Tapestry Diary

Weaving about the Cameron Peak Fire, Part 2

Weaving about the Cameron Peak Fire, Part 2

Several weeks ago I wrote a post about the start of the Cameron Peak Fire in northern Colorado. This fire has brought up some challenging emotions for me and I’m sure I’m not done dealing with all of them.

This fire started August 13th high up near the Continental Divide near Chambers Lake. It was started by a person though the details have not been publicly released yet. It was a bluebird day. The fire sat at around 25,000 acres for a long time—weeks, and I was lulled into some sense of hope that it wouldn’t grow much more before the snows came. But fire is fickle and a beast waiting for just the right weather conditions. Last weekend the fire more than tripled with one run of 10 miles.

All the little tapestry diary pieces: a roundup

All the little tapestry diary pieces: a roundup

I’ve been weaving what I call my tapestry diary since November of 2016 when I did an artist residency at Petrified Forest National Park. I’ve had many posts about this practice over the last almost four years and I wanted to gather them all together here. I’ve also added category tags to many posts and these are tagged and can be found from the list on the blog. That list is on the right side on a computer and larger mobile devices (iPad) and is at the bottom of the blog list on a mobile phone. The tapestry diary posts are categorized Tapestry Diary and if you’re looking for something in another category, say, Looms or Yarn, that will help you out!

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The tapestry diary has been a place for me to play, work through events, remember places, and mostly just mess around with small looms. These pieces have all been small because that is part of the point. I sometimes call the practice sketch tapestry and have taught workshops about it. But you don’t need a workshop to quickly understand the concept. Weave something from an idea or a quick sketch that is simple and aims to evoke a place, something simple you saw, or an emotion. I like to keep these very small so they are finished quickly and I don’t get hung up on making them perfect. Ditch the perfectionism with this practice. It helps let go when things matter more.

Tapestry diary: Weaving about the Cameron Peak Fire

Tapestry diary: Weaving about the Cameron Peak Fire

Thursday, August 13th, the Cameron Peak Fire started near Chambers Lake way up the Poudre Canyon. This area is about 50 miles west of Fort Collins and is most definitely the outdoor playground of this city. In a year full of grief, this fire was a big personal hit. I know all the rational things: that there are far bigger problems in the world than wildfire, that the forest absolutely has to and would have eventually burned in this location, and that some of my grief stems from the loss of the privilege of actually enjoying such places on a regular basis. Still, it is a deep personal grief and I have done a lot of crying over the last week. . . .

I think the hardest thing is thinking about all the places I love and how they will be forever changed. As I left the Rawah on my birthday last week, I thought, “I can come back soon. This place will still be here.” But I was wrong. That place will not be the same in my lifetime. It will be years or decades before trails can be rebuilt if they are at all.

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Making tapestry designs from nature

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Making tapestry designs from nature

I have a t-shirt that says “Weaving saved my life.” I’m not sure that is actually true, however, the amazing Sarah Neubert gave it to me and when I put it on I think of her courage and work in the world of weaving and it makes me smile. What I do feel this year is that backpacking has saved my life or at least my sanity over the last couple months. I was feeling mighty anxious and a bit frantic last weekend for reasons I can not pin down, and three days in the woods made an incredible difference. Sleeping outside, watching moose through my binoculars, seeing osprey and marmots, and watching the full moon rise over my tent in the middle of the night* provided space, perspective, and calm. . . .

My backpacking kit includes a small loom and there is nothing I love more than sitting somewhere high in the mountains weaving or spinning. I’ve talked about my “tapestry diary” many times on this blog. I weave these little pieces as a way to keep myself working and processing ideas in tapestry but also as a way to remember places and events. It is quite effective actually. Spend a couple hours weaving a tiny tapestry about something and that memory comes back when I see the piece months or years later.

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Weaving in the wilderness (nearby)

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Weaving in the wilderness (nearby)

With the possibility of travel largely gone for the foreseeable future, exploring the places where we live seems like something to settle into. I’ve become more interested in details. In watching and understanding what is happening in my back yard. And in spending the time to watch what happens overnight on the trails I have loved for decades. I’ll keep weaving and spinning while outside and that will prompt me to weave more while I’m in my own studio.

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Tapestry diary: Agnes Martin

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Tapestry diary: Agnes Martin

While teaching in Taos, NM in January, I visited the Harwood Museum. I saw many marvelous things there, one of them being the Agnes Martin room. On my Tacoma trip this month, I wove a tapestry diary piece in tribute to Agnes Martin (1912-2004). . . .

I wanted to play with these feelings in a tapestry diary piece both to think more about how her paintings were constructed physically but also as a way to remember my reaction to the work. The tiny 2 x 2 inch tapestry is nothing like an Agnes Martin painting, but the experience of making it absolutely cemented something about the work in my mind and made me excited to learn more about her creative experience.

The making of this little tapestry diary piece was nothing special and indeed, did not take long to weave. But the experience and process of making it helped me revisit the art in my mind and think again about how and why it was made.