I will be an artist first.

At my lunch break in the studio today I was perusing an old issue of Handwoven magazine. I thought it was from January/February of this year, but upon further inspection I realized that my "to read" magazine pile goes a little deeper. It was Issue 158 which is January/February 2012.

On the last page in the New Beginnings column, I read this quote by Anita Osterhaug, the new editor of Handwoven.

One morning five years ago, I woke up and decided I would no longer think of myself as a technology writer with a hobby. Instead I would be a weaver with a day job.

This moment happened for me when I walked into the studio space in March. Even though it was under construction and 30 seconds before that moment I had had no intention at all of renting a studio outside my home, in that moment I knew that I was no longer an occupational therapist who wove tapestries on the weekends. I was going to rent this space and I was now an artist who has a day job.

The start of the studio has been exhilarating as well as a little rocky. Maintenance, moving, lost furniture all happened. But so did designing tapestries, warping looms, and dyeing yarn. And Saturday I started the first tapestry on my large floor loom in close to two years. It makes my heart leap in anticipation for all the hours of weaving ahead.

Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, August 2012

Alphabet Soup

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There are some exceptionally talented tapestry weavers in northern New Mexico. The Alphabet Soup project's history is detailed below. I want to encourage you to go and see this show if you possibly can. I know many of these weavers personally and have met most of them in some way. These tapestries are enchanting and their dedication to producing a show like this and finding numerous venues including an ongoing search for a Convergence 2014 venue, is noteworthy.

Here are some photos of the weavers along with the letter or number they wove.

photo: Dan Klinglesmith

photo: Dan Klinglesmith

photo: Dan Klinglesmith

I didn't make it to Albuquerque to see them in May, but you can bet I will see them when they come to Santa Fe... or perhaps this is a good excuse for a trip to Durango.

Where you can see Alphabet Soup

• Albuquerque Fiber Arts Fiesta, Albuquerque, NM, May 23-25, 2013
• Intermountain Weavers Conference, Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO, July 26-27, 2013
• Macey Center, Socorro, NM, August 1-29, 2013
• Southside Library, Santa Fe, NM, October 1-31, 2013
• Fuller Lodge, Los Alamos, NM, January 14-March 22, 2014
• American Tapestry Alliance Small Format Show, March to September 2014

Alphabet Soup History (taken from the publicity for the show)

"Alphabet Soup" came out of the meeting of two tapestry weavers, one from the Las Aranas Spinners and Waavers Guild and one from the Las Tejedoras Fiber Arts Guild. The weavers were attending an Intermountain Weavers Conference tapestry workshop in 2011.  In February 2012, the Tapestry Study Groups of the two guilds met and decided to collaborate on a project involving twenty-nine weavers.

As the name suggests, "Alphabet Soup" has an underlying theme of the alphabet and numbers much like the children's books illustrated to teach us our letters and numbers. It is a series of small tapestries using a wide range of fibers and techniques from traditional tapestry to surface, warp and weft manipulations. The size of each piece is approximately 9.5 x 9.5 inches. The tapestries included in the exhibit are works completed during 2012-2013. Each weaver was assigned a letter or number and created a representational, metaphorical, or abstract design using a color scheme of the weaver's choosing. The letter or number which is the theme of the piece can be obvious or hidden.

Las Aranas was founded in 1971 and was composed of mainly Albuquerque residents. Las Tejedoras was founded twenty-five years ago and was composed of weavers from the Santa Fe and Los Alamos areas. Since that time, both guilds have added members in central New Mexico from Taos in the north to Socorro in the south, and Moriarty in the east to Magdalena in the west.

These guilds provide educational experiences to their members and participate in projects that increase awareness of the fiber arts. The Tapestry Study Groups within each guild are focused on the study of tapestry design and technique and the sharing of expertise with fellow guild members. Our Tapestry Study Groups include beginning tapestry weavers who are just learning the discipline and experienced artists who have taught and exhibited all over New Mexico, the United States, and internationally.

The websites for the two guilds are:
Las Aranas: http://www.lasaranas.org/
Las Tejedoras: http://www.lastejedoras.org/

Here are a few closer shots of some of the tapestries. Go see the show for the full effect!

 

Cindy Dworzak, Airplane in Air   photo: Dan Klinglesmith

 

Alex Lear, 'F' is for Friends    photo: Dan Klinglesmith

Sharon Van de Velde, "G"   photo: Dan Klinglesmith

 

Jeanne Adams, Hat, Handbag, and Heels    photo: Dan Klinglesmith

 

Letitia Roller, Uh-O   photo: Dan Klinglesmith

Mary Colton, 'T' is for Tarantula   photo: Dan Klinglesmith

Karen Crislip, Venerable old adobe in the village of Corrales    photo: Dan Klinglesmith

 

Kathy Perkins, Zebbie's Mom   photo: Nancy Wohlenburg

Diane Beck, Prayer to the four directions  photo: Dan Klinglesmith

Sometimes your website just isn't there...

