Weaverly

Films, Fall, & Double Twill

We took a break this morning and went downtown to attend a session of the Reedy Reels Film Festival. This particular session featured the work of student film makers and was a real/reel treat! There were animations (always a favorite of mine), documentaries, and some really clever short features. Some of the film makers are students at our local Fine Arts Center. Bravo, folks!

Here's the part where we got to choose our seats (We were a little early).

The light at this time of year comes in at very low angles in my studio. This morning I happened to peek in at the small photography area adjoining my weaving space, and saw this lovely composition of shadows cast by bushes outside and the light diffusion umbrellas. Had I been five minutes later, I would have missed it.

And just outside the studio door, there is a typical fall scene of fallen leaves and a camellia bush.

Back inside, work continues on Double Twill. Here's today's portion.

A closer look. Click on any of these to enlarge.

My Fifteen Milliseconds of Fame

Still cleaning up in preparation for Open Studios. Yes, I know it's not until the weekend of Nov. 8, but the magnitude of the job demands extreme measures. And I am enjoying the newly uncovered work spaces and elbow room. And finding lost treasures. And I wanted the place to look interesting, not creepy, for the videographer who arrived to document me at work for a TV commercial promoting this year's event.

I did line up the yarn artistically on the shelves and arranged books and pillows, but Will Stewart was especially interested in the sounds of weaving for his video, so as I threw shuttles and plied the beater, he recorded the clinks, clanks, thumps, and shwooshes of a weaver at work. I can't wait to see (hear) the results.

 

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Home Repairs

End of an Era

I'm cleaning out my office in preparation for a mammoth job of removing a wall of teetering bookcases (ugh!) and installing proper built-in shelves. Here's the Before picture.

In the process, I've found boxes upon boxes of Kodak Carousel slide trays, full of slides, and they've got to go (the trays, that is. I'm still going to keep the slides. At least for a while). In the age of digital, the Carousel is a Dodo. So now I've got this stack of empty carousel trays. What to do? 

Along the same lines, I just heard a repeat broadcast of Michael Feldman interviewing Steve McCurry, who shot the last roll of Kodachrome film. You can see the results of McCurry's shooting here. End of an era.

A Couple of Observations on Creativity

From N. Miami, this trenchant Sam Haskins comment on creative people and their tools:

And from the amazing Catalina, a video about her virtual world, and the horses and people who inhabit it. It takes 13 minutes to view the entire movie, but it's well worth the time, IMHO. Catalina's been riding since she was three. The stable was constructed by her father, the dollhouse belonged to her mother as a child, and much of the fencing and other accessories were constructed by Catalina herself, who also did all of the filming, except for the opening & closing scenes. 

Video Woes

This year I made a video animation (more about that later—it is an adventure story in intself) and am consequently in a video-aware state of mind. Just yesterday I saw a hilarious video by Annie Modesitt and had to share it with you. Annie did the movie as a Project Runway audition (sadly, it was rejected by the judges); she found that her microphone wasn't working, so she added a voice-over commentary which occasionally is in sync (but more often not). Then there was the cat…

Know When to Fold 'Em

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em…(Kenny Rogers, please forgive me.)

The following picture is courtesy of Bruce. It documents what I've been doing in the studio the past few days. I tore down 50 sheets of 21" by 30" Frankfurt paper (by Zerkall of Germany) into signatures for 16+ books. There are certain economies of scale when you organize things this way, and the time did go by rather pleasantly, as the repetitive motions are conducive to thinking and planning. While folding and tearing, I caught up on my favorite knitting podcastsand a podcast on the history of Japan. And then there was the live broadcast from the Met on Saturday—La Fille du Régiment.An enjoyable couple of days.

Now there is this to show for the time spent (my favorite hand carved bone folder is in the foreground):

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Do yourselves a favor and watch this video. Laurie is a writer, and this is the story of the creation of her "Mad Woman in the Forest" cottage. Enthralling.

Botanicals and Fuel Pumps

Another couple of pages have been finished on the Botanical Garden book. These are recto format (i.e, right side up).

And a detail (click to enlarge):

Some of you are aware of my interest in animated videos. I was recently sent a link to this fascinating movie featuring stop-motion animation, and I thought you might enjoy it. Now granted, not all of you are as passionate about fuel pumps as this fellow is, but be patient; the stop-motion part kicks in about halfway through, and you'll also get a look at the adorable Lala. Caveat: any family resemblance to the animator is purely non-coincidental. His blog is here.

Aspect Ratio

Yesterday was a day of ups and downs, requiring constant readjustment. It started with sample weaving for a new jacquard piece.

 

This will be a hanging in double twill, 4 wefts. The pink weft was too aggressive. I replaced it with a dull red for the second sample. The color balance was better, but the aspect ratio was way off. I calculated the new aspect ratio to be exactly 2; i.e., the pixel length of the file will have to be doubled. Done. The actual weaving is now in progress, with the hem, including upside down signature, just concluded.

Then it was time to go to a funeral. A well-loved lady whose friends and family bid her a personal farewell.

Another shift in aspect: a Little League game in the afternoon. After the game the coaches tried to assemble the Red Raiders for a team photo. It was like herding turtles.

 

Finally some semblance of order.

That didn't last long. The coaches got a little goofy, too.

To end a day of highs and lows, a final aspect adjustment: watching The Secret of Roan Inish for the fourth time. Somehow, that puts everything into perspective.

Twining and Bookbinding

I've been doing some reading about non-adhesive bindings for books, and I came across the work of book artist Roberta Lavadour, who uses twining in the spines of her books. I had always felt that book-binding and weaving were related arts, but this example moves the relationship closer by a notch. Roberta's website is very interesting, but even more interesting is the video of her work produced for Oregon Public Broadcasting. The quality of the video is excellent, and the scenes of the book-making and twining processes are fascinating.  It's about 7 minutes long, and well worth viewing.

Now from the sublime to the ridiculous. Here's my first attempt at a bound book. The covers are recycled from a box of chocolate popsicles, and the pages are old stationery. But I love it as much as I loved my first weaving, skatey-eight years ago.

A Close Shave

Although there is no shortage of knitting-related content on the web (and yes, I have joined Ravelry) I’d like to add my two cents today. First, here’s a scan of my alpaca sweater at approximately 12x lifesize (click to enlarge to full size). And now that the scene is set, I’d like to tell you about one of my favorite short films.

Adults love Wallace and Gromit as much as children do. Read all about them here. A Close Shave, an animated Wallace and Gromit claymation tale by the enormously talented Nick Park, is a film I’ve watched at least a dozen times in the company of my grandchildren. It has great fiber content! Do yourself a favor and rent/buy/borrow this film and become a fan, as I am, of Wendolene’s Wools and Wallace’s Knit-0-matic. Enjoy the artistry of Park’s rendering of knitted fabric in the unlikely medium of clay. Cracking good!