ATA Tiny Tapestry Day

Or officially:
Small Tapestry Media Week:
a 'media tour' on Instagram.
hosted by 
 ATA (the American Tapestry Alliance)
in anticipation of their 13th annual
unjuried, small format exhibition, Renditions.

Six weavers (with Instagram accounts) each get a day
to share an aspect of weaving small tapestries
that particularly appeals to them--
(or rather, us).,
​ and if you comment on any or all of the posts
you stand a chance to win a prize.

Rebecca Mezoff devoted yesterday
to talking about looms
(totally worth checking out all of her Instagram posts
as well as the accompanying blog post)
and today is the day for me
to crow about this fabulous form. 


NOTE: I think you have to have an Instagram account to comment but if you do not, you can still look and read-- just  click on the word Instagram and you'll get to my page, then click on the photo on the top left and there you can find the list of artists and links to all of their pages

Bottle of Red; hand woven tapestry; 9" x 9"; hand spun wool, natural dyes ©Sarah C. Swett 2008

The thing is (as you probably know), 
I've been enraptured by small tapestries
for so many years
and have sung their praises
in blog post after blog post
(including my ATA Blog Tour Post four years ago)
that I have found it awfully hard
to pick just one aspect to celebrate --
and I've been thinking about it for ages.

Finally I just started a list,
and while that was certainly helpful for me
I still couldn't choose just one
so decided to share the whole thing--
but by then it was too long
 for Instagram's format
(such a surprise).
So instead of cutting it down
or breaking it up into pieces
I am putting it here instead.
It is Tuesday (blog day) after all
and hopefully those of you who have hopped over
via the link on Instagram,
will enjoy the ride.

So here goes:
​
​Tiny Tapestries ARE:

​—Portable: they can, and do, go everywhere --
pocket, purse, backpack, glove box, suitcase.
The one pictured below lives permanently in my billfold
and whenever I have to pay for something,
I catch a glimpse and give it a little pat.
Not only is this emotionally pleasing
(I wouldn't carry it around if I didn't like it)
but it also serves as a reminder about priorities:
"Do I like/need this thing I'm about to buy
as much as I like/need time at the loom?"
Sometimes there is no choice.
But sometimes there is.

​—Ripe for experiments: when the warp
is only a few square inches
 why not try
-that smidgn of iris cordage,
-a foot of milkweed yarn,
-this bit of shiny fiber from the Canadian thistle stem,
-a few yards of kami-ito
spun from variable annuity semi-annual report
dyed with indigo? 
-a little embroidery?
Or, I know — a tiny house. 
​(No need to do that more than once).

— Repetitive: at this scale it is no biggie
to try ten approaches to the same ‘what if,’
all the while zeroing in
on the part that is actually the most compelling
(rarely the aspect I think I’m going to love --
the tiny house thing was a total surprise). 

—Economical (budget): no need to buy or store pounds of yarn
when a few ounces or grams will do.
And with the the four selvedge warping technique
there are not even thrums to compost.

NOTE: if I absolutely had to pick one aspect of tiny tapestry weaving I couldn't live without, it would be four selvedge warping. Indeed, without it, I probably would still be weaving big.
Or perhaps not weaving at all.
Though luckily, I don't have to do that experiment.
Anyway, if you've read this blog for any length of time
you probably know how I feel already. 
If you  haven't though, or weren't aware of my passion for this technique, here is a link to FRINGELESS, the class that Rebecca Mezoff and I teach -- because I think it, the technique, is sooooo freaking important and cool. 

—Economical (materials): the perfect way to celebrate
that unrepeatable six inches
of bright, warm yarn
spun from a coffee filter
colored by ten grams of orange ochre
gathered at a road cut
near Bearmouth, Montana
and pounded into pigment by Jodi Gear.

The Plum Shed; hand woven tapestry; 9" x 9"; wool, natural dyes ©Sarah C. Swett 2008

—Economical (space): easy to store tapestries/ looms/tools;
 in even the tiniest of dwellings.

Note: Every tapestry in this post was woven on a 1/4" or 1/2" galvanized pipe loom-- easy to make and when not in use (whenever that might be), the whole thing can be unscrewed and stored in a shoe box (with room for bobbins).
For more on tapestry looms, again check out Rebecca Mezoff's Media Tour posts
HERE on her blog  and 
HERE on Instagram

—Economical (shipping/transport ): pure bliss in this department--
and a total piece of cake
to get your new wee tapestry 
to the American Tapestry Alliance
unjuried small format exhibition.
or any place else that suits your fancy.

—Economical (angst): hard to get or stay worked up.
If  things don’t turn out as I hope,
 it is a matter of minutes
​to put on another warp and try again. ​

—Off the Wall and into the world: pockets, pillows, books, mobiles, ornaments--

—Life Changing: mine, anyway.
Never, in my days of weaving wall-filling mural tapestries,
would I have believed the bliss
of sinking into the vast and unknowable space
to be found within each tiny form--
the very constraints of size
throwing open windows of possibility
to  realms I'd ​never before imagined. ​

Diana's Fire; hand woven tapestry; 9" x 9"; wool, natural dyes ©Sarah C. Swett 2008

—Adorable: literally.
​Did I say I kinda like them as objects?

And there you have it --
my  list as it stands today.
Tomorrow, and the day after
and the day after that, and the day after that
and  last but not least on Sunday
I'll probably have ten more.
And what's not to love about that? 
Thank you ATA, for helping us Celebrate.