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  • Blog 2014-2021

a book of color and light

4/21/2020

 
Picture
Book of Light and Color; hand woven tapestry; hand spun paper: coffee filters and variable annuity quarterly report pages, linen; 2" x 1 1/2" x 3/4" (closed) ©Sarah C Swett 2020
Though I'm super excited to show you
this tiny accordion book,
 it was not what I intended
​to write about this morning.
Picture
What I hoped/planned to do
was release the other
(​less colorful) little book
​I've been working on:
Picture
This second is not actually a book at all,
but rather a PDF guide--
though both (if you print the PDF),
are made of paper---
and this last week has seen me
bouncing between them
​to see which would be done first:

one moment glued to the computer
moving my drawings half and inch this way or that,
the next, comfortably tucked into my backstrap
putting color next to color next to color
in breathless anticipation
of what it would turn (or fold) into,
then off to the iPad to draw something else
that would perfectly explain just one more thing.

 I guess the accordion book won the race--
if race it was--
perhaps  because my tapestries
 are pretty much done when they come off the loom
while projects that rely on drawing and writing
can be shifted, adjusted,
ignored, changed and revised
​seemingly
f o r e v e r...
Picture
Tucking the Tails actually is very close to being done.
Indeed after months of  puttering along,
I really thought we (the zine and I), were ready. 
Except, this very morning,
I had a new idea about the layout
and of course I had to try.
Picture
And that trying
led to more experiments/ideas
and there went the time
I was going to use to set up
all the behind the scenes stuff
to make it sellable in the web store.
But hopefully, later this week?
Maybe?
Picture
Despite seemingly competing for my time,
​the two projects 
actually do relate to each other
in an elemental way. 
​
Tucking The Tails, if you can't tell from the title,
is a collection of the techniques I use
to work in the weft ends
as I weave my tapestries--
tucking them in as I build shapes, that is,
in contrast to 'needling' them in
after the tapestry is off the loom,
or, as I was taught to do,
leaving them to hang off the back of the work
to dangle... forever.
Picture
Making  my tapestries this way,
so that they are in effect two-sided,
is what makes possible such structures
as this little book I just finished,
the tri-fold tapestry behind it: Nowhere to Hide , 
​and, indeed, pretty much everything I've woven since 1994,
(whether or not you could actually tell).
Picture
One of the best things about all of them,
at least for me,
is that that when they come off the loom

a good deal of the finish work
is already done-- 
and finish work is not my favorite. 
(The other fantastic technique in the minimal-finish work realm
is  Fringeless, four selvedge warping
but I've talked about that a lot elsewhere).
Picture
It has definitely been the driving force
behind the mobiles, books, book covers
and other off-the-wall works
I've made since.
Picture
You can see more of this stuff  in  the Archive --
since I just realized that I wrote the post linked above
in 2016 -- and I've had a few new ideas since then.
Picture
And speaking of new ideas,
putting together this post
has just illuminated another REALLY fun aspect
to the two-sided, three-dimensional work:
taking PHOTOGRAPHS of it!

Photography, formerly a chore
(and often a very expensive chore at that
for the high quality photographs I needed),
has become an almost irresistible pleasure.
Not only do the tapestries get to play with the light,
but I get to play with both of them together.


And surprising pleasures
are things to be treasured,
​are they not?
I hope you have time to notice a few
 no matter what whacky (or terribly serious)
things you are doing--
wherever you are--
just now.
Picture
ps. I hope to get  Tucking The Tails into the store
before next Tuesday, and if so, will probably send out
an auxiliary newsletter so if you are already on my mailing list
you'll know about it. Otherwise, you can sign up with the form
on the top right (or the very bottom if you're on a phone),
or just check in to the webstore toward the end of the week
and hopefully it'll be there.
Happily, being a PDF, there will be no shortage
so no need to worry or hurry.
​XOXO
cheryl
4/21/2020 01:18:44 pm

As a newby weaver, I'm so glad I found you...I absolutely love everything you do and talk about on your website and your blogs and newsletters. After looking through your archives I feel that you are the Norman Rockwell of tapestry weaving. I hope to make myself a loom for doing the selvedgeless weaving techniques that you do. The artsy possibilities are endless. Thank you so much for all the inspiration!

Jodi
4/21/2020 01:57:02 pm

I cannot even begin to express how much I *LOVE* this!!

