Monday, February 8, 2016

Tapestry, Ikat and Inspiration

The three day tapestry workshop is over, so thankful to have had this opportunity to learn from Tommye.  Today, at lunch this was the state of my tapestry.


I learned so much.  One of the problems with telling yourself you have no drawing or artistic ability at a very early age is you are never exposed to basic concepts.  Tommye took us through basics on color and how to judge light, medium and dark values.   She also covered basic design elements and principles.  Tommye does a tapestry diary every year.  Below is 2015.


It is hard to see the beauty of this in a photo.  Tommye is inspired by the things in her landscape in Georgia, black walnuts, pecans, gingko leaves and many more.


This is Mary Kirchner.  She was the class organizer and assistant.  Mary is also a  talented   artist weaver with a studio in Artspace.  Below are some shots of her  work.


Mary specializes in ikat.



Mary's ikat board with dyeing work in progress.  The yellow you see is a section of yarn taped off so it will not absorb any dye.



The yarns are dyed and numbered to be woven in a sequence to achieve outstanding and dramatic results.





Sunday, February 7, 2016

Getting Schooled!

Tomorrow is my last day of a three day tapestry class with Tommye Scanlon.  It has been a delight, such a wonderful opportunity to focus on something I love.  The class is being held at Artspace.  It is such an inspiring place, being surrounded by artists studios makes me believe even more in the value of "making things".

The class is intended for beginners, which definitely is appropriate for me.  Tommye brought beautiful samples of her work.



The class is a great combination of Tommye demonstrating techniques and hands on weaving.







As you can see we are working hard and trying to absorb as much as possible.  You would think three days would be a gracious plenty but it is not. The workshop has been extremely well organized.  Tommye brought looms, yarns and booklets for each of us.   Artspace is an excellent venue.
Tomorrow a post on an inspiring tapestry artist and her studio and the ATA juried small format show.