Time Out

Its time for Spring Cleaning of the Studio.

The Before Photo - -


With the help of my painter, I removed most everything from my studio this morning including the contents of three closets and quite a few bookcases. It is remarkable how much I can pack in one room in an organized fashion. But it is the big Spring Cleaning. It does not happen often. The census happens only once per decade so it seems does the complete Spring Cleaning of my studio. Cleaning has happened before - but this one is the complete one.

Everything is removed from its spot, every tapestry and piece of art is taken off the walls, everything removed from the bulletin boards, nothing remains on the various bookcases, even the bookcases are removed from the room. Three table looms remain on the remaining furniture. The nails, pins, hooks, etc. have been removed and the holes in the walls have been patched and tomorrow the paint arrives.

Everything will be re-evaluated before re-entering the studio with a fresh eye for the future. I anticipate full trash cans for the next several weeks. A gallery hanging system will arrive in a week so I can easily hang and change my wall hangings without putting nails in the walls.

Here is the interim photo - -

In a week or so, there will be fresh paint, a new arrangement of my work area withing the constraints of the room and a renewed vigor to get things done.

My Bridge in the Rain

Here is my entry for the ATA Small Format Exhibit which will be showing in Santa Fe this July. It is called Bridge in the Rain #3.

Hopefully it looks a bit familiar. The Japanese artist Ando Hiroshige did a scene like this, Sudden Shower in a wood block print in 1857. Van Gogh later (in 1887) used it as inspiration for this Japonaiserie: The Bridge in the Rain. I followed both of them in 2010 with my interpretation in fiber of a similar scene.

My piece is five inches in diameter. Woven at 14 epi with hand dyed silk singles. It was a complex and technical piece which I would like to weave again now that I know what I need to do to improve the end result.