Sunday, August 16, 2015

on weaving





When I have finished weaving a small collection  of 4 or 5 scarves, that seem to belong together, because of the warp and the color  and design combinations, I list them for sale in my etsy shop.  This most recent batch  has materialized around old school, plaid dresses, that came to mind as I wove.  I remember the school dresses my mother sewed for me at this time of year, no doubt, with white collars and cuffs,  and me impatiently standing on a chair, turning slowly, while she pinned the hems.  The afternoon light has shifted to a warmer tint,  a light golden wash, end of summer.

This is how I weave, always. Colors come from memories of light at different seasons, different times of day.  There are combinations  in my brain from my mother's kitchen curtains, or the wallpaper in my best friend' s bedroom.  But the memory of color can come from anywhere, or anytime. I weave to hold it down, to see it better, to get closer to an emotion connected to the color. Often I can't identify where the color comes from that feels so familiar.  Cloth carries feeling with  its color, texture and design. We hold it, and it conforms to our human shapes.

I never thought weaving would be so important to me.  I'm a little self conscious to be so
obsessed with it, and  always wish I were a truly gifted weaver.  I've been weaving many years, but I often feel clumsy at my looms. What I may lack in technical virtuosity, I make up for in feeling. I hope that feeling carries to whoever owns it.  I want there to be something in the cloth that expresses the ideas that went into its making,  even if the keeper has no idea who made it.  I keep cloth like that, made by someone unknown to me,  that radiates another human's imagination, and excites me.

So, I make a series of scarves and put them up for sale, happy to think of them worn by real human beings,  in places I may never get to visit.  The workshop feels so empty then, and I wonder if there is anything left to look forward to.  Then, slowly, something takes shape in my mind's eye, as I pick up colors again, and throw my shuttles. 

20 comments:

Charlotte said...

These are truly lovely scarves! I like so much the histories and associations that follow with them. And the brocading sure is a difficult and time consuming process that requires expertise.

Hilary said...

I love your work, it is so you, it has your signature all over it.
You are doing what you love, and it shows, there is nothing better.

Fran said...

Your weavings are beautiful, and the arrival of your blog postings are always a gift of your transparency, which is rare indeed. Fran in Calgary

Susan said...

Charlotte, I don't try anything too challenging! Thanks for your comment.

Hilary, you're the weaver achiever that leaves me in the dust, with one hand tied behind your back. I wasn't trying to do anything unusual. I just wanted to make a decent rosepath thing, that would hold together. If it's distinctive, it's purely accidental. Thanks, all the same, for your compliments. I sincerely appreciate it.

Fran, and thank you, too. I hope it's meaningful communication, at least to one or two other souls

Jenny M said...

Beautiful thoughts on where your inspiration comes from for the colours you use in your weaving. Even your words 'standing on a chair, turning slowly, while she pinned the hems', made me instantly recall standing on the dining table while my Mum pinned the hems on my dresses. My dear Mum turns 80 this week.
But alas, your 'shop shelves' are already empty! from Jenny in Australia

Velma Bolyard said...

susan, what you are expert at is just that: the colors the sense of weaving, the sense of something almost liminal. your work is important.

{having my} druthers said...

Susan,

Your weaving looks anything but "clumsy"! Your talent shines through and is much admired. It's obvious that you get so much joy from your time spent in front of your looms.

Tracey

Susan said...

Jenny, I 'my happy if it brought that memory back to you. I don't start with a memory, but weaving colors seems to connect to fragments of my experience.


Velma, Important to me at least, but thank you, sincerely, for that thought


Tracey, I'm glad it doesn't look clumsy to you. I meant that I rarely feel like a natural weaver. I am very aware of my limitations, which I work around. On the other hand, I'm much surer of what I am trying to do. I do appreciate your comment, and thank you

Susan

Anonymous said...

Susan, I have long admired your heart felt weaving. Your artistic way with linen and color palates speak volumes. Wondering what your etsy shop name is, I am assuming it is Avalanche Looms but nothing comes up.

Please keep weaving and posting, although I mostly lurk - I do read and admire everything you post.

Best wishes!

Susan said...

Martha, thanks for looking at my blog. My etsy shop is Avalanche Looms, there's a shop link in the right column at the top of the blog.Sorry that it's usually empty, though. When I have 4 or 5 done I list them. Im happy they sell out quickly. I announce when I'm going to put things in my shop on Instagram, too. I like your weaving very much, & like a lot of others, I like your blue pine trees and snowflake runner. Someday I'd love to try an overshot pattern like it, if can ever break out of my rosepath / gooseye rut. Ha! Susan

Yael said...

I thank Dawn of LaTouchables for guiding me to your beautiful blog. Your artful and very thoughtful weaving is wonderful, done from the heart, I can see, and with passion from the soul. :-)

Carol from MN said...

Your thoughts and words transform memories into feelings.....you make me long to sit at my loom and decide what color, what texture and what depth I am feeling.....

Anonymous said...

Dang..... how could I have missed this for sale on etsy! And I noticed there had been some for sale in earlier in the summer too. :(
Guess I've been spending too much time away from looking..... summer is after all, a busy time.
Now I will be more vigilant ...... I do so want one of your shawls Susan!

Susan said...

Yael, thanks! Dawn has an amazing eye for color, texture and design in her own work, so it's such a compliment that she keeps sending her friends my way.

Carol, Wonderful! I hope you're back at your loom



Julie, I wish I could make one for you, too. I'm still so slow at weaving them, and I've accidentally over marketed them. I'm glad it's easy to sell them, but sorry I never seem to have any on hand. I'm warping again just now, excited to see what the next ones will look like. The happy thing is how much I love to weave them, and that I have lots of time in my studio now that my family is grown. I have always been an artist, though family life was my priority for many years. Susan

Carol from MN said...

Susan? do you offer classes? I just love your sense of style and color....

Susan said...

Carol,
Sorry, I just saw your question! I don't teach classes -- I'd make a very poor & disorganized teacher.
I do keep open studio hours Wed - Sat, 10 - 5, when my store is open, and when anyone can come in to see what I'm working on. I can answer questions, if they're not too hard! I do think of my work as painterly, so I'm pleased you respond to the color and design.
Thank you,
Susan

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pernille said...

One of your scarfs are being used with pride in Ă…rhus, Denmark. I am a member of a local textile-group for knitters and weavers, and your scarf is admired for its creative use of tecniqes and its beatifull colours :-)

Connys Cottage said...

Hello,

wath a great job! I love your scarf very match.I am a beginner with weving.

greatings send you Conny

Beth said...

Wow!! Your weaving is so beautiful, and I really enjoy the way you write about the colours coming from memory and feeling. Very inspiring xxx