The horrific events that happened this week in Sandy Hook Elementary School have hit close to home for many of us. As an artist who works in schools across New England I find myself asking the same questions that many are….”why”. I also wonder what I would have done. Would I have been as brave as the teachers at Sandy Hook? I do know that my first reaction was to get in the car and go to try to lend help, to offer solace and to reach out to this devastated community. But Sunday as I sat in church I realized that here, close to home there is a need for love, solace, and healing. So right now, I will remain close to home, using my skills, my love and my energy to bring just a little bit more love and healing to this community.What a beautiful, loving world this would be if we all did that.
Making Art Count
Journal entry November 2012
It’s been awhile since I have posted here. No big excuses, just preoccupied.There is definitely a shift going on within my studio and my art. My journal has always been a laboratory for learning and exploring, but I now journal daily and plan/sketch out ideas for new works. My loom is where I create work that requires a deeper commitment.There are also several ideas for out door installations for temporary art.
Studio ~ November 2012
This piece on the big loom has been an image that has been on my mind and heart since early summer.I have given myself a challenge: for the next three months I will hyper focus on producing art work. Now that my master’s degree is complete and the Woven Voices project is at rest, it is time to make art count!
Inlay technique on the loom
Journal entry, art work sketch
July is jumping!
As I have said many times before, summer in Maine is THE BEST! While much of the country is suffering with excessive heat, we are enjoying a perfectly lovely summer thus far. The temperature is mostly in the 80s, bright sun, occasional rain and tolerable humidity. There is always a breeze and the nights have cooled a bit so sleeping is easy. My goodness, this period of bliss makes up for the harsh and long winters!!
Hanover St. Parking garage 2010
Last Friday I re-installed “Caught between Us” an installation I created for the city of Portsmouth, NH in 2010. This piece is made from recycled shrimp netting, bait bags, lobster trap headers, and gummy fish lures. It is 12′ by 22′ and originally hung on the Hanover St. Parking garage in Portsmouth. For two years this piece was rolled up in my studio, looking for a new home. About a year ago, I had the idea that it might look good hanging on one of the bait shacks on the town docks in York.
Detail of "Caught Between Us" as it hung on the garage
Net laid out on the dock
After a few conversations with folks in town and a year later, I was able to install the fish net to its new and permanent home on York Town Dock #1. Thanks to the amazing help of Joey Donnelly, Richard Lee and Ben Fowler the net went up smoothly and without a hitch. We had to hang it at low tide, so that the ladders could rest on the rocks and mud. I think it looks pretty amazing in its new home!
Low tide installation!
Pulling it tight ~ teamwork!
Hanging with the pots at Town Dock #1
Summer, sweet as…..
Summer is in full swing here in Maine. All winter I wait for these days when I can get up at 7 AM and have my tea on the deck in a 75 degree sultry heat. At the end the day I swim in the local cove with my dog, husband and perhaps a friend. As the big sign says on Rte 95 as you enter our state: “Maine, the way life should be.” But as with all things in life, this is a temporary time, and so the rule is to make the most of each day.
Siblings making a dream catcher in the trees
I am just back home from a 7 day Artist in Residency at Searsport Shores Campground in Searsport, ME. While I was there, I worked with all ages of camping friends from grand mom and pop to little ones and teenagers in between. It was such a delight see families and new friends working happily side by side.
A talented Mom weaves herself a belt
This campground is a unique and amazing place that is rich with gardens, animals, art and beauty, right on the ocean’s edge.For seven days we wove, shared stories of joy as well as sorrow. We became friends and expanded our concept of family. Each day I would share my food scraps with the goats in the pen right next to my studio. Each day I went for a swim in the cool ocean waters. Each night I slept in a tent inside the studio made from crocheted and embroidered fabrics.
A weaving family
On my last day, I went two miles up the road to the site where my dear brother Weston was killed last August. Although this site brings me deep sadness, it feels like holy ground to me. For the past 11 months I have decorated it with handwoven prayer flags from the Woven Voices project. I was so amazed and pleased to see how beautifully the old flags have weathered the seasons.I added a dozen more flags. Healing from life’s wounds is an unpredictable journey. I am blessed to have beauty, love and community as my companions.
My sleeping tent next to the rug loom.
