Yowza….three opportunities to see my work.How about a road trip ?From Rockland, Maine to Cotuit, MA Cape with a lunch stop in Brunswick, Maine.Here are the details:Center For Maine Contemporary Art 21 Winter Street, Rockland, MECMCA Biennial November 3, 2018 – March 3, 2019Sunday, December 2 | 3-5pm
WHO DO YOU LOVE? - “Join us as Biennial Artists share their art crushes—each artist presents three works of art by other artists that they love, and tells why. In this way, the audience is introduced to a wide range of art and gains insight into how artists look at art, how they take inspiration from the work of other artists, and how deep looking informs their own work. A question and answer period will follow the presentations.”
As with all residencies – there is a ripple effect that takes place once I am home. It’s been 3 weeks since I returned from my 5 week stay out on Monhegan Island, a small Maine island 12 miles off shore.I could tell you how much I loved watching the light house beam sweep across the roof tops every night, or I could tell you about the day I hiked for 5 hours, or I could show you some pictures of the rust paper collages that I created.
Rust web on bed-spring
I could also tell you how I came to love the inner woods for walking, shying away from the drama of the cliffs and how I fell in love with the works of James Fitzgerald.But I think the best way to share about my time is to add a couple photos here — and then to wait.
Brewery-caps-and-black-bean-print
Wait for the tide to recede and rise a few more times. Wait for the moon to wax and wane few more months. Wait for my heart to settle. And wait for new works in progress to continue to emerge.Thank you for waiting along side me.
I’m harvesting a bounty of creative projects and activities this fall. The highlight was my 5 week residency on Monhegan Island .
My island studio home
I’ve posted many images on my Instagram and FaceBook pages – so be sure to check those out. I suspect that this time and the work I accomplished out there will have significant affect on my work moving forward. I’ll do my best to share my work as it progresses!
In an effort to bring closure to “Well Used, Well Loved” I have begun to return towels and journals to the participants in the community art project.
Well used and loved towels and journals going home.
And FiberArt Now magazine just published a feature article about my work. I am honored and so excited for this exposure. Thank you to writer Janet Mendelsohn for her well-crafted piece about my journey and vision.Now it’s time to get back to work…….
I have the incredible good fortune to be the Monhegan Artist in Residence for five weeks this fall. In my proposal I wrote that “I will observe and document the forces of nature at work – not only on my handwoven/stitched cloth but on the island landscape and ultimately on me.”So I am here. And it is magnificent.I have been gathering items that I can use for rust printing on my handwoven linen and kozo paper. In the process of seeking items to rust print I have had the opportunity to meet some lovely folks who have opened their workshops, back yards and dump piles to me.But this is truly just a beginning. I am taking my time to sink into this landscape and this community. Just as the processes that I use to make my art take a long time, I too, will take my time to just be here. To breathe in the majesty and subtle shifts of this precious island.I regularly post images and reflections on Instagram and Facebook – so for more up to date info – please check out my pages. Thanks for all the support!!
Summer in Maine is so incredibly brief ….. I just want to stretch each day and make time slow down. Luckily when I thread the loom or weave, I am forced to slow down. There is no fast way to do these activities – without making mistakes!I am currently weaving cloth that will be weathered, rusted and aged after it comes off the loom. My experiments with ways to transformed my cloth continue!
Frieda comes running
This weekend we head off for a month of living aboard our beloved Witness. Frieda is getting better about living aboard – even if it means using a carpet on deck for “her business”!
I hope wherever you are you find a way to slow down and soak up these beautiful days.
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:
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.
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:
“Each One:The Button Project, a 9/11 Memorial” is on exhibit at the September 11th Museum and Memorial. I was finally able to visit the museum last month.
In the studio, I am exploring new works, weaving, stitching and dyeing. More images and updates will follow soon!
Of all the seasons here in New England, Spring requires the most patience. This year Mother Nature teased us with unseasonably warm days in January….and then slammed us with a series of Nor’Easters in March. We had over 2 feet of snow dumped on us in less than two weeks!During one of those blizzards, Letter L blew off the tree where it had been weathering in situ along with letters OV ands E. I’ve been patiently waiting for the huge snow drift to melt. And when it finally did… look what I found!
Letter L completes LOVE.