Well, technology seems to have failed me. In the alphabet soup of CNAME, Type A, IP addresses, domains, and DNS managers, my website has flown into the ether. I have all faith that it still exists out there, but it is not visible at the moment due to a snafu I caused between my domain host and my website host. At least I think I caused it. I was messing with the domain host last week and then returned to the website last night to try to complete the switch to a new platform. To my chagrin, it wasn't there.

So my apologies to anyone who was looking for it. It will reappear with any luck by Wednesday. I suspect I am going to need some tech help to clear it up though, so wish me luck with the technical lingo.

So, a temporary respite from web presence. It isn't a bad thing. Unless that one client who was really going to commission a tapestry was looking for your stuff at the moment it happened to be down. Hopefully that isn't my luck this week.

6/4/13: Well, I am partway to figuring out the website problem. I currently use Squarespace for my host and things are working well there.
So you can see the website by clicking this link: Never Mind! It is back up!
The regular links should work again very soon... and it works again at 4pm Tuesday. Whew.
www.rebeccamezoff.com

Oh the yarn.

I have been a dyeing fiend the last week. I am really working hard to get the colors for the next big tapestry done. My arms have literally been aching for the last couple days and I can only assume that this is from a combination of lifting heavy dye pots for days on end, riding my bike around Santa Fe, and perhaps a return to yoga at the same time. I seem to have invented my own fitness bootcamp--weight lifting, cardio, balance. Chasing three year olds around a gym a few days a week doesn't hurt either. Though certainly a constant ache in almost every arm muscle MUST be a sign of impending death, I can only assume that I do NOT have multiple sclerosis. At least Emily assures me that this is most likely not the case, but you can never be too careful when it comes to worrying about potentially severely debilitating conditions.

I vowed that this tapestry would contain no purple, but alas, after much debate, purple has crept in despite my best intentions. The palate for this one is going to look much different than my last few pieces despite the purple however. I think I am going to like it.

The cartoon has been enlarged.

The warp is ready.

It is time to start.

Tapestry beaters or forks

My new babies got here yesterday.
Here they are all wrapped up for travel.

At the recommendation of a fabulous tapestry weaver, Lyn Hart, I purchased one Maggie fork several years ago. I have been trying to get more ever since. Yesterday the box arrived with four new forks nestled in the center. A huge thanks to Magpie WoodWorks, LLC for this beautiful work. These tools will hopefully last me a very long time (and honestly, I am already panicking that I won't be able to get any more and considering if I can afford a few more for rainy days in the future). The work of John Jenkins is outstanding. The teeth of the forks are pet combs. The tips are pointy enough to travel through the warp easily but smooth enough that I never worry about snagging the tapestry. They are spaced perfectly and are very strong. The woodworking is gorgeous and flawless.

In this photo, the forks are small, large, small, and the mini is lying on top.

Each fork is stamped "maggie". I love this... perhaps because I had a dog named Maggie once a long time ago. This is the handle of the "mini".

Here is a closer shot of the small sized fork.

Magpie WoodWorks is based in Grand Junction, CO. Their website is www.magpiewoodworksusa.com.

The first tapestry class in my new studio

I had my first class in my own studio May 4, 5, and 7. I had a set of fantastic students and I think we all had a marvelous time. At least I know I did and they all were lying if they didn't. They were a shy bunch and didn't much want their photos taken, but here are some shots of yarn, the studio, and the work being done.

The class was Color Gradation Techniques for Tapestry and the class description is on my website HERE.

Here is one student's preparation for a color gradation using singles yarn, three to a bundle.

Here are a few examples of the hatching and hachure practice we were doing in the class.

This is a detail of a jump-over technique we were learning. It is a sort of regular hatching. This is the back side of the tapestry.

Here is a detail of some shading we were practicing with pick and pick and above that in the blue is a vertical gradation using singles yarn. (Much of this class is woven using the 2-ply Harrisville Highland but we practice getting smooth color gradations with a singles yarn by Harrisville.)

Another example of pick and pick and a vertical gradation. Under the pick and pick in black and grey is a great example of a hachure exercise. We use this as a way to experiment with creating areas of shading using only two colors. When done in more similar tones, the effect can be quite subtle. I do recommend students start with contrasting colors so they can see the technique they are working on!

And Sunday afternoon there was even a surprise black bottom pie which Emily made for the class. You can't argue with that.

And here are a few beautiful photos from one of the talented students, Susan Fuquay. She said I could share them with you. If you love yarn, you might like these.

photo: Susan Fuquay

photo: Susan Fuquay

photo: Susan Fuquay

photo: Susan Fuquay

How much fun can a girl have in a day?

So really. How much fun is one woman allowed to have in a day? I turned a bunch of little skeins of singles yarn into some great colors. Dyeing all those colors in just two pots is such fun. I know it. I'm a geek.

And this is the kind of thing Emily has to put up with all the time. Skeins of yarn all over the house... not to mention the eviction of her car from the garage when the dyeing enters its manic phase.  I feel such a phase coming on actually. My apologies to the Camry.

The good news is that I have more Ball jar dyeing to do this weekend in preparation for the next big piece. Before committing hundreds of dollars of yarn to the dye pots, I'm doing the knitting equivalent of swatching. It seems a good idea. Plus the little skeins are so darn cute.