Weathered prayer flags in Searsport ME
Michy looks for some fruit scraps
happy camper with paper plate dream catcher
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
Making books for Kenya
Printing the Adinkra inspired papers
In late April I had the wonderful opportunity to return as Artist in Residence to The Great Oak Middle School in Oxford CT. For five days I worked with 6th, 7th and 8th graders to design, print, weave and bind small books. Our goal was to create two printed sheets of paper inspired by Adinkra images of West Africa that would be cut into strips and woven together to make the cover for a book. Prior to my coming to school, Karen Giannamore, the art teacher worked hard with the classes to help them generate wonderful stories based on a choice of writing prompts. These stories were printed on paper to be inserted as the text for these handmade covers.
More printing!
Printed papers for book covers
When I arrived on Monday, we jumped right into designing the stamps, and printing two sheets of paper per student. I just love the bright colors and the bold designs that the students came up with. After everyone had printed two sheets, we then cut them into strips to that they could be woven together to make the book covers.
Weaving the printed strips together
The printed and woven strips were then laminated to make a durable cover for the books. We then sewed the previously written and printed stories inside these gorgeous covers. Each student also illustrated their story and added reader’s questions as well as notes about the author. These books will now be shipped to a school for the deaf in Wamunyu, Kenya through a program called Kenya Connect. We understand that the students in Kenya are learning to read and write in English so these handmade books will add over 120 new books to their school library!
Illustrating the text.
Helping a partner to sew in the text pages.
The laminated book covers waiting for the pages of text to be sewn inside.
More Mandalas
The Bancroft School Mandala
After school volunteers help to assemble the Mandala
This week I was artist in residence at the Bancroft School in Worcester, MA. I worked with Lower and Upper School students to create a stunning Community Mandala. There was time with each group to have a conversation about the history and cultural connections with Mandalas. During one of these discussion, one student asked me how many Mandalas I had made. I could not answer, but it is in the hundreds.Recently I have been thinking about making my own Mandalas. After the one that I made for the Izzy’s installation, I have been so inspired by the practice of making these mesmerizing symmetrical pieces. Each time I work with students and talk about how the Buddhist Monks make sand Mandalas over and over again as a spiritual practice, I think about what I might learn from this practice.Today it is snowing, and most likely tomorrow we will be snowed in. It just might be the perfect day to start my own Mandala practice.
Detail of the Bancroft School Mandala
Winter play and winter creativity
It has been an entirely snow-less winter so far. I cannot recall a winter that has not only been so snow-less but so warm. Last night at a non-profit board meeting the Chairwoman opened with the question “How you you feel about this winter? Do you miss snow?” The answers were as diverse as those attending the meeting. My answer was YES… I miss snow days. I miss playing in the snow. I miss the unbelievable quiet that a heavy snow fall makes as it muffles all other noises.
1st Izzy's installation
I have been involved with a new arts organization in Portsmouth called 3S Artspace. Last fall they put out a submission call for a winter long installation in a local ice cream shop that is closed for the winter. This collaborative project has three artists rotating installations once a week for nine weeks, culminating in a group installation for the final two weeks. My first installation was inspired by our road trip to Florida in January. Riding in the car ave me the opportunity to sky gaze for hours on end. I saw so many beautiful hawks soaring along the highways edge, and the sky was so wide and beautiful. Each installation is supposed to build on the previous one. I used the red sticks and blue background from the artist before me, stenciled the cranes and added more sapling branches.
2nd installation at night
My second installation followed the same artist who had built these trees out of bark and created this forest scene with glass balls inside the trees and rubber 
snakes. I added these balls out of Styrofoam and plastic spoons and forks. I covered the windows with paper snow flakes and red cellophane, plus added more rubber critters. The spoon/fork balls were on motors and slowly rotated. I felt wintery and bizarre to me.
beginning the mandala at Izzy's
My third installation was this past Friday, and I followed a different artist who is much more of a minimalist. All of the previous materials had been removed and the space stripped clean. She painted stylized mountains on the walls and hung painted pieces of bark (from the a fore mentioned trees).
the mandala completed
close up of the mandala, spoons, forks, twigs, oranges, styro-balls
So on Friday, I came in with the idea that I would take down the bark, but not remove it, and create a 6 foot mandala on the wall using any/all materials from previous installations. Here’s the result. I love it! I also wrote a short quote from Rumi along the edge of the mountains and their shadows.This installation will disappear on Friday when the third artist returns and creates her final installation. What an amazing process!This winter I am also bringing to an end”Woven Voices: Messages from the Heart”. Please check out my blog and learn more about the closure of this four year global community art project. I am in the final stages of completing my Masters of Art and Healing, with a non-traditional thesis on this project.
the last prayer flag
All is well, even without the snow.Namaste ~ Sarah
Circles or spirals?