These indigo dyed weavings are part of on-going experiments that I’m doing with my woven fabrics. Recently, I have been curious about the aging and weathering processes of my textiles. For years I resisted these changes by framing, scotch-guarding and protecting my works from sunlight, dust and humidity. Now I am consciously subjecting pieces to wind, water rust and sunlight.I find this intentional abuse and breaking down of my “precious” fabrics confronts my own attachment to permanence and my futile attempts to stop the aging process within my own body.
Patience is inherent to the process of threading a loom.
If anything, these weathering and aging processes require patience. Patience is a skill that I have honed over decades. Both as a weaver and mediator, I have learned to be comfortable in the slow, methodical techniques that comprise the textiles arts.Now, as I watch the receding snow piles and the budding crocuses, I am comfortable in this waiting-space. Waiting for Spring, witnessing the metamorphosis of nature and blossoming creativity.
I am back from a five week pilgrimage to southern India. This is my third trip to Tamil Nadu, each time I feel a deeper connection to my own heart as well as the heart of the world. Even though I visited many of the same temples, the same ashram and the same villages – my heart and my eyes were opened anew.Back home in my studio I feel a stronger connection to my creative voice and vision. I know without a doubt that the depth of my connection to truth, love and reality while in India is playing out in my art work.
Sketchbook: A quiet time with the ashram cows
An invesigation of impermanence has captivated me for a decade and driven my two most recent community art projects. This awareness of impermanence is part of a Hindu’s daily life – and makes the present moment so alive and expansive.So here I am home….with a heart that has had time for deep reflection as well as being broken open by the devotion and love of these beautiful people. I have a wide horizon of time to create, to make new art and give voice to these new stirrings in my heart. Stay tuned for works in progress and continued reflections on this trip!
The Ashram weave shed where they weave shawls and saris
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
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.
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.
“Come In” detail Woven brocade cloth inserted into old door.
I am back home from a month of sailing on the coast of Maine.
Witness at Merchants Row
We have a 30′ sloop named Witness – actually she is the third boat named Witness that we have owned. For over 30 years I have sailed these waters with some awareness of the connection between sailing and observing/seeing.
August sailing journal
But this summer, after four weeks of living aboard, I think I finally “got it.” What I came to understand is that these weeks have been literally about just seeing – observing and witnessing.Prior to heading out to sea I packed a pile of drawing supplies, three journals, paper to write on, to draw on and paint on. I packed paper to spin along with my drop spindle. I packed needles and linen thread. I packed scissors and a knife. I packed several books to read. I also packed a small iPad with headphones and the reference guides to the energy work I am studying. I was prepared to be busy and fully occupied.
Shifu spinning at sea
It quickly became clear the the muses of the ocean had other plans for my time and attention. When we were under way, either by sail or power, I used my full attention to navigate our course. A few times when we were at anchor I was able to draw in my journal or the ship’s log to document our cruise. Twice I used my spindle to spin paper into Shifu thread.But for the most part either by choice or design – this past month I spent my time just looking. I observed the waves, the tides, the wind direction and speed, the motion of the lobster buoys, the seaweed, the porpoises and seals, quahogs and smooth granite ledges.I heard the cry of an eagle, the huff of a harbor seal, the thwack of the halyard and the hum of an outboard motor. I smelled rotten fish, dewy evergreens, stinky boots and diesel fumes.
Vinalhaven sunset
But mostly I saw the beauty of the natural world that my heart was thirsty for.I saw a deep connection between my husband and myself.
Thru the eyes of a puppy
I saw life through the eyes of a puppy.I’ll admit it is really wonderful to be home where it is dry and warm. And it’s wonderful to be back in my studio with room to make art. But all this feels deeper and richer for the past month of simply witnessing aboard “Witness.”
Summertime in the the studio - I am weaving the last two panels for “Well Used, Well Loved.” When these 40″ by 72″ panels are woven I will embroider on the surface using Shifu thread as well as embroidery floss. Balanced with this indoor studio time, I am spinning more paper and drawing while sailing or traveling. I continue to post on Instagram (sdhaskell) and my Facebook page (Sarah D. Haskell).
