Sunday 25 October 2009

Artistic Decision Time (3)

Progress is being made. Every time I sit down at the Megado, I think 'This is it - the final version'. But it is not. Here is Vale3, as off the loom with Winter at the left and  Autumn at the right. There are faults in Autumn which are due to the shuttle I happen to be using for purple. The said shuttle has rollers and a low nose and, as my beloved Bluster Bay shuttles do not give this problem (they never give any problem except that other weavers keep wanting to borrow them 'Just to try out, you understand'), the roller shuttle has been abandoned. Also there are a few errors in the draft in Autumn too and Winter is too long.




The machine embroidery of leaves for Summer has worked




















and the flowers for Spring look sufficiently Spring-like.



















Here are Summer and Autumn.

So I am off to correct the draft of Autumn and then start on Vale4.

3 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you started blogging, I knew you did some interesting weaving, but this is beyond anything I imagined. I love the idea of using weaving and embroidery like this.

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  2. I'm following this project with interest! I like hearing how you arrive at your decision. The scenes give a very different all in a row in that first picture. My grandparents had a clear plastic photo cube that fascinated me as a small child, you could never see opposing portraits at the same time, but you can see the adjoining ones. Seemed symbolic of family relations. Also works for seasons. Contiguity. If your boxes were closed, what would go on the top and bottom?

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  3. At the very start of this project (March 2009), I was going to have a six-sided box by weaving 6 different 'pictures' and sewing them together. But I went off that idea when I realised how accurately I would have to weave each side and how carefully and tidily sew them up. I then went on to weaving four in a strip for the four sides with two extra for top and bottom. The trouble with that is that the bottom would never be seen. My husband came up with the idea of a motor driving the box in an eccentric orbit. The motor would be mounted at a lower corner and the base would show then but I thought this was all too much trouble. So gave up on top and bottom.

    I did wonder about a single separate piece, not sewn to the others but the only problem then is what is the fifth picture of? A large scale picture of a fruit or a flower? Maybe. I still have 10 m of warp left!!

    Pat Foster

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About Me

I am weaver and - -. I dye my yarns with acid dyes, I paint my warps, put fabric collages and stencils on my weaving. I have three looms, a 12 inch wide, 12 shaft Meyer for demos and courses, a 30 inch Louet Kombo which is nominally portable but has a stand, two extra beams and a home-made device containing a fan reed. And last a 32 shaft Louet Megado which is computer controlled, has a sectional warp and a second warp beam and I am the proud owner of an AVL warping wheel which I love to bits and started by drilling holes in. I inserted a device for putting a cross in. I have just acquired an inkle loom and had a lesson from an expert so I can watch TV and weave at the same time. I am interested in weaving with silk mostly 60/2 although I do quite a bit with 90/2 silk. I also count myself as a bookbinder with a special interest in Coptic binding.