  8. yeah--twisted means plied or corded or twined or spun or... might be a translation issue i'm too obtuse to catch. but it has turned up in my research several times.

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  9. what a sweet fawn - lucky you!
    so cold..brrr. it's hard to imagine when today was 33` C here.

    What beautiful work you do.

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  10. thank you.
    white tail deer are inquisitive and interesting and so goat-like. weather is more moderate, between 10 and 20 this morning.

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  11. Hi Velma, I enjoy reading about your work and the world outside your window -- do you find paper fibers more liable to rip than spun wool or linen fibers?

    of the deer, lovely! I'm a little jealous, being in the 'burbs... though we have hawks and the occasional owl and coyote. Deer, I know, are creatures of habit -- i love the idea of making a routine out of 'visiting the edge'

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  12. spun paper is fragile, but woven it becomes quite sturdy.

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