Warp Winding for Two

Yesterday was a chilly sunny Sunday.  My place was picked up and moved around enough to start thinking about making some changes in my office and studio space.  Either way, I was going to have to move my warp winder.  I have been feeling a burst of artistic energy again.  I grabbed the warp winder and decided to plan out my next pieces.  

I had drafted a very large version of my next piece "Leaf Me Alone" and it has been feeling a bit intimidating.  So I put together a cartoon for a smaller version of it, and that's where I'm starting.  I've been wanting to use a darker variegated thread for both warps on one of these and I think the small version will be a good tester for that also.

So, I spent my Sunday winding off 4 warps for 2 projects.  It felt great to get these done.  Here's a bit about what it means to wind a warp in video format: 

Ignore my comfy Sunday lounging clothes, I didn't feel like getting too cleaned up for the internet. I get more done that way.

So math was done, ends per inch was calculated (a bit more open than packed together), below is the "cross" in my warp that I talk about in the video:

Below is the second warps (2 per weaving for double weave), which I also got wound off for the larger more intimidating piece.  Time to get to it!

Delicious piles of hand dyed rayon warps! 

Cleavage

Well, to start, this piece was inspired by the variation I started doing on the triple pod earring.  I created the first set to go with an outfit I was wearing for the Art Council's Holiday Gala, it sold that week. I made another set and just delivered it to the Lansing Art Gallery last month.  As I was making the earrings, I wanted to keep adding pods.  The shapes and varying textures in the different beads were calling to me.

I decided that if I got my latest weaving ready to hang, I'd allow myself to start in on this idea. That was the kick in the pants I needed to finish my latest Lake Superior weaving for submission to a Call for Art.  This piece was also finished in time for that submission.

I took a few photos while the threads were still on this piece, I had every intention of continuing to add pods, but I was so happy with the initial pictures I stopped myself.  There is such a thing as over-doing it when creating artwork, these photos let me know I was at a good stopping point.

Finally, the title....I tend to think of names for pieces either at the very beginning of a piece when I'm working conceptually or as I am working on them. This piece kept making me think of forms and writings I was working on in college.  The cleaving of things.  When something is being pushed together and split apart at the same time.  This is the first of an idea of cleavage, cloven, cleavers in my own work.

Mother Superior: Lake Superior Triple Weaving

Remember the weaving that I finished for the Porcupine Mountains Artist Residency?  Well I had some warp left over and decided to make myself another Lake Superior weaving from all of the wonderful photos that I took while I was there.  I cannot stop thinking of calling it "Mother Superior" so that's what it is.  Plus that Beatles song keeps popping in my head when I was working on both pieces.

This weaving is much smaller and far different in texture than it's sister piece.  I perused my dyed rayon stash and found most of the colors I needed.  The yellow-orange ball of hand dyed rayon is actually from my years at the University of Michigan Art School.  It was perfect for this piece and I'm glad it's sat waiting in my stash for this long. The green weft I did do some over-dyeing on the skein and up close it has some fantastic hues of blues and purple.

Some major edits were done to the reflection of the sun (round yellow thing in the water) after I pulled it off the loom. I actually snipped the loops of rayon (lets be honest, I wove it the wrong direction, the loops were meant for the back of the piece, but I always do tapestry from the back so it ended up all wonky).  This is the first time I have ever stitched into a weaving for a fix/detail.  I was nervous and wanted it very faint, so I used yellow sewing thread.

I just submitted this piece to it's first show, so fingers crossed on it jurying in! Until then, it has a place on my wall.