This Sunday in church the theme for the music, children’s story and the homily was about returning or rather circling about. The metaphor of goats versus sheep was used. Sheep travel as a flock or herd and usually stick together; while goats tend to be a bit more chaotic, independent and circular in their movements.
The message was very clear, there is a wisdom to going in circles, to returning again and again to the familiar, and to the repetition of lessons. As a weaver, I love repetition, pattern and yes circles! As an independent self employed artist, I guess I really am a goat.This week, I am returning to work on my master’s thesis. This project was dropped after Weston’s death. Now I am ready to return, to circle back, with a transformed point of view. There have been many doors closed in the past three months. Now I am ready to open one and step over the threshold.
"From the perspective of a pine tree"
Now here’s the thing, I embrace the concept that traveling in circles, of repeating lessons brings wisdom. But I do not believe that each time I return to the beginning that I am the same person. Each time I return, I am new, I am different. So I believe that in truth I travel in a spiral.This piece “From the perspective of a pine tree” addresses this notion. Along the right edge of the piece, there are several large fish all traveling upward. There are two smaller fish swimming in the opposite direction. There are two spirals. I won’t go into a long analysis of what I was thinking, but I suspect it is obvious. Be it a goat or a fish, we have a choice. Swim with the crowd or head out on your own. Celebrate the spiraling path that is at the core of learning and living in this world.
Falling and flying
Prayer flag flying at Two Medicine Lake, Glacier Park, Montana
November has swept into my heart and my home. Leaves are falling. Rain is falling. The temperature is not falling however. It has been unseasonably warm for the past week, which is rather odd considering that we had a 6″ of snow fall about 2 weeks ago.
Prayer flag at The World Friendship Center, Hiroshima, Japan
Woven Voices prayer flags are flying all over the globe. This image of a flag at Two Medicine Lake has to be one of my favorites. We have sent flags to fly in France, Guatemala, New Zealand, Africa, New York/Occupy Wall Street, Japan and Italy. So far over 1200 flags of peace, love and hope fly world wide. I will be offering directions to those who want to do this project on their own. Contact me for these directions.
Gil and his prayer flag in St Remy de Provence, France
I have been busy teaching in schools again this month. Here is a fabulous Mandala Community Weaving done by the students at Woodland School in Weston, MA.
Mandala Community Weaving, Woodland School, Weston, MA
I am so proud of the hard work this whole school community put into this project.
All smiles for this amazing global Mandala Community Weaving!
That’s all the news for this rainy day!
Summer of Love, Peace and Grief
I know from experience that the wider my heart gets stretched the more deeply I feel every breath, witness the smallest details and am able to be present. This summer events in my life stretched my heart wider, deeper and taller than I thought possible. On August 18th my dear brother Weston, my traveling soul mate on our trans-Atlantic crossing, was tragically killed. Please go to my Woven Voices blog to learn and read more.
Wes in his ever present welder's hat
Along with the enormity of this event, I have been weaving hundreds of prayer flags and sending them out across the lands and waters to fly in homes, gardens, schools and churches. Thank you again to all my Kickstarter backers who have supported this project. We have woven over 600 prayer flags just this summer!Wes would be among the first to say “Life goes on.” And on.Another milestone is that “Each One: The Button Project, a 9/11 Memorial has been purchased and has a permanent home! On September 6th, the city councilors of Portsmouth NH voted to use gifted funds to purchase the art work in honor and recognition of Mayor Sirrell, Portsmouth mayor from 1997-2005.
"Each One: The Button Project, a 9/11 Memorial" at City Hall Portsmouth, NH
This posting will be brief, because truthfully I am often at a loss for words.As the healing and transformation continue, I trust that my words will return. Meanwhile I make art, weave and draw in an attempt to navigate this new landscape. My expanded heart is my north star.
Keep moving!
