Pondering 50 years

A long time ago.

A long time ago.

I was recently asked to write a blog post for Brittany Whittam McLaughlin’s forum, “The Common Thread.”  It was a real treat to have the opportunity to think back and look forward while standing in the spot that marks my 50th year as a weaver.This month also marks the end of two exhibits: my solo show at Maine FiberArts (until 1/12/19) and the Cahoon Museum (ended 12/22/18). However the Center for Maine Contemporary Art Biennial is still up until March 3.I hope you get a chance to read this short piece I just wrote. I think it sums it all up.Thanks.Sarah 

So green, so blue, so old, so new

 Lupines!!   Wide washes of the deep blues and purples that I love can be seen everywhere in my garden. The irises, Centaurea Montana, violets, lilacs and lupine are all bursting forth. Ahhhh, June – perhaps my favorite month.EXHIBITS:

Well Used, Well Loved opening night

Well Used, Well Loved opening night

Fuller Craft Museum (Brockton MA) – Biennial Members Exhibit – I won a Best of Show! Up until October 7, 2018.George Marshall Gallery (York, ME)  - Group Show – until July 8, 2018. Artist’s talk June 24, 3 PMPortsmouth Music and Art Center (Portsmouth, NH) – “Tiny Enormous Art Show” Opening June 22, 2018 5 – 7.IN THE STUDIO

IMG_5750

Rust sampler

I am playing with rust dyes, aging weathering my woven linens – making them appear old and worn. These experiments are a natural outgrowth from “Well Used, Well Loved.”I recently “downsized”my 56″loom. I removed 8 harnesses and the dobby system. You can read about this on my Macomber blog.These delicious long June days offer time for art explorations, gardening, outdoor play and reflection.I hope wherever you are you are finding the same. 

Spring is bursting forth!

 

Each One: The Button Project at the 9/11 Museum

Each One: The Button Project at the 9/11 Museum

NOW: Letters By Hand

NOW: Letters By Hand

After the coldest spring I can recall in decades, we finally have the delicious days of spring that we dream of all winter.  Not only are the buds luscious and full, but my calendar is ripe with shows, new art and other events. Here are the highlights:

In the studio,  I am exploring new works, weaving, stitching and dyeing. More images and updates will follow soon!

Samples with indigo and rust dyes

Samples with indigo and rust dyes

 

Finished but not the end

The quartet from this 18 month long community art project "Well Used, Well Loved."

The quartet from the community art project “Well Used, Well Loved.”

A couple of weeks ago I completed the four panel series from “Well Used, Well Loved.” (WUWL) The outer two panels are woven in a brocade weave with miles of shifu – paper spun thread with text from WUWL participants. The center two panels are hand dyed and woven linen with embroidery and a red shifu thread couched on to the surface.It has been photographed — with a bit help help from Photoshop – because it as too wide for one shoot! The whole piece measures 12′ wide by 6′ tall.

"Well Used, Well Loved." detail of two center panels

“Well Used, Well Loved.” detail of two center panels

I have a commitment to exhibit the entire project in a wonderful gallery – stay tuned for more details!With the completion of this project, I inevitably have my eyes on my next endeavor. Having been an artist for well over 4 decades, I know that one piece of art leads to another. In this case – the project “Well Used, Well Loved” has got me thinking about subjecting my own woven cloth to more “weathering” before embroidery. So that’s where I am headed right now – to weave some cloth — then heavily wash it, bleach it, pound it, burn it and put some pieces in the garden for the winter!

Woven brocade cloth inserted into old door.

Woven brocade cloth inserted into old door.

Each project or piece of art pulls me further on the path of exploring and expanding ideas, pushing the materials and medium of weaving .And then sometimes I get an opportunity to look back at my art — and see a continuous thread of inquiry. I recently gifted an older piece (1974) to a dear friend. This piece titled “Come In” shows early evidence of my curiosity about weathered works.

Woven brocade cloth inserted into old door.

“Come In” detail Woven brocade cloth inserted into old door.

One Opening

Thank You Letters installed at Old York Visitors Center

Thank You Letters installed at Old York Visitors Center

Saturday evening “Unraveled” opened. This is an amazing show of creative and innovative works by 18 New England artists. The show at the Remick Gallery in the Museums of Old York runs for 3 months – so you hardly have an excuse to miss it, unless you live on the West coast!

 With the arrival of fall and new exhibits, I am also starting back to work with schools. This past week I was down in CT for  an Arts for Learning Showcase in Meriden CT. Here is a fabulous photo that captures the energy of the day – beauty joy and community!

