Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Posted on July 9, 2009 by memphisweaver

Yes, David Bowie is a genius.  But don’t we all know that everything changes, becomes transformed?  And so it goes with the world of fiber – weaving, silk fusion, book arts.

My last post showed this handmade silk fusion piece with inclusions of skeleton leaves, angel wings, and angelina fibers.

Silk Fusion with soy silk, tussah silk noils and inclusions

Silk Fusion with soy silk, tussah silk noils and inclusions

And this is how the piece transformed.

Silk fusion in woven form

Silk fusion in woven form

I cut the silk fusion paper into strips and mixed them up a little, then wove the strips to form a square . This piece was mounted onto handmade Thai unryu or kozo paper.  I think it looks a little more interesting and dramatic than the original piece. Definitely more frame worthy!

Here are some randomly arranged strips from another silk fusion piece which I made and then managed to cut.

Randomly arranged cut strips from silk fusion

Randomly arranged cut strips from silk fusion

I think I may loom weave the strips as weft with a fine cotton warp.   The contrasting shape and texture of 10/2 pearl cotton may pull the piece together into a more pleasing visual image.

Don’t know if I should do anything to change this silk fusion paper that I made with soy silk, tussah silk noils, gold flakes and gold metallic fiber.

Silk fusion paper with gold flakes and gold metallic fiber

Silk fusion paper with gold flakes and gold metallic fiber

It reminds me of an abstract painting.  I may just mount it on some handmade paper and frame it.

And here is the last transformation.  If you’ve been following my blog, then you know that I am a huge music fan, and that I listen to almost everything, or so it seems.  So I  have found myself with a small collection of old 45 RPM vinyl records.  I don’t have a record player anymore, and in fact can’t seem to remember the last one I had!  And I felt a need to transform these records into something.  I didn’t think I could easily weave with them, so I decided to make a prototype of a blank journal with two records as the front and back covers.

front cover of blank journal made from a recycled 45 vinyl record

front cover of blank journal made from a recycled 45 RPM vinyl record

I then bound the signatures together using painted tyvek tape and the herringbone and kettle stitch combination I learned from the workshop I took with Daniel Essig.

heringbone binding recycled vinyl

My stitches and signatures are a bit funky, but it’s a prototype.  With a little bit of practice I think I can polish this concept and figure out how to make the center opening more appealing. It’s a start.  I see it as a transformation in progress.  Ch-ch-ch-changes…..

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Books-a-Go-Go

Posted on May 29, 2009 by memphisweaver

After my mica book workshop with Daniel Essig, I’ve been inspired to play a little with some new books. I had some handmade Thai mango paper from Dick Blick.  I made several covers with this paper awhile ago, and finally had the courage to do something with them.  I used the coptic stitch to bind these books:

Coptic bound book with handmade Thai mango paper

Coptic bound book with handmade Thai mango paper

Inside cover

Inside cover

The paper on the  inside cover of this first book came from wrapping paper from a gift purchased at West Side Judaica Gallery in Manhattan.

Coptic bound book #2 with handmade Thai mango paper

Coptic bound book #2 with handmade Thai mango paper

Inside cover of book #2

Inside cover of book #2

I really like the organic look of the second book.  The inside cover is a copy of a photo of a  fossilized shell. It was printed on an inkjet printer on card stock.

Also, some months ago, I had taken an online workshop with Sue Bleiweiss, and never quite finished all the projects. I was intrigued by the piano hinge binding that was her last lesson, and wanted to try it.  So I did, a little belatedly.  Here is a photo of a book with piano hinge binding, using bamboo skewers to hold it together.  The cover is the same handmade Thai mango paper and the pages are sheets of a colorful  paper from a scrapbooking paper pad I found at Michael’s.

Piano Hinge Book

Piano Hinge Book

Opened page of piano hinge book

Opened page of piano hinge book

I think this would make a nice mini photo album.  However, I found that the hinge itself didn’t seem very stable, and the book had to be handled carefully. I wrapped some fine cotton around the ends of the skewers at both the head and tail of the binding, then applied  some PVA glue over the cotton to hold it in place, but because there were no true sewing stitches to hold the binding together, it turned out to be a bit delicate.