This summer my mother, Mary Louise, will turn 90. Look at her in this photo with my sister. Believe it or not, this photo was taken this weekend, one month before her birthday!
Lucia and Mary Louise in South Freeport Maine, June 2011
Doesn’t she look amazing?? I know her secret……she has always been an advocate of “move it or loose it”. Back in the 1960s she started taking yoga. I know for a fact that the daily practice of her exercise kept her from being bed ridden the couple of times that she had to be hospitalized.She is an living example of how important it is to keep moving.I try to keep moving in all aspects of my life. Most specifically right now I am trying to keep the momentum moving on the Woven Voices Kickstarter fundThe Grand Finale is now at 37% funding. Since Kickstarter is an all or nothing funding, I must meet the $4000 goal or no funds are dispersed!So in the spirit of Mary Louise, I ask you to take a peek at the Kickstarter video and make a pledge from $1 to $1000. Let’s keep this project moving.Thread by thread we can build a more peaceful world.Ok, gotta run….Sarah
Something old and something new
It is June after 
all…something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue…..cheers for all the June brides! I was not a June bride, but it is my birthday this month and blue is my favorite color!The something new is that last Friday I launched a Kickstarter project. If you’ve never heard of Kickstarter…check it out! It is an on line funding site for some really really cool projects.I launched a Grand Finale for Woven Voices. There is a really short video to introduce the project. I hope you will check it out…and I hope you will make a pledge. Every pledge gets a reward! And every pledge helps to meet the all-or-nothing goal!The something old for this post is I am finally getting around to posting images of a commission that I completed last year. In July of 2010 I installed at Temple Israel a 4ft by 7ft hand dyed/woven weaving called “Tree of Life”.
"Tree of Life" Temple Israel, Portsmouth, NH
Here’s what I wrote about the piece: “The Tree of Life is an ancient symbol present in many cultures and spiritual traditions. This version seeks to honor life and to illustrate the continuum of the past, present and the future.”“The lessons and wisdom of the past are represented by the deep roots of the tree. The joy of this present moment is represented by the strong and solid trunk. The hopes of the future are represented by the upwardly extending branches. The leaves represent our individual spirits. The golden vine that weaves up the tree is the Divine love that connects all human beings.”
"Tree of Life" detail
"Tree of Life" detail
Bursting, reaching, green
Yup. It is clearly Spring here in Maine. Actually late Spring. But what the heck…it has been raining for about 12 straight days. And we finally have sun. So everything is bursting, growing, exploding and green. Just want to share a few images from a residency that I did last month down in Connecticut.
Great Oaks School
This Mandala Community Weaving is the largest one that I have done to date. It has 500 clothes pin people on it, and is about 4 feet across. I am not sure how much it weights, but it is heavy! It has a special cross structure in the back to support the weight of the clothes pins. Isn’t it amazing?
Great Oaks Mandala detail
Wake Up!
It is SO beautiful outside right now, I could almost cry. The angle of the sun as it highlights each tender green blade of new grass makes my heart vibrate with joy. The peas are up about an inch. The daffodils and hyacinth are still blooming. The leaves are not quite fully out, which makes the view through the woods like a lace scrim. Glory is visible in every direction.
friends and family supporters of the Woven Voices project
Yesterday I went to Market Square in Portsmouth, NH to read messages for the “Woven Voices: Messages from the Heart” project. It was an interesting experience, even though I have been doing this for three years. Read more about it on the project blog. Here in my studio I am working on several things. I feel sort of like my gardens with life exploding in every corner. And because I have so much still to share from my Atlantic passage…here is a journal entry. Peace, Sarah
Atlantic passage journal entry
Join me
This week on May 11th, I will be back in Market Square in Portsmouth, NH. It has been several months since I have been there to read the messages of hope and peace that I gather for the Woven Voices Project.
messages of hope and peace
I have about 200 messages that I collected during my recent travels to South Africa, St. Helena and Barbados. I hope that you will join me to read and/or simply listen and witness these personal prayers.
giving away the prayer flags in South Africa
After these messages have been read on Wednesday they will come back here to my stdio and be woven into prayer flags.I am in need of weavers too! No experience necessary to weave, just call/email me and we will set up a date/time for you to come. I ask for only a two hour commitment.
