So green, so blue, so old, so new

    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

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

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. 

Loose ends

Loose ends refers to threads that are unattached or astray, to unfinished business and to the little things in life that cannot be categorized. The last definition fits this post – a  bunch of stuff that is newsy and not particularity related. So here goes!

Now:Letters by Hand – letter S

I finished Letter S from my current project “Now: Letters by Hand” an embroidered alphabet series done on linen squares. This letter is inspired by symbols of change and a body that is frequenting my loom woven work. These letters are works that can travel with my as I am on the road teaching, visiting family or caring for my 93 year old mother.

New loom!

For the first time in MANY (like 35 years) I have bought a new/used loom. It is a 40″ B5 Macomber that is almost 40 years old – but is in mint condition! I will be adding more harnesses and another plain beam soon and look forward to weaving on it soon!Speaking of new equipment, I have a new computer stand for my 56″ loom’s weaving bench. Built by my dear Ben – it holds the net book and power supply that run my dobby loom. I am so happy! I am so lucky!

Computer stand on bench

“The Art is the Cloth” the tapestry show at NHIA has moved on to its new location at The George School. The show runs from Dec. 4 to Feb. 9th. If you are in the Newtown PA area be sure to check it out!“Unraveled” the exhibit at Old York Museum will close on Dec 6th. Check out the article that the Portland Press Herald wrote about the exhibit.This past month I have been doing a fair amount of studio cleaning – selling yarns, small looms and generally trying to organize my work space. I know that sometimes this effort is an avoidance/procrastination activity. But this time it has been amazing – I LOVE the way my work space feels! I feel like there is space for new ideas, for dancing, for dreams, for creative energy to flow.So that’s about it for loose ends this month! Thanks for all the great feedback on my work in these exhibits this fall.~~ Sarah

Balancing on the Solstice

Here we are….on the official commencement of summer and the beginning of our days decreasing in sunlight (sorry to ruin your day!) This is the Solstice balance, balancing the light and the dark, the positive and the negative, the hot and the cold, plus for us on coastal Maine, the tourists and the townies!

CT workshop for families

For me it is the end of my school residencies and teaching. And today, it being almost 93 here in York, I went for my first swim!

Jim Wilson shows off his vintage reed making equipment.

Yesterday Ben and I went down to Central Falls, RI to visit The Gowdey Reed Co. I have started a blog about Jim’s family business as I am gearing up sales for them. Please check out this new blog, Gowdey Reeds, Heddles and Handweaving, where I explain how this company has been making reeds for 4 generations. The basic process has changed little, and each hand loom or industrial reed is made to order for the customer.Tomorrow I head back up to Haystack MT School of Crafts. I was up there last month, cleaning and repairing all the looms in the Textile Studio. Friday and Saturday, I will return to complete the job with a van load of parts from Macomber Looms. I think we picked the perfect week to be up there, as the temperatures here are going to be unseasonably warm.

My Woven Voices thesis with it's clamshell box

And here is a BIG TAH- DAH…drum roll……. I received my Masters of Art and Healing from Wisdom University this month. I am so proud of my thesis which is a series of hand-bound books that document and illustrate this four year global peace project.

Happy and proud boy with his self portrait for the Mandala

Thanks for checking out my website. I always love hearing from each one of you.Happy Summer!!~~ Sarah