Then I wanted to incorporate some weaving into an ultra-leather blank journal.  I picked out some images I thought represented my secret muses:  Calliope, muse of eloquence and epic poetry. She is always seen carrying a writing tablet.  Then there’s the the cute and fun loving Betty Boop. My faithful companion of 25 years has always professed a secret love for her!  And lastly, Peter Max‘s interpretation of the ever mysterious Mona Lisa. An eclectic trio, no?

Cover, Book of Muses

Cover, Book of Muses

Inside cover, Book of Muses

Inside cover, Book of Muses

Using fine cotton (10/2 pearl cotton), I warped three small windows on the book’s cover. Then with narrow strips cut from a copy of each image I wove a weft through the cotton warp. The binding was a long stitch that I modified with a “cinch” around the center of  each section:

Modified long stitch binding

Modified long stitch binding

Enough of the playing! Now I have some weaving projects to attend to as I am preparing my handwoven items for fall shows and fairs.  This is the bamboo scarf with warp floats that is awaiting her turn on the loom.

Bamboo scarf to be finished soon!

Bamboo scarf to be finished soon!

Filed under: book arts, Fiber, Handwoven, Memphis, Weaving | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Happiness is a Warm Dremel

Posted on May 14, 2009 by memphisweaver

My new best friend is my Dremel stylus.  At the Art and Soul Retreat in Hampton, VA, I learned how to use it and that it’s more than “just a drill”. I took two book arts workshops with Daniel Essig who uses the Dremel to drill holes in mica which we used to create our books. I was skeptical at first about getting my own Dremel, but my potter friend Gail assured me that I will find more uses for it than I can imagine.  And I’m sure that’s true. So  at the end of my trip, when I picked up my checked luggage in Memphis, I was quite relieved that my Dremel was still there and my bag was tagged with this lovely red sticker from TSA.

TSA sticker labeled CLEARED!

TSA sticker labeled CLEARED!

One can only imagine what TSA officials were thinking when they saw this going through security:

A Warm Dremel

A Warm Dremel

Now, about the workshops.  The two day workshop was “Book of Mica” where we learned of the properties of mica, both in its natural state and as a composite.  Mica is a naturally ocurring mineral also known as bookstone.  In our class, each student  created  a book with at least 5 pages of mica and a front and back cover.  Many of us inserted a collage or pictures between two pieces of mica to give the imagery a “haunted” or ghost like effect.  Here is Daniel’s mica book which he showed as an example:

Mica book by Daniel Essig

Mica book by Daniel Essig

Inside pages of mica book by Daniel Essig

Inside pages of mica book by Daniel Essig

Daniel was a very generous and patient teacher with all of us.  Anyone interested in book arts and wanting to explore the properties of mica would greatly benefit from a workshop with him. He is also a talented woodworker and sculptor.

Books and Hand Carved Tools by Daniel Essig

Books and Hand Carved Tools by Daniel Essig

In my own mica book, I cut out a window in one of the pages, then drilled holes at the top and bottom of the window to anchor down my warp of black perle cotton.  I then used the warp to weave a weft of  paper strips cut from a picture which I covered with a small piece of natural mica.

Paper woven image in my mica book

Paper woven image in my mica book

Paper woven page in my mica book - opposite side

Paper woven page in my mica book - opposite side

Daniel also showed us the steps for sewing a decorative centipede stitch, which he calls  a caterpillar stitch.

Book with Caterpillar stitch by Daniel Essig

Book with Caterpillar stitch by Daniel Essig

The evening workshop addressed the herringbone stitch bound on a book with paper signatures and mica covers.  We had the opportunity again to insert images between two thin sheets of mica for both  front and back covers.

My book with mica covers and herringbone binding on tyvek tapes

My book with mica covers and herringbone binding on tyvek tapes

The mica book that we constructed during the two day workshop had a different binding. We used four needles to create a coptic stitch.

