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What do you do with your sketch tapestries?

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What do you do with your sketch tapestries?

This question used to really bother me but now I love it because it gives me an opportunity to think about why I weave tapestry at all. The answer also relates to almost everything else I do for fun: knitting, drawing, birding, hiking, reading…

For me weaving my tapestry diary or sketch tapestries is all about the process. My tiny tapestry diary or sketch tapestry pieces are often just 2-4 inches and they’re too small to hang on the wall without being mounted. It is about slowing down, paying attention, and making something with my hands. I’m the same with knitting. I have piles of shawls I’ve knit because I love the process. I can’t possibly wear them all so sometimes I give them away, but the making of them is all that I really care about.

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Moving your chair a few degrees: changing your perspective

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Moving your chair a few degrees: changing your perspective

I’m enjoying the slow return of summer here in Colorado. Summer always means Summer of Tapestry for me. This online class came from my sketch tapestry practice and as I’ve been building this year’s class, I’ve been looking back at some of the pieces that meant something to me in years past.

I love this simple practice of spending some time observing, making notes, and weaving a simple, quick tapestry from what I observed. Most of these tapestries are small and the intention is that they don’t take long to make. My goal is to learn to appreciate what is around me and use the weaving to find a calm space in a chaotic world. I have to say that I’ve needed it more than ever this week.

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Practicing color: simplifying by focusing on color

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Practicing color: simplifying by focusing on color

Using colors we observe around us as subjects for our weaving or other artwork is something I find endlessly engaging. It has the power to pull even the biggest perfectionists among us away from self-criticism and dump us right into the joy of experiencing the color of almost anything.

Last week I on the blog I released a free mini-course where I talk about my sketch tapestry practice. Sketch tapestry is just my word for a practice of taking some time to observe something, make some notes about it, and then weave a simple tapestry about what I experienced.

The mini-course focuses on the colors of something. You can find the post, download your handout, and watch the videos from here: https://rebeccamezoff.com/blog/2025/5/8/practicing-color-a-free-mini-course

This week I wanted to focus on what you all are weaving. I haven’t seen a lot of finished tapestries yet, but I’m hoping many more of you will jump in and post your color weavings. Below are a few of the examples I’ve seen so far along with my own mini-course tapestry about a cactus flower.

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Practicing color: a free mini-course

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Practicing color: a free mini-course

Every year I run a class I call Summer of Tapestry. It revolves around a practice I’ve had for many years of bringing a small loom with me when I’m hiking or traveling and weaving something about what I experienced or saw. I call the practice sketch tapestry because my goal is to capture something interesting about the experience, not to replicate what I saw in a realistic way.

I find that the practice of really looking at something and then weaving about it makes me pay attention instead of just rushing blindly through the experience and more generally, my life. The inspirations I’ve woven something about are things that I remember months and years later.

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Artist residencies. Allowing yourself time plus an opportunity for you

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Artist residencies. Allowing yourself time plus an opportunity for you

Time set aside to let your creative self relax and find new ideas is critical for any artist. It is also critical for any human in my opinion. We’re all creative beings and there is nothing more rejuvenating than spending some quiet time exploring a landscape and your own ideas. An artist residency is a great way to do that. At the end of this post I’m going to talk about an artist residency called Fortnight that I run in southwestern Colorado. But first I want to share some about the artist residencies I’ve been lucky enough to make time for.

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Spark your creativity this summer with Summer of Tapestry 2025

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Spark your creativity this summer with Summer of Tapestry 2025

Spark your creativity this summer. 

In this live multi-week workshop I encourage you to go on your own adventures and document them through small, informal tapestries. 

Weaving from my surroundings has taught me to pay attention and enjoy the process of experiencing something real and making art about it. I always take a notebook and loom with me as I spend time outside in the summer. 

Testing out the Duet tapestry beater from Schacht

Testing out the Duet tapestry beater from Schacht

It is no secret that I love my tapestry forks/beaters with metal tines. Many people make them with dog combs. The metal tines slide through the warp easily and if the handles are shaped well, they provide a nice snap for work on tapestries large or small.

Over the years I’ve purchased many tapestry forks from Magpie Woodworks, Thomas Creations (Threads Thru Time), and Timber and Twine. These are beautiful hand-crafted tools and every tapestry weaver should have at least one of these in their toolbox.

But I have had so many students who were unable to get one of these forks or had to wait many months just because when a tool is hand-made one at a time, it takes a long time to produce them and more people want them than can get them.