Weaving yardage for WUWL embroidery
Last Spring I stepped away from teaching to focus entirely on my studio work and community art projects. This shift in focus has offered me the opportunity to compete several new pieces and to bring some closure to “Well Used, Well Loved.“ I continue to guide a few Mandala Community Waving project for local venues. No surprise to my art colleagues — my website is the last frontier to get any attention and an update.
Portsmouth Pride Mandala
This blog posting is just to say — hang on — it’s coming. Please watch for an updated gallery with many new images. Plus a redesigned website to reflect my redirected attention.
The Button Project in NYC. Photo by Jin S. Lee, 9/11 Memorial
The Button Project in NYC
The Button Project a 9/11 Memorial
Seventeen years ago I designed and created “The Button project: a 9/11 Memorial.” It was through the making of this piece piece that I came to know what it means to be a community artist.Last winter the National September 11th Memorial and Museum asked to borrow the piece from the the City of Portsmouth.The piece is now installed in a special exhibit with three other pieces inspired by the events of 9/11. Needless to say – I am thrilled to have this piece here.All photos by Jin S. Lee 9/11 Memorial
In this time, in this place.For everything there is a season – and it appears there is a timetable as well. This spring has been deliciously slow and very cool. This pace seems to fit with the way my recent art has been evolving.I spent all of last month working on grants – and now it is back to color, thread, patterns, lines, paper spinning, drawing and dyes.I am in the midst of setting up two looms to create a four panel piece that will include the hand spun Shifu threads from “Well Used, Well Loved.”I have dyed 12 yards of a deep blue- black that will be a ground weave for the four panels. On the two outside panels (6’ by 2’) I will have a supplementary warp to stitch down the Shifu threads in horizontal lines. The effect I am seeking is that of a letter or document. The two inside panels (40” by 6”) will have the Shifu thread couched (stitched down) to the surface. The design is a pair of hands – a wide open palm and perhaps one hand in a mudra gesture.
I believe that there is something powerful and energetically uplifting to the color blue – which is an odd contradiction to the musical or emotional blues.Just look at this horizon – this layering of turquoise, aqua and periwinkle just slays me.Indigo blue has been the foundation color for most of my artwork for well over a decade. Not only does this color have deep historical and cross-cultural roots – to me it has a time honored and innate wisdom.Tomorrow I head back home and I am eager to dive back into studio work. There’s something about being away that lights a fire in my creative juices. I’m rested and renewed, filled with fresh ideas and more clear on themes and pieces that have been on my mind for months.And yes — there will be more blue. Aqua, ultramarine, teal, indigo, navy, robin’s egg and the rest of the blues will keep me smiling.
Sitting in the brilliant sun, lap top in my lap (how ironic) in the waiting area of a windshield replacement shop – I am feeling grateful for small measures. I am glad that I wore a t-shirt today – it’s hot here. Life offers multiple opportunities for gratitude – and I’ll certainly step into this simple gesture right now.There are a many of other things I am grateful for as well – and that’s where this blog post will go.1. “Each One: The Button Project: a 9/11 Memorial” has been invited for exhibit at the September 11th Memorial and Museum in New York City! The curator Jan Ramirez reached out to me this winter – and the piece will travel to NYC for exhibit from March until September. I’ll post more information when the details are settled. Thanks to the City of Portsmouth NH (who owns the piece) for graciously loaning the work to the 9/11 Museum.2.“Well Used, Well Loved” my current and on-going community art project is in a winter phase – meaning I am germinating ideas and closure – even though there appears to be not much happening on the surface. Check out the blog link to learn more about this long term community art project that focuses on age, beauty, attachment and impermanence.
Detail of new art with Shifu embroidery
3. Pecha Kucha is a local presentation of 10 area creatives who each get 20 slides for 20 seconds each image. I will be a presenter this week – February 23rd. 7:30 at 3S ArtSpace My topic is “Across the Divide: community art in turbulent times”. It’s free, it’s local and it’s creative. Hope to see you there!4. New art – Last month I was an artist in residence at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson VT. For an entire month I had the space, time and opportunity to focus on my work. In preparation, I spent time last fall weaving works that I hoped to complete with embroidery and other details during my time at VSC. I was able to complete two large works as well as 5 smaller pieces. I hope to have these news works up in my gallery soon.
