Ready to ship!
Today I shipped all the towels and journals for the Linen Team for my latest community art project “Well Used, Well Loved”. Letting go is often the hardest part of creating and guiding a community project – but it is part of the process and what makes this journey into community art so rewarding.In the next few days I will ship the packages to the Paper Team – the kozo paper for writing and spinning.Be sure to check out the project blog !
Ready to be used and loved!
Eight towels – ready to live large!
The heart of “Well Used, Well Loved” (WUWL) is an inquiry into thoughts, feelings and reflections on age and beauty.From its inception this community art project has had two legs – The Linen Team: which reflects on age and beauty through the use of a hand-woven linen towel and The Paper Team: which records personal reflections and conversations around age and beauty on Japanese Kozo paper that will eventually be spun into thread and woven in to a textile art work.Today I contacted folks who expressed interest in this project – the two legs have come to life – and the project is taking off on its own journey!
Well Used, Well Loved Journals
Well Used, Well LovedA community art project that explores age and beautyWill you consider joining me in this reflection on age and beauty?I am seeking 8 individuals or households to “adopt” a hand-woven linen towel to use for six months. You will be asked to record periodic reflections and observations in a small journal that will be provided. Each site will be invited to have a “kitchen table conversation” with me at least once during the time period.At the end of the six months, I will collect the used towel, exchanging it for a new towel as a thank you for participating in the project.The eight Well Used and Well Loved towels will be the centerpiece for an installation grounded in an exploration of aging and beauty. The journals (or text from them) will also be a part of the final installation.If you are interested I will ask you to sign a participation agreement. You will agree to use the towel, to communicate during the project’s 6 months, to write in a journal, to return the towel at the end of six months.Please visit the project blog and my website for more info.www.wellusedwellloved.blogspot.comhttp://sarahhaskell.comPlease contact me if you are interested in participating in this project.Thank you!
Happy beautiful New Year to all!I LOVE the month of January – it is a time that feels unencumbered by holidays (apologies to MLK) and the weather often shuts down the frenzy of modern life. This is a time I hunker down in the studio, dig deep, inquire within and seek fresh solutions to old sticky habits. This fall has been particularly busy with my part time care-giving for my 94 year old mother. I am away from home and studio for two full days a week – thus portable art work is vital to my creative health.
“HELP” Letter H Fire
My current portable project is titled “HELP”. It is a series of 4 panels of white hand-woven linen – actually a re-purposed piece from the 90′s. Each panel has a hand sign for a letter (H-E-L-P) and each panel has an illustration of one of the 4 elements ( fire, water, earth, air). The inspiration for this work grew from the emerging refugee crisis and the relationship of this crisis to climate change.I’m still working on this project – but feel ready to share the first two letters – H and E.
“HELP” Letter E Water
On January 6th I will launch “Well Used, Well Loved” a community art project that explores age and beauty. I will put out a call to participate on that date – seeking 8 households (individuals or families). Check out the project blog to learn more!May you all enjoy a healthy and happy year ahead!
“HELP” Letter E Water.detail
Well Used, Well Loved Journals
The eight custom made journals by Whimsy Scribble arrived today! They are an absolutely perfect match for the hand towels. I am so pleased!All the pieces of the project are now ready to go – but I will wait until the busyness of the holidays has quieted down to launch the project. My launch date is now January 6th. I’ll be doing an email blast as well as posting on -Twitter #wellusedwellloved @sarahdhaskellFaceBook Sarah D. Haskellproject blog at www.wellusedwellloved.blogspot.comI am looking for 8 households to adopt a towel and be willing to participate in journaling for the duration of the project (6-9 months). So if this interest you – stay tuned and be ready to speak up on January 6th!
Eight towels – ready to be well used and loved!
“Well Used, Well Loved”A community art project that explores age and beautyEight hand-woven linen hand towels will go out to eight households (individuals and families).Over the duration of nine months these households will be asked to use these towels as they please and to record periodic reflections and observations in a small journal that will be provided. Each household will be invited to have a “kitchen table conversation” with me at least once during the time period.At the end of the nine months, I will collect the used towel, exchanging it for a new towel as a thank you for participating in the project.The eight Well Used and Well Loved towels will be the centerpiece for an installation grounded in an exploration of age and beauty. The journals (and/or text from them) will also be a part of the final installation.Each participating household will be asked to sign a participation agreement: to agree to use the towel, to communicate during the project’s 9 months, to write in a journal, to return the towel at the end of 9 nine months
I will be doing an official launch of this project very soon – and an invitation to participate!
Fall leaves on hand-woven linen
I am back from a transformational trip to the hills of northern Georgia. I had the good fortune to be selected as a fellow to The Hambidge Center in Rabun Gap, GA, where I was an artist in residence for 2 weeks.