Patti Kirch
4/21/2020 02:10:22 pm

Today, with homestitched mask on I bought some missing watercolours at my local small art shop. Your colours are far more dreamy and your accordian book out of those dreamy colours, dreamErrrr, yeah 2 shares in one week, Whee and thank you Sarah xoxox

Alison Clark
4/21/2020 02:29:40 pm

Oh my! The possibility of two emails from.you in one week. What a joy Sarah, I am.so glad you didn't get it finished for today. Take care and stay safe x

Sally
4/21/2020 02:33:10 pm

I love your little accordion book! How appropriate. And I can’t wait to see TTT!
Your blog always brings joy.

Velma Bolyard
4/21/2020 03:17:01 pm

I am with Jodi. I love the experiments as you meld these techniques, how your shifu is a tapestry is a book is shifu which is a covering which is a house...let alone the play of light and shadow and color and texture. The wrap around cover which seems to just "happen" didn't, quite, now did it? And yet it seems so natural (dare I say organic?!) to the piece. As your words, including the state of finances (is that what an annuity report is?) are all spun together inside the safety of your account book which looks like it has a wrapping roof, a house book...or not. It's pretty damned nifty, and then you're/'ve doing/done the new zine, too!

Tracy Hudson link
4/21/2020 04:10:48 pm

Yes, the photography! When I was spinning a lot of textured, sculptural yarns, taking dramatic photos of them was half the fun! I'm always happy to see your personal rabbit holes, and the joy that brews in them. Burrowing into my own now... xoxo

Lynn Somerstein link
4/21/2020 05:54:15 pm

I totally love your work, your ideas, your craftiness, and your weird sense of humor. Look forward to reading your blog every week.

Linda Mullins
4/21/2020 06:26:24 pm

Again I love your blog post. You always have something new to think about. Looking forward to your new book. I also hate the finishing part. Stay safe.

Donna Hudson
4/22/2020 04:09:14 am

I read your post on fleece cleaning and OMG...it is wonderful! so much easier than what i had been doing. Thank you so much for sharing that and everything else. Looking forward to TTT being available.

CatherinE link
4/22/2020 07:22:07 am

I absolutely love this chunky little book! I've made concertinas out of fabric, and paper of course, but paper yarn! That's something really impressive and delightful!

Lynette
4/22/2020 12:14:46 pm

I so enjoyed reading about and looking at your woven book creations!
I have a question specifically about where you get your wool fleeces from? I have only purchased one raw fleece (Targhee) and after washing it, discovered many tiny neps and noils that are very time consuming to pick out. Thanks!

Sarah
4/23/2020 02:39:36 pm

Ah, neps. They do happen — indeed, I’m not sure I’ve ever worked with a fleece that had none at all even if otherwise immaculate. I used to comb all my fleeces with Russian paddle combs (vs carding) to get rid of them, and now I try to pick them out before washing/ carding (though never manage to get all by any stretch), and mostly pick them out as I spin. As i mostly spin very fine singles, this isn’t much trouble as the neps leap to the surface. I got my latest fleeces from the Ortmanns in wolf Point Montana — though they are range sheep, so, while absolutely lovely, are not immaculate in teh way it sound like you want. good luck!!! And remember — combs are wonderful and will pull out most of those neps for you.

Ida
4/28/2020 03:36:46 am

Hi Sarah,
I ordered on your webshop page Weaving on a box and Tucking the tails but when I paid on paypal I was redirected to a page where it says "Shipping Info" I thought it was download PDF even for buyers outside the US? Now I do not know how this works but I have paid 210 SKR for the material. How do I get it?
Ida

Sarah
4/28/2020 06:06:49 am

Oh golly Ida, how frustrating.
It is an odd system, but how it works is that the download link is in the receipt you should hopefully have received from afieldguidetoneedlework. Under the words thank you and the words “download information” and under that is a link which should bring the pdf directly into your computer.
If you still have trouble let me know and I’ll find another way to get it to you.

RoseMont
4/28/2020 08:29:44 am

I watched you tucking in tails during weaving demos in Fringeless & am so pleased to be able to buy your book. Love your illustrations.
I'm hoping you will sometime release a lettering book. I'm learning to weave, but already know I'd like to incorporate some words in my tapestries. There's always trial & error, but it would be wonderful to have some help to minimize the error part.


Comments are closed.
    Picture

    ​Sarah C Swett 
    tells stories
    with
    ​ and about

     hand spun yarn. 


    Picture
    Click for info on
    my four selvedge
    warping class
    with
    ​ Rebecca Mezoff  
    fringeless


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