Posts Tagged ‘weaving’

Create Plenty fundraiser

Friday, September 30th, 2011
Woven plastic art

Pacifica Plastica, 19″ x 19.25″, plastic, thread, 2011

Create Plenty is holding their Square Affair art exhibit and sale to help support the expansion of the International Plastic Quilt Project. They’ve been working in Portland and beyond since 2007. Their Vision: A World Without Waste. Some of the school projects they have done are fantastic.

I’ve been collecting some very beautifully designed dog-food bags instead of throwing them out. I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do with them when this project came up. It looked like a worthwhile and fun project that ended up being a kick-start into using plastic materials in my fiber art. Inspired by the materials and the online images from other plastic artists, I cut my materials into strips, then wove and sewed together my square.

The squares will be viewed and sold online after November 2. You can also follow Create Plenty on their facebook page. Check it out!

 

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Lia Cook video

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

I am familiar with Jacquard looms and thought that Lia Cook must be using one for her latest weavings. I believe she is using a digital loom by Digital Weaving Norway. You can view the brochures and catalogs on their site for more information.

Her digitizing of older small photos and transferring the imagery to a woven large piece is meticulously done. I can only imagine the experience of seeing them from a distance and then in a very abstract way once viewed up close. This video is a wonderful closeup of Doll Face V by Lia Cook.

Cook’s scientific exploration of neuroscience and art with the University of Pittsburgh TREND program is a fascinating direction. How much difference  is there when the brain responds to a photo versus a weaving of the same photo? Using Diffusion Spectrum Imaging (DSI) and TractVis software to view the connections running through the brain, rotating and overlapping these images onto the woven faces and then creating a new weaving from the combination of what our brain sees and the brain tracts is a holistic way of bringing the viewer and the viewed together. Remarkable.

I am hoping to see these works, but until I do, please comment if you have been able to view them.

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Judith Poxson Fawkes – “Weaving a Chronicle”

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

Judy is a friend of mine. Her work is shown at Laura Russo Gallery in Portland, OR. Much of it architectural in theme, I’ve admired her tapestry art since the 80s.

When I found her book “Weaving a Chronicle” at the local library I learned a lot of the background of her education and work. I found it interesting reading – her thoughts on her own work, her Cranbrook years, information on the commissions she has done, and a bit on her tapestry technique. The work is well documented with photos of the tapestries – some in their permanent locations.

The best news is that she is in the process of updating the book. Let me know what you think of her work.

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Laurie Herrick at Museum of Contemporary Craft

Sunday, March 27th, 2011
graph paper image of weaving draft by Laurie Herrick

Laurie Herrick, Weaving Draft for The River, c. 1985; Ink on paper; Collection of Ann and Jon Sinclair

The Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland is showing a retrospective of Laurie Herrick’s weaving. Their site includes information about her technique and the importance of her work in history. Amazingly, they have pdf downloads of some of Herrick’s weaving drafts, class notes, writings, and other research documents. There is also a Flickr page you can upload your work based on her drafts.

In addition to her work, there is a collection of her personal papers. The graph paper weaving drafts were reminiscent of school work at the College of Art and Craft. She was an instructor there before I attended.

First Unitarian correspondance with Herrick

Laurie Herrick, Archive Notes on Tree of Life, 1969, ink on paper, Collection of Ann and Jon Sinclair

Included was her correspondence with the First Unitarian Church when they asked her to be one of the artists to submit a proposal to replace a major tapestry lost during a fire. Her tapestry hangs in the church today. Her lifetime of technique, color and craft were very impressive.

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