Mandala hands

Mandala hands connecting to create community

Soft ending

Embroidered Letter M
Letter M inspired by pea shoots, tendrils and flowers
Summer clouds

Summer clouds

Summer is coming to a soft ending here in Maine. What I mean by soft is that the  end of summer is September 21st – the actual transition from summer to fall. But here in Vacationland, as in many New England states, summer ends when schools reopen and the tourists go home. Although I am decades away from returning to school, I still feel the shift in the pace of life, the change in the sunlight, the drop in the temperature.This fall I have two local exhibits. I hope that you can see these shows and perhaps join me at the opening.

October 3 – November 5, 2014  Opening reception October 8  5-7PM
NH Institute of Art 148 Concord St. Manchester, NH 03104
This exhibit is an international juried show that will travel after this site. Again an amazing collection of artists!
As summer draws to this soft closure, I am scheduling fall residencies, continuing with my embroidery project “Now ~ Letters by Hand”and digging deeper into my on-loom series called “Unhinged”. The pieces in the above mentioned exhibits are from this new series.
Letter O

Letter O with summer full moon.

Here’s hoping your summer is drawing to a soft closure.
Happy Labor Day ~ Sarah
 

Hot Flash!

Well, not a real hot flash in the menopausal sense, but a hot news flash! There is a really terrific article in The Wire, a local paper about my exhibit at the York Art Association.

one view of the show at the York Arts Association

I continue to be so pleased with this exhibit. It feels like there is room to breath around the art work. The space is sunny and bright. The York Art Association has been wonderful about getting the word out about the show, and the installation was a breeze. We had an amazing opening on Friday night with 83 people in attendance!

"The Village" series on the left and two of "Four Houses" on the right

"Beyond Home" (sold) on left and two screen art works on right

detail of "Great Blue and the Moon Rise" (screen art work)

Autumn 2010 ~ Colors in my studio

The “Woven Voices: Messages from the Heart” project continues to grow and to captivate the attention of many individuals and communities. To date there have been close to 1,800 messages received and read out loud in Market Square, Portsmouth. Over 400 prayer flag have been woven by over 50 volunteers. These prayer flags hang from Italy to Indonesia, Africa to Oakland, CA and from New York to New Delhi, and more. I continue to learn personal and creative lessons as I extend this project into its third year. Check out the Woven Voices section on this website or the project blog to read the latest news and learn how to participate.

Sunset at Tanah Lot on the south western edge of Bali, June 2010

This past year has been quite busy with travel, new works of art, teaching, residencies, commissions and graduate course work. One highlight was a trip to Bali in June which I have written about in my two blogs, Macomber Looms and Me and Woven Voices.

weaving tradtional doubvle Ikat

In the small village of Tenganan Pegringsingan, Kadek supports her family by weaving on this simple loom

While in Bali, I had the opportunity to meet a few weavers. One special visit was to Ni Kadek Trisnawati a traditional ikat weaver in the village of Tenganan Pegringsingan. She is from a long lineage of weavers, and uses the loom that her grandfather built.

Portsmouth NH Overnight Art Summer 2010

"Caught Between Us", Public art installation on the Hanover St. parking Garage

Another highlight of this spring was the installation of my large public art piece “Caught Between Us”.  This piece, inspired by the idea that the water that separates the shores of New Hampshire and Maine is also what unites us, was a part of the city of Portsmouth, NH’s OverNight Art event.  This site-specific work pays homage to the men and women who work on the Piscataqua River, the marine life that inhabits these waters, and the Memorial Bridge, which connects the communities of the Seacoast.

Detail of "Caught Between Us"

Detail of "Caught Between Us"

Built from fish and shrimp nets, this piece references the web of life and the net-like construction of the bridge. The title, “Caught Between Us,” evokes the uncertain future of the Memorial Bridge as well as the fragility of our marine environment. 

"Tree of Life" Temple Israel Portsmouth NH

Also this summer I completed and installed a large woven commission for the Temple Israel of Portsmouth.  This piece titled “Tree of Life”  was commissioned to celebrate the life of Kathy Krasker Ramras. This piece, hand dyed hand woven linen and four feet by seven feet was installed and dedicated on July 16th.

detail of "Tree of Life"

detail of "Tree of Life"

I have not yet had the opportunity to get this piece professional photographed…so please forgive my amateur attempt to capture this magnificent piece.And finally I am having a one person show this fall at Maine Fiberarts. “Thread by Thread” is up until November 30th. I am delighted to have this opportunity to gather art works from the past 20 years and exhibit them in one show.  Come to the reception and artist talk on November 6th.