While I was at Hambidge I was able to complete “Now” Letters by Hand” – a 22 month project using the American Sign Language alphabet as a platform for inner reflection. This project is a 13′ by 3′ installation – so a photo of the whole project is a bit of a challenge. I will be posting a link to a video link soon.En route to Georgia I stopped at The Bancroft School in Worcester, MA. I spent a day working with the Middle School to complete an installation for the school entry way. Here we all are at the end of a very successful day, sitting underneath the prayer flag installation!
Bancroft School installation
Now back here in Maine, I am diving into new projects as well as connecting with continuing projects. My favorite season is approaching – snow season – when I can settle inside my studio, warm and cozy while the snow piles up outside.Be sure to check out my Face Book art page – Sarah D. Haskell – and give it a thumbs up! Thanks!
Now: Letters by Hand
Now Letters by Hand An illustrated Inner Life26 letters stitched on antique linens over 22 monthsProject initiated in Tamil Nadu, India ~ January 2014.Completed in Rabun Gap, GA, USA ~ November 2015. Watch a video of the installation
Hambidge Center
I’m off to Georgia! I will be at The Hambidge Center in Rabun Gap, GA this month for a 2 week residency. I am SO excited and pleased to have this opportunity!
Installation materials
As I travel south I will stop for a one day workshop at The Bancroft School in Worcester, MA. Working with the Middle School, I will guide the creation of an installation for the school entryway portico. We will use marine buoy flags, ribbons with messages, wire, zip ties and markers to create a colorful and positive way to greet everyone as they enter The Bancroft School campus.Then I will drive south taking 4 days to travel to Northern Georgia. While down there I will be working on the series “Now” Letters By Hand”. This past month I wove ten yards of white linen to mount this alphabet on to. I also plan to hike, draw and just be available for new ideas and fresh insights. This is truly a gift of time and space.I almost to forgot to announce – I have been selected as a finalist for the NH Charitable Foundation’s Artist Advancement Award. Feeling happy and pleased!
eight woven, two to go
ten yards off loom
My current artist statement:
The rhythm of hand weaving soothes me.
The meditative, rhythmical process of weaving unlocks my dreams, dissolving boundaries and opening my eyes to a wider vision. On a plain weave grid combined with hand stitching and brocade inlayed threads, my work explores the notion that we are simultaneously alone and part of a larger picture. I use hand dyed indigo colored linen warp threads as a foundation that contrasts with brilliantly dyed rayon weft threads. After drawing or writing on Japanese Kozo (mulberry) paper, I hand spin it into thread and then I weave or embroider it into the foundation fabric. While my process is methodical and measured, my message is open-ended with layers of questions and discovery.The imagery of house/home maintains a strong presence in my work, referencing safety, refuge, comfort and a nurturing environment. These pieces include a body shape within the house. Upon closer inspection, the body is actually a negative or empty space, implying our transient status on earth. Through metaphor and imagery, I attempt to comprehend and illustrate impermanence and loss, an inevitable part of our human livesThread by thread, weaving and embroidery move at the pace of my breath: supporting my desire to be more mindful of the present and sustaining my ability to make art that investigates collective longing and universal struggles.
Summer in Maine goes by like the blink of an eye. We wait and wait for it to get warm, to feel the heat of the sun, and perhaps swim in water that is above 65 degrees! And here it is August 13, with a few trees sporting tinges of red just to remind us that fall will be stepping in before too long.
Casco Bay, Maine – Island Beauty
Witness- our 30′ Nonsuch sloop
I try to spend as much time outside and in/on the water in the summer. We have a 30′ sailboat – which is cozy and perfect for two – but she cannot accommodate a loom!
Portable art rules my summer days!
Since I have an inner urgent need to create constantly – I have found ways to adapt to our summer lifestyle and home. I knit, draw, paint, stitch – any creative effort that is small and portable.I have completed my embroidery series “Now: Letters by Hand”. Poignantly I used my beloved Faye as my model for letter Z – the last letter of my alphabet. And in mid-July, we had to say a very sad good bye to her. The text here says “A kiss before you go.” I miss my studio assistant.
Now: Letters by Hand – Z
Mandala means circle
Mandala means circle in Sanskrit. A Mandala design always has a center – a core, just like us. A Mandala is always a symmetrical design that radiates out from this center or core….just like our personality radiates out from us. And the weaving on a Mandala is a spiral – one that keeps growing from this central core. And just like that spiral of weft that grows from the original start – the Mandala Community Weaving has continued to grow and grow.The Mandala Community Weaving is a project that I designed about 20 years ago – and it has grown and grown and grown…just like the spiral weaving. This spring the project has experienced two milestones.