Sailors Duncan and Irene from Canada about to hoist up their prayer flag on board "Moose"
After the flags are woven, I will send them out to the world. At this point there are over 500 flags flying from East to West and from North to South.There are even some prayer flags that are traveling on sail boats!
"Moose" picks up a mooring arriving at St. Helena.
My friends Duncan and Irene aboard “Moose” sailed near us from South Africa to St. Helena. They had a grueling passage as their auto-pilot stopped working only a few days out from Simonstown. They hand steered for 11 days, arriving in St. Helena exhausted. What heroes! Look closely and you can see the prayer flag still flies high after over 1400 miles at sea.So if you are able and interested, please join me Wednesday at noon. I so appreciate everyone’s support of this global peace project.Peace ~ 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)
Sea Change ~ 5000 nautical miles, Cape Town to Barbados
Table MT in Cape Town with the traditional January "table cloth" cloud
On December 29th, 2010 I flew to Cape Town, South Africa with my brother Weston. We had signed on as crew on Bahati a 43′ Montevideo cutter rig sail boat from S. Freeport Maine. The skipper/owner of this boat is an old friend who is completing his 5 year circumnavigation of the globe. We were in South Africa for about a month preparing for the trans-Atlantic passage as well as getting some time to sight see. It was hot and beautiful I especially loved the people of South Africa.
The Egg Man in Green Market, Cape Town
the Egg Man with the prayer flag on his shoulder
The Egg Man is a world known street artist from Benin who wears this ridiculously tall creation on his head made out of found objects and eggs! He is a sparkling personality and a wonderful “street ambassador” for all the tourists.I gave him a blue prayer flag, you can see it tied to his left shoulder. I loved his smile, so typical of the radiant grins we saw on many faces as we traveled. We also had the opportunity to travel up to Kruger Park, an immense game preserve up near Johannesburg.
the giraffe that greeted us when we first entered the park
We spent about 5 days there sightseeing. It was amazing to be able to be so close to these large wild beautiful creatures.
an elephant who munched his way past us, ripping whole tree up for dinner
At the first game lodge that we visited, Monwana I gave each of the staff a prayer flag. They were so sweet, even though most of them did not speak English and had no real clue what these prayer flags were all about. Didn’t matter to me, I just had a feeling that this was a place and the people where the flags belonged.
the Monwana staff with prayer flags
After our safari we return to Simonstown, just south east of Cape Town where we prepared the boat for the 5000 mile voyage back to the Caribbean.
jackass penguins live in Simonstown
South Africa has a very dramatic coast line with tall rugged mountains that drop right to the frigid ocean
Diaz Beach, Cape of Good Hope
Before we left Africa, we went to the Cape of Good Hope. It used to be called Misery Cape, because of the storms and wind. It was very windy when we were there, making it hard to relax in the sun. Diaz Beach was amazing, you can see how big it is by the size of the person (our captain) walking in the distance.
sun rise
We sailed from Simonstown on January 26th, heading North West towards St. Helena, a tiny British island mid-Atlantic. On the 14th day, we landed at this rugged isolated island.We spent 4 days here, resting, visiting, provisioning, and making repairs. I will share more on my
dramatic skies over the horizon
next posting…it was magical.
approaching St Helena
Off to Africa !
weaving a prayer flag for Africa
Wednesday morning, December 29th I will be heading out the door, bags packed, ready to fly to South Africa.Please read all about this trip on my Woven Voices blog.I am so blessed to be traveling on this mission ~Art-ambassador of peace and love from Maine.See you in March ~ Sarah
Closing in
She who breathes
This week we had seven weavers in the studio. Women who came and breathed their energy into this project. I thought this prayer flag message particularly appropriate!Each flag is woven with messages that come from all over the world. Many voices for peace, for hope, for love.
One voice, One world
Each message is read many times before it finally gets woven into the prayer flag. Then the message is often fractured and the language becomes mixed with other language.This prayer flags reads: “I love music for awake people to be awake.” Interpret this however you like.
I love music
I see compassion and joy.
Forgiveness forever
Forgiveness Forever. Yes to that.This week we are closing in on the 100 prayer flag goal. Many many thanks to everyone for the support, words of encouragement and energy.
Weave Hope
84 prayer flags
Our world is moving like the sun; moving ever so slowly and steadily toward a new horizon.Happy Solstice ~ Sarah