Shifu paper prior to cutting and spinning
5. The process of making thread from paper – Shifu - continues to fascinate and motivate my work. The act of writing or drawing on kozo paper – then carefully cutting it into strips and spinning it into thread has held magic for me for over a decade. Most of my current works employ this thread – so each piece has some hidden text or image embedded into the cloth. This technique is also an easy way for me to include the thoughts, images and words of others into my work. And this work is portable – when I travel for the next month I will be taking my drop spindle and papers to spin.
For the month of January I am an artist in residence at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT. I get three meals a day, a studio that is spacious and well lit and a comfy room in a house only steps away from everything.
Enough is enough
This retreat is a true gift. Each week there are visiting artists who present their own work as well as visit our studios for conversations and critique. It’s been decades since I’ve had this opportunity.This morning I had the opportunity to speak with VT Studio Center visiting sculptor David Hess about Well Used, Well Loved.
Text on kozo paper prior to spinning
He loved the simplicity of the Shifu spun threads wrapped on the mat board – with each persons name – the elegant beauty and unique character of each bundle of threads.“Why do anything with them?” he suggested “— they are perfect just as they are.”I am reminded of this poem by David Whyte:ENOUGH -This few words are enough.If not these words this breath.If not this breath, this sitting here.This opening to the lifewe have refusedagain and againuntil now.Until Now.”With these words – I will honor that these threads are ENOUGH. They will stand on their own as beauty and wisdom.
Many of the things I love to do (gardening, weaving, sailing, walking) are a slower route of travel or creating.I’ve found over the years that this more measured or deliberate path offers an expanse for self reflection. This self review is also a pause – a way station, a layover from my busy world.I am writing this post just two days past the Winter Solstice. The Solstice is a time when planet Earth stops — pauses in its movement around the sun. As someone who tries to lives close to Nature – I find myself mirroring this pause. I pause, I wait and I witness.In my chosen medium of weaving there is a huge element of patience required. Weaving is slow, methodical and the work in progress cannot easily be viewed until competed. This past week I removed a piece that has been on the loom for three weeks. This is always a moment of apprehension — will my design and my effort be what I had hoped for? What I envisioned?
Sinking House #2 – work in progress
When I removed this warp — I as not disappointed. This piece will still get some embroidery and embellishment — but this foundation is all that I had hoped for. Now I pause, contemplate my next steps on this piece.Next month I head to the VT Studio Center for a whole month’s retreat. I received a partial fellowship for this experience – and boy do I feel blessed!! Along side my work on the “Sinking House” and “One of Many” series, I will also be working on my “Well Used, Well Loved” project. I will be posting images and updates on to my Face Book page as well as Instagram — so please keep checking!
As a weaver for over 40 years, I am well acquainted with patience and perseverance. To create my artwork requires massive amounts of both of these attributes.I believe that by following this pattern of consistent and steady work I not only create strong and weighty work, but my personal character and my artistic vision are strengthened. The rewards for this path are never immediate – but they do show up (think of the turtle in the Tortoise and the Hare fable).
Journals and towels from WUWL
“Well Used , Well Loved”(WUWL) my on-going community art project is one such pathway of persistence and patience. Currently this project is in a nesting phase. This resting is perfectly aligned with the seasons. We are about 3 weeks away from the Winter Solstice and the word Solstice comes from the Latin for “sun” and “to stand still”. My latest WUWL blog post explores this period of creativity – this time of pausing, a fertile suspension of time and effort.Winter has always been a deeply reflective and creative period in my life. This winter will be no exception. I’ve been working on a new series currently titled “Sinking Houses” - expanding on images that I sketched out last fall during the first waves of the European/Syrian refugee crisis. I am weaving several pieces that I will bring with me when I go to VT in January. I have had the good fortune of being a recipient of a fellowship to the VT Studio Center for one month! I will have a whole month to embroider and embellish these pieces.
When words become thread – text becomes textile. This is a process that has captivated me for over a decade. I recently wrote a blog about my current community art project “Well Used, Well Loved” that is grounded in this process. Please visit he blog to see and read more!
Center For Maine Contemporary Art 21 Winter Street, Rockland, MECMCA Biennial November 3, 2018 – March 3, 2019Sunday, December 2 | 3-5pm
