I began my last day at Convergence Conference with Rebecca Mezoff's seminar on "Creating Without Pain." I've had some aches and weird things going on with the increasing number of hours I spend beading/weaving/dyeing. She had some great examples of how to fix things that weavers are doing wrong, and the big take-away for me is to remember to get up and stretch every 25 minutes. I can sit and bead for hours. I get so wrapped up in my work, I need to break and stretch, it'd probably help with a number of things. She has some great stretches for hands, arms and upper body!
I then had a quick lunch with Inga Marie and she introduced me to Suzi Ballenger from the eTextiles Lounge.
I really wanted to see both the Complex Weaver's Exhibit and also the tapestry exhibits that were part of the American Tapestry Alliance conference which overlapped Convergence. When I looked at the map, the Complex Weaver's was a bit of a walk, had I realized that I was over there the day before I would have made it, but really, my feet were killing me by now (I did not bring substantial shoes, packing my hiking sandals next time!) The ATA exhibit were closer so I headed that way.
I really enjoyed their small-format unjuried show, I really enjoy tapestry and weaving it, so the small-format was inspiring with the broad spectrum that artists work with tapestry.
(I couldn't help but fall in love with the tarantula)
(I had to photograph the text weavings for sure! Since text is a focus for me right now)
(The first I've seen of a small weaving of Rebecca's, I love how she utilized text for this)
This is the Best of Show for the juried tapestry exhibit and it is stunning. Rebecca has much better photos and if you want to see more tapestry, check out THIS blog post of her's.
Vendor hall tear down
I had been trying to catch up to Elaine all week, and when I finally nailed her down I ended up helping HGA tear down and box their booth. I, myself, wasn't there all week, but thank you thank you thank you to all the ladies that I met at tear down for all the hard work you do to make Convergence happen. I held off to have a very late dinner with them until they were done with the rest of the office-type stuff and I packed my own box for the hotel to Fed-Ex home for me.
A drink was in order.
(This one wasn't mine,
but I loved how the lemon peel was ribboned into the glass.)
Summary: I love Convergence, but I'm now on fiber art overload, I want to create more and more things, but I need to try to stay focused. Last week and this week are about packing to teach at the Michigan League of Handweaver's 3-Day Workshops, and my Porcupine Mountains Residency and our trip to Japan. I literally have 3 piles started. I'm still somewhat distracted though, I wanted to have my dining room back, so I finished the last sanding and finishing of the craigslist table:
My dad managed to surprise my mom for her birthday:
(Happy Belated Birthday Mom!)
We went on our annual tubing trip with friends....and got back to work on Sunday when we got home. I've started boxing up my tapestry yarn for the Porkies and wondering what to pack as far as food since I'll have no electricity or running water. I mean, I will, but not at the cabin I get to stay in for two weeks.
I'm glad to be getting the last of Convergence posting off my plate before I forget what I did there!
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