Book Review

Horizons show in Santa Fe

Horizons show in Santa Fe

On the same trip to Taos for the Taos Wools Festival and my tapestry workshop, I made a quick trip to Santa Fe to see the Horizons show at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. The show is titled Horizons: Weaving Between the Lines with Diné Textiles. I had previously acquired the catalog for the show and knew I had to see it in person.

As I pulled up to the museum on a Sunday morning, I heard singing and then saw the dancers. What a wonderful addition to the trip to the museum. These were Apache tribal members.

Sublime Light: Tapestry Art of DY Begay

Sublime Light: Tapestry Art of DY Begay

DY Begay’s retrospective show at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC opened in September. She has been working on the show for years or perhaps we should say an entire lifetime. I haven’t seen it yet, but the catalog that accompanies it is wonderful. Calling it a catalog is a little misleading. It is a celebration of a weaver’s life, the places she comes from, and the experiences she has had that have shaped her work.

Tapestry of Light: a weaving mystery set in Santa Fe!

Tapestry of Light: a weaving mystery set in Santa Fe!

If you’re looking for a fun summer mystery which involves tapestry weaving, Betty Lucke’s new mystery, Tapestry of Light, might be for you. The story takes place in Santa Fe, NM. Karen is a tapestry weaver who is trying to finish a large tapestry for a show in a Santa Fe gallery. Her subject is racism and the imagery was developed after she witnessed an unfortunate incident with a child being bullied in a coffee shop.

Sketch Tapestry: Weave your world

Sketch Tapestry: Weave your world

The Easy Weaving on Little Looms Summer 2023 issue has landed and in it is an article I wrote about my favorite summer weaving activity, sketch tapestry.

Sketch tapestry is what I call my practice of weaving something simple and fairly quick from an environmental inspiration. I also call it my tapestry diary and I’ve been doing it since 2016. I find this practice a lot like sketching. Especially if I practice it while traveling or backpacking, it reminds me to take the time to look at what is around me as I explore. If my intention is to weave something about my day, I’m much more likely to actually stop for an extra moment and explore whatever caught my eye and spend some time really looking.

In celebration of Woven Color

In celebration of Woven Color

I’ve found myself doing some lectures for weaving groups again recently and so I’ve been talking about my teacher, James Koehler again. I was his apprentice and I do like to talk about this model of learning.

James passed away unexpectedly on March 4, 2011. I often do put up a blog post on the anniversary of his death to celebrate his life and especially his work as a tapestry artist. James was a devoted teacher and I think he would want to know that his book, Woven Color, has inspired people to weave tapestry or at least to think about how an artist comes to that profession and where their work comes from.

My favorite stories about wool

My favorite stories about wool

I have some book recommendations for you. This post was going to be about one book which just came out, Unraveling: What I Learned about Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World’s Ugliest Sweater by Peggy Orenstein. (It is clearly NOT the world’s ugliest sweater.)

And then just as I finished reading the book, I saw this marvelous review by Jillian Moreno on Modern Daily Knitting. And right then I decided I would let Jillian tell you about Unraveling and I would give you a list of my favorite books that tell stories about wool. I love every one of these books, have read them all more than once, and will likely read them again (okay, I haven’t read Peggy’s book a second time yet, but I just finished it… give me a few months). They’re all written by masterful writers in story-form. They’ll grab your attention and maybe even make you laugh or cry a little.

Archie Brennan: Tapestry as Modern Art

Archie Brennan: Tapestry as Modern Art

This new book about Archie Brennan (1931-2019) and his life as a tapestry weaver is a wonderful mix of Archie’s voice and art, images of his work, and thoughts of his friends and colleagues. I heard rumors this book was happening many years ago and have been hoping they were true for a long time. I have not been disappointed. This book has far exceeded my expectations. Brenda Osborn has taken what has to be a rich collection of Archie’s spoken and written words and created a wonderful picture of an artist who had a huge influence on the trajectory of a very old art form, tapestry weaving. The book is by Archie Brennan, but the second author, noted as “with Brenda Osborn” deserves a standing ovation for her crafting of this masterpiece.