Tapestry Exhibit

Today I attended the opening reception of a wonderful Tapestry Exhibit featuring the works of the Wednesday Group, students of Archie Brennan and Susan Martin Maffei  The show is titled Tapestry: Ancient Art for Modern Times.  The works are being exhibited at the Medford Leas Retirement Community Art Gallery in Medford, NJ.  during June and July. 

Archie and Susan were there and each presented a half hour slide presentation and lecture about their works and the things that influence their tapestries.  Several of the Wednesday Group members attended as well.  I was fortunate to be able to chat with these talented artists as well as with Archie and Susan.

Here is a photo album of the tapestries that are included in the show.

View Full Album

 

What’s new……………

Well, It has been quite some time since I have updated my blog.  My computer had acquired an adware virus which was causing it to run very slowly and it had to go in for repair.  In the meantime our computer tech updated and increased the memory capacity.  So I was without a computer for a couple of weeks.  Fortunately our library has many computers available for use.  So although somewhat inconvenient, I did manage to keep up with email, blogs, etc a few times during that time span.  One thing I did notice though is how much more time I had when I wasn’t constantly surfing the “net”.  But, I also realized how I have come to depend on the computer for researching and checking things out.  I can’t believe how many times I said “I’ll just check it out on the PC.”  So although a great convenience, I’ve  discovered how much time I waste sitting at the computer when I could be doing other things such as weaving.  Now if only I can limit my time at the computer………………

My tapestry is really coming along  and I am quite pleased with it.  Last Tuesday I met with my Tapestry Group and worked on my smaller loom that I use for sampling.  Yes…..I do sample from time to time.  I am now testing combinations of colors for the next section of the tapestry.  I am also sampling a technique that I learned from  Joan Baxter at the 2008 ATA Retreat in Tampa, FL.  I will be using a series of triangles in the dark area to on the left of the mountain. 

 

Tapestry on Tuesdays

On Tuesday I was finally able to attend the meeting of my tapestry group.  It was great to see everyone and to catch up on their projects.  Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera so I will have to post some pictures at  a later date.

The tapestry group is an study group of the South Jersey Guild of Spinners and Handweavers.  The instructors are Betsy Snope and Rita Landau who study with Archie Brennan and Susan Mafei and are members of the Wednesday Group.  We meet every Tuesday from 10am to 1pm throughout the year either in Betsy’s home or Rita’s home.  We bring our own tapestry looms and work on our individual projects until 1pm.  After that we retire to the kitchen where we eat our self prepared lunches and enjoy a cup of tea.  A lovely ending to a productive day.  Of course throughout the morning we share tapestry ideas and other discussions.

Since this the first time I have been back to the group since my return from Florida, I was surprised to learn that one of my Blog followers, Weavin Demon, is Mary Roth-Davies from my group. 

I was also happy to get positive feedback on what I had done so far on my Polychrome Mountain tapestry.  In addition, I got some helpful advice on how to proceed.  I really appreciate my support group and missed the interaction when I was in Florida for the winter.  I am really motivated now to get on with this tapestry. 

 

The Thursday Pineland Weavers

View Full Album

Thursday I was finally able to return to my weaving group which meets at the home of Doris and Howard Boyd in Tabernacle, NJ. Howard and Doris are a unique couple who are in their mid-nineties. Howard is a leading authority and the author of several books on the Pine Barrens of NJ. Doris holds our Pineland Weavers class in the basement studio of her house. Weavers have been gathering there every Thursday for over 25 years to work on individual projects under the guidance of Doris. There was an article about Doris written by Karen Donde in Handwoven Magazine. It appeared in the MA07 issue and was titled “Our Weaving Divas.” And although Doris is no longer able to teach, the group still meets every Thursday throughout the year to share weaving ideas and much more.

We arrive there in the morning about 10am and work on our projects until 12 noon when a few of us go up to the kitchen to put up the tea kettle and set the table for lunch. We each bring our own lunch, but share a dessert usually made by one of our members. As we sit around the table we “solve” all of our problems. Discussions can be advice on recipes, politics, stories about family, even a few raunchy jokes found on the internet. Of couse we discuss weaving also. One of the highlights of lunch hour is Show and Tell when we share our completed projects with our friends. After lunch we return to the studio and continue to work until 3:00pm. Thursday is a delightful day and we each cherish the time when we can come together and share ideas.

The group has a core of 10 women, but can vary in size from week to week. We meet in Doris’ basement studio which has many looms and shelves full of colorful yarn. The pictures above will give some idea of how the Pineland Weavers spend their Thursdays.