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  • Blog 2014-2021

light, line and saturated color

2/18/2020

 
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It's hard to know what to say
about these little open warp
gridded paper tapestries.
Picture
I like making them?
The colors are pretty?
The grid is weirdly satisfying?
Love leaving room for the light?
Symmetry -- who knew?
All of the above?
Picture
I'm definitely feeling the influence  
of the marvelous material
in Rebecca Mezoff's new Design Class,
the second module of which
focuses on using line in tapestry.
Working with,
(and doing my best to defy)
the elemental structure of tapestry
has been a thing in my work for years,
​and it is fun to revisit it so directly.
note: I apologize for bringing up this class as registration is now closed  for the season,
but you can watch the trailer HERE,
--spoiler warning--includes a couple of clips of my dulcet tones going on about the joys of tapestry--
and do note that the non-interactive version
opens for registration in June so you can put that on your calendar --
and/or make sure to sign up for season two next year.
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The paper yarn itself
most definitely exerts 
an enormous amount
​of power over my choices.
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Beautiful as it is,
​how not to try to find a way
to let it shine 
free from the distraction
of image of imposed narrative?
Picture
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And it's not just about color.
The look, feel, texture and behavior
of plain, coffee-stained paper
is irresistible to me.
And what joy, few days ago,
to receive ​a veritable bonanza
of new material.
Picture
First:  a lovely big stack of
extra large round filters
that my amazing sister 
fished from the grounds
during her twice a week
coffee-shop-compost-collection,
then washed,
dried by draping all around her kitchen
and carried with her
when coming to visit me--
what better present could there be,
on both counts?

(If you scroll down the post in the link above--
though not too fast cuz her photos
are marvelous along the way--
you can see the buckets
of  spent coffee grounds
as they come to her).

These filters,
though larger in diameter,
are of a similar thickness and feel

to the round ones I get from Jodi--
the source of all that color above. 
Like the colored ones
I use scissors to cut them into
 one continuous spiraling strand.
(pics of this in the post linked above).
Picture

Then: my friend Robin
delivered a second collection 
of big square chemex filters--
individually ​rinsed and dried
over days and days.

As well a being square,
the paper in these
is significantly thicker than
the round ones,
so I cut them using what I believe
 is the more traditional approach:
slicing into narrow strips with a sharp blade
before releasing into a continuous strand
that zig zags back and forth.

Robin also included
a few small cone-shaped Melita filters, 
the paper of which I've worked with before.
Similar in weight/ texture
to the chemex above,
I nevertheless cut them with scissors
to get the most out of their curved shape.

The different materials make surprisingly different yarn,
and I'm just beginning to get a sense
of what I like best, when. 
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As ever, I'm learning as I go,
every day an experiment--
and if you are also interested in meandering 
down this particular rabbit hole
 I highly recommend some internet searches

Great sources of info:
Kigami and Kami-ito:
Japanese Handmade paper and paper /thread

by Hiroko Karuno,
Velma Bolyard's site/ blog
Pinterest
My posts under the "coffee filter yarn" tag on the right
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At any rate,
as well as  broadening my filter horizons, 
I've also been comparing
my two charkhas for spinning and plying:
the book charkha above 
(ratio about 100/1)
and the Ashford Charkha below
(ratio about 10/1)

Plusses and minuses to both--
Book:
- the speed of the book charkha is phenomenal
and makes paper spinning fast and pleasant.
-the thin shaft makes a paper pirn kind of a hassle
so singles have to be rewound for storage and use
Ashford:
-the slow speed is restful
(and annoying -- depending on the day and the material)
-spinning directly onto a paper pirn is great.
Picture
If a gal happens to be blessed with two charkhas, then,
it is pretty slick to use one for spinning singles
and the other for plying and winding purns.

I'm still experimenting
with the singles vs plied thing too.
So far, I prefer to weave with singles
and knit with plied paper,
(the tapestry at the top of the post,
which uses both, notwithstanding).


My preference is  based on: 
-warp/weft/sett relationships 
-the look of singles vs plied yarn when woven
-my casual paper-yarn-making skills/approach
-my insistence on using fragile materials
​fished from the compost
​ rather than  lokta,
strong, flexible washi,

or exquisite  hanji 
(which maybe some day I'll be fortunate enough to experience first hand).
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All this will undoubtedly evolve,
Things usually do.
And in the meantime,
I'll just try to notice
the moments
​of delight.

 Thanks for your company.
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Fran
2/18/2020 12:34:53 pm

Very interesting. If like you know how they were coloured, because the colours are very nice on the paper.
Good information!

Velma Bolyard
2/18/2020 01:13:48 pm

and now, dear sarah, i have some (2) round filters in my ink making notebook! i just love how you juxtapose the dense saturated color with light and air and line! your coffee filter work may have been mentioned in a certain workshop...

Micki Smith link
2/18/2020 01:15:54 pm

Wow. Ths technique is awesome.

Vicki Aspenberg
2/18/2020 01:37:00 pm

Very interesting process and the results are beautiful.

Daria Wilber
2/18/2020 01:56:07 pm

I love the open warp grid and color blocks. Absolutely stunning.

Bonnie
2/18/2020 02:20:07 pm

I love this re-use idea, but I’m wondering how you get the color?

Sarah
2/19/2020 06:33:48 am

The colors are from the process of refining earth pigments to make watercolors, plus some indigo. Check back a couple of posts for more, or click the “coffee filter yarn” topic tag

Eileen
2/18/2020 03:01:35 pm

The weaving reminds me of stained glass - all the little sections of color and light shinning through, Beautiful work and clever idea with the open warps.

Ann Marie Miller
2/18/2020 03:04:02 pm

Fascinating. Wove with commercially made paper yarn and painted parts of it with acrylic.I unfurled, unspun? the edges to paint. And now you are making me remember a long time ago sculpture of used tea bags and how enthralled I was with their colors...hmmm...Sarah, you always amaze me.

Lynn
2/18/2020 07:16:36 pm

I have used plastic coffee stirrers on my charka shaft for “bobbins” although these items are now more elusive to find as the coffee industry, to improve their karma, has now mostly switched to little wooden sticks which are a good substitute for stirrers, but not for bobbins.

Sarah
2/19/2020 06:35:12 am

What a useful tip. Thanks!

Sarah
2/25/2020 09:57:20 am

Weekend update — happened to be in a place where they had little plastic coffee stirrer straws, so nabbed a couple for charkha ‘bobbins’ as you suggested. They worked wonderfully once I cut them in half (the charkha spins best if the lovely spindle point is exposed), and shimmed the spindle shafts with a little yarn for a snug fit. Dont’ love plastic but sure do love simple tools and handy fixes. Thanks

Cheryl Silverblatt
2/19/2020 09:53:29 am

It's the symmetry of it, and its tidiness, that brings peace to your eye. I think the little paper grid tapestries are very Japanese in the use of paper, orderliness and their calm nature. Thank you for them.
cheryl

Alison Clark
2/20/2020 01:26:08 am

Such a pleasure as always to read your post. I have long been drawn to open wafts but felt it wasn't the proper way of doing tapestry. Maybe I need to follow my instincts a bit more?

Sarah
2/20/2020 10:27:19 am

I’m all in favor of following one’s instincts into places that are a little “off” of the norm— and so far, even when it feels awkward to me, the tapestries themselves don’t seem to mind.


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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