Covers and binding of my mica book

Covers and binding of my mica book

Being a handweaver, I found that I really enjoy the stitching and binding process of  creating a handmade book.  I purchased some books by Keith Smith to inspire me to be more adventurous with my bookbinding stitches. And it will give me a reason to use my beauty of a Dremel stylus.

Filed under: book arts, Handwoven, Memphis, Weaving | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Next Stop: Art and Soul

Posted on April 29, 2009 by memphisweaver

The first annual celebration of fine craft presented by the Memphis Association of Craft Artists and Christian Brothers University was a great success! Over the three day period of the show, there were  approximately 900 visitors.  Of course, it would have been nice if we had more folks to crowd the arena, but this was the first year of the fair, and now we’ll know to step up the advertising end of the show production for 2010.  Without the hard work of the staff and faculty of Christian Brothers University and the many volunteers of MACA, we could not have pulled it off.  Thank you, everyone for your time and dedication for such a worthy project.  The silent auction of items donated by MACA artists and some community businesses was able to raise a very nice sum that will go toward the scholarship fund for students planning to major in the newly designed B.F.A. program in Fine Arts at the University.

Since weaving seems to be a stepchild of the craft community, the show provided a very nice opportunity to educate visitors about the weaving process and display the finished products.  Here is a photo of my booth at the Celebration of Fine Craft:

MemphisWeaver's booth of handwoven items

MemphisWeaver's booth of handwoven items

My handwoven items will be for sale at another craft fair this upcoming weekend, May 1, 2 and 3. This is the 38th annual Tennessee Craft Fair at Nashville’s Centennial Park. My work will be represented in the MACA booth which will be in the tent for TACA’s regional  chapters.  In addition to my handwovens, MACA artists represented in the chapter booth will include a potter, polymer clay artist, glass jeweler, and a wood turner.

Last weekend was also the “Lacy Summer Scarf” weaving workshop at the Memphis Botanic Garden.  It was a full class of 9 students, all beginning weavers, learning to weave a scarf on rigid heddle looms.  Here is a detail of the sample scarf that students wove:

Cotton/Rayon/Flax open weave scarf

Cotton/Rayon/Flax open weave scarf

There were many creative students in the class and several designed their own lace patterns.  I was so proud of this group, as many were master gardeners and more accustomed to burying their hands in a pile of mulch rather than a soft ball of cotton yarn! Great job everyone!

Students in rigid heddle weaving class

Students in rigid heddle weaving class

Now after several months of weaving for shows and fairs, and preparing class material for weaving classes, I am preparing to go on an art retreat.  For the next few days I will be at the Art and Soul Retreat in Hampton, VA.

Art and Soul 2009

Art and Soul 2009

I will be taking two workshops with Asheville, NC  based book artist, Daniel Essig.  One is  a two day workshop — “Book of  Mica” and the other is an evening workshop — “Mica Cover – Herring Bone Binding”.  I am really excited and looking forward to not only learning new techniques from a renowned sculptural book artist, but also to work with a new material.  This is an excerpt from the 2 day class description:  Mica or bookstone is a silicate mineral found throughout the world.  This workshop will push beyond using mica just as an element in book arts. The material will be so different from the handwoven fabric that I like to incorporate into my handbound books, and that is a very exciting prospect for me.

I will take this class with my friend, Theano, who will be coming down from the Baltimore area to meet me at the art retreat.  We had met at another workshop,  Shakerag, about 3 years ago.  That was my first introduction to book arts, and what an introduction!  The class was called “The Voluminous Page” and the instructor was none other than the brilliant book arts pioneer, Hedi Kyle. I came into the workshop not knowing anything about book arts, but Hedi helped me fall in love with the process and inspired me to think about how I can incorporate my handwoven textiles into a handbound book.    The possibilities are endless.

Upon my return from Art and Soul – this year’s theme is Rock and Roll –  I will hopefully have some handbound books to post and pictures of the workshop.  Stay tuned!


Filed under: book arts, Fiber, Handwoven, Memphis, Weaving | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

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