Rock Creek Forest Mandala
First – with the help of parents,staff and students at Rock Creek Forest Elementary School (Chevy Chase MD) we created the largest Mandala yet – over 650 clothes pin people. It is so full of people – the weaving is a small inner circle. There is such power in this image – the strength of numbers, of community, of wholeness and diversity. Thanks RCF for making this Mandala with me!!The second milestone – the Mandala Community Weaving has gone abroad! With the help of Kathy Kaknes, a volunteer who traveled to Haiti this month, the project was presented to the Be Like Brit Orphanage in Grand Goave, Haiti. With over 60 children living, growing and learning in this community, along side many dedicated adults ~ their Mandala has a very special glow to it.
Haiti – Mandala Community Weaving
Making clothespin people helps us feel better.
The completed Mandala
Weaving with friends
Art makes us smile!
Be Like Brit Mission statement.
Haiti colors!
El Salvador pride
Community hands
Placing out the people
I am recently back from a week long residency in Chevy Chase MD at Rock Creek Forest Elementary. With a student body of nearly 600 plus staff and teachers, we created a large all school Mandala Community Weaving that will be stunning when fully assembled. The parent volunteers and organizers were amazing – and even with the large workshop sessions we cruised through the week with ease. At the end of the week, I left the final gluing assembly of the Mandala in the capable hands of the two parent organizers – thanks Tricia and Erica! I can’t wait to see it all together!!
This week I was artist in residence with the two 5th grades at Classical Studies Magnet School in Bridgeport, CT. We completed two tapestries that illustrate two of the wonderful features of this small CT city – the shore line and the many diverse neighborhoods. I loved working with these energetic and happy students! They have much to be proud of in their work and their community.In my portable studio work I have completed two more embroideries from “Now: Letters by Hand” Letter V and W. I’m closing in on the end of this series!!
Letter V
Letter W
Snow piled up above the windows!
In my last post, I spoke of the blizzard…and in case you haven’t heard, we just exited the snowiest February on record here in York. For about three weeks the snow just piling up and piling up. We’ve had the roof shoveled and the drive way piles are over ten feet tall now! Today is bright ans sunny, so there is the sweet sound of melting, gutters running with water and even a few birds singing a happy tune. All of this snow time gave me the opportunity to be grounded in the studio – no complaints from this happy weaver! I am one of the few people who loves winter weather – I love to x-ski and I love how snow storms create a giant pause in my busy life.I have added a new piece to the gallery from my “Unhinged” series – check it out!
Woven Mandala
The winter residency at Lewiston Middle School is completed. I am quite pleased with the drawn and woven mandalas that these students created in the after school program.
Personal drawn mandala
My own work is progressing – a new piece in the “Unhinged” series almost ready to be off loom for the embroidery. And speaking of embroidery, I have completed Letter U in my project “Now: Letters by Hand”.I will be traveling for 3 weeks leaving March 12…heading to a warm island in the Caribbean, Bequia. I’ll have email – so feel free to keep in touch – I love hearing from you!
Letter U – “Letters by Hand”
Rhythm and blues, new work in progress.
Studio post blizzard
We survived the “epic” blizzard of January 2015 – 24″of snow. Not all that bad – there have been worse storms – and the power never even blinked! The best thing about this storm was that I was hunkered down in the stdio – with heat and power – and I was able to get four new blog posts on my Macomber Looms and Me blog. These new posts include many photos of installing new parts to old looms as well as a few maintenance tricks. Check them out!So now that these posts are off my “to-do” list I can concentrate on weaving! I have completed the third in my series “Unhinged” and I’m off the photographers tomorrow to get it shot. Here’s a preview – but the professional will do a much better job!
Inlay at work.
Unhinged #2 – detail
This month I am artist in residence at a Middle School in Lewiston ME. I’m working in an after-school program through LA ARTS. Working in collaboration with the math teacher, we are doing drawn and then woven Mandalas.
Drawing Mandalas
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
Detail of Letter R
It’s October 31st – Halloween! This is one of my favorite holidays because we it is about fun, fantasy, food and fright!Two days ago I completed Letter R in my alphabet series titled “Now: Letters by Hand”. I haven’t created a gallery of all these images yet and I haven’t figured out exactly what category they should be filed under (studio, community or public art). I suppose this is because this series is all about being rooted in the moment, not planning for the future or reflecting on the past.I am not entirely clear what to do with them all when all the letters are done. I have 8 letters still to embroider, so I suspect by letter Z, I’ll have figured something out!So enjoy this glorious fall, soak up some brilliant colors, fall into a pile of leaves and then leap into November tomorrow!
Letter R swirls with fall energy and colors!
Letter Q dips into the Atlantic.
Early September, just off Merchant’s Row, Stonington, Deer Isle, ME.Letter Q dips a finger into the Atlantic waters confirming what we already know, the water is cold but feels so good.Letter Q the 17th letter of the alphabet series titled “Now: Letters by hand“. Nine more letters to embroider in this project. Now onward to letter R.
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 connecting to create community
