Nowhere To Hide; Hand Woven Tapestry; 4 1/2" x 5" x 4" ; hemp, hand spun coffee filter paper, natural pigments ©Sarah C Swett 2020
Well, if I hadn't just spent
half the morning
(and a good portion of yesterday evening)
with my iPad camera
pointed at this little tapestry,
half the morning
(and a good portion of yesterday evening)
with my iPad camera
pointed at this little tapestry,
Nowhere To Hide; Hand Woven Tapestry (detail); 4 1/2" x 5" x 4" ; hemp, hand spun coffee filter paper, natural pigments ©Sarah C Swett 2020
I might have gotten
to writing to you
a while ago.
to writing to you
a while ago.
As it happened, however
I got just the teensiest bit--
well perhaps the best word
would be involved--
I got just the teensiest bit--
well perhaps the best word
would be involved--
Nowhere To Hide; Hand Woven Tapestry; 4 1/2" x 5" x 4" ; hemp, hand spun coffee filter paper, natural pigments ©Sarah C Swett 2020
marveling at the light playing with its facets,
and noticing
how a slight shift of angle
could render it
statuesque from one direction,
and noticing
how a slight shift of angle
could render it
statuesque from one direction,
and positively shy
from another.
from another.
Outside the frame of the camera
it is actually somewhat diminutive--
here is my friend Poppy for scale--
and though I made the darned thing,
the relative power of framing and angle
is still a surprise.
it is actually somewhat diminutive--
here is my friend Poppy for scale--
and though I made the darned thing,
the relative power of framing and angle
is still a surprise.
(Poppy, by the way, is mostly made from some men's underwear my mother bought in France about 40 years ago that I adopted as very short shorts until I wore through the butt,
her leotard is from a fat quarter,
her skirt a swatch from a hand spun sweater I made for my son,
and her hat custom knit for her by my dear friend Nicole.
Her basic shape came from a pattern by Mimi Kirshner, available at Purl Soho)
her leotard is from a fat quarter,
her skirt a swatch from a hand spun sweater I made for my son,
and her hat custom knit for her by my dear friend Nicole.
Her basic shape came from a pattern by Mimi Kirshner, available at Purl Soho)
At any rate,
I had a lovely time weaving this tapestry
(on a PVC pipe loom as you can see--
one of my all time faves for some weird reason)
though what I actually made
turned out to be not at all
what I imagined when I began.
I had a lovely time weaving this tapestry
(on a PVC pipe loom as you can see--
one of my all time faves for some weird reason)
though what I actually made
turned out to be not at all
what I imagined when I began.
The original point
was to let each facet
explore some color theory idea
and see what happened.
was to let each facet
explore some color theory idea
and see what happened.
I planned to
mess around with
hue, saturation, triads,
split compliments,
or relative warmth--
whatever grabbed my fancy.
mess around with
hue, saturation, triads,
split compliments,
or relative warmth--
whatever grabbed my fancy.
But as so often happens these days,
after only a few little squares
I was the one that was saturated
and almost unwove
those first busy reddish-orange shapes--
even though I loved them--
as it felt like it was going to be
just too much in no time at all.
after only a few little squares
I was the one that was saturated
and almost unwove
those first busy reddish-orange shapes--
even though I loved them--
as it felt like it was going to be
just too much in no time at all.
But before I could begin undoing though,
I remembered a thing Archie Brennan once said,
about changing your perception of yesterday's red,
by adjusting the colors you weave with today.
Unfortunately, I can't remember the exact quote
(Archie was a supremely quotable fellow
and I'm sure he said it with with perfect pith and pointedness
so if you read/heard him say it, please let me know his real words),
but the principle was just what I needed.
I remembered a thing Archie Brennan once said,
about changing your perception of yesterday's red,
by adjusting the colors you weave with today.
Unfortunately, I can't remember the exact quote
(Archie was a supremely quotable fellow
and I'm sure he said it with with perfect pith and pointedness
so if you read/heard him say it, please let me know his real words),
but the principle was just what I needed.
So on I went.
And now that I think about it,
my variations on a theme of cream
actually has a little analogous/value stuff going on,
so I guess I got in a bit of inadvertent
color theory practice after all.
And now that I think about it,
my variations on a theme of cream
actually has a little analogous/value stuff going on,
so I guess I got in a bit of inadvertent
color theory practice after all.
At any rate,
since Marjorie asked
for more filter cutting/spinning info
in last week's comments,
choosing these colors
gave me a chance to try
to film a few of the steps.
since Marjorie asked
for more filter cutting/spinning info
in last week's comments,
choosing these colors
gave me a chance to try
to film a few of the steps.
Naturally, I got totally involved in that idea
but not being a video gal,
had to cut quite a few attempts at filming
before I had something that made sense.
And then,
even though I deleted a lot of footage,
realized it would take forever
to upload all the video onto this post
so put them into the
"highlights" of my Instagram page.
You can see them by clicking
the three little circles under my name.
(Start with the circle on the right).
Below are two snippets to give you an idea
of what I was about.
At the very least, the sound of hte scissors
is weirdly soothing.
but not being a video gal,
had to cut quite a few attempts at filming
before I had something that made sense.
And then,
even though I deleted a lot of footage,
realized it would take forever
to upload all the video onto this post
so put them into the
"highlights" of my Instagram page.
You can see them by clicking
the three little circles under my name.
(Start with the circle on the right).
Below are two snippets to give you an idea
of what I was about.
At the very least, the sound of hte scissors
is weirdly soothing.
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For those who would prefer still photos
this blog post also has some how-to-cut pix
that cover essentially the same territory.
And now I've gone on and on as usual,
but before I close
I do once again want to say
how VERY much I appreciate
your supportive, kind, and heartwarming comments
which are more helpful than you can imagine
in the midst of this double (or maybe quadruple?)
c-word moment:
cancer/chemo/coronavirus/Covid19.
And to show you that for the time being
we're well protected (after a fashion),
I'll end with a photo of the freshly blocked
Somewhat Slanted Suit of Armor
I just finished for Dan--
(huge though it is, at 2 sts/in the knitting flew along).
As you might gather,
he's a teensy bit taller than me --like a foot, actually--
but suddenly, I'm thinking
that with slightly shorter arms,
I could sure do with
a Somewhat Slanted Dress)
I hope you are well
and staying safe
(at home if you can be there,
at work if you cannot),
and send a silent cheer to you/us all.
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