A Sunny Day

New on the Loom

Hello friends!

As most of you know, I double-majored in metals and textiles at VCU. I've been focusing on my jewelry work lately, but now that the loom and I have been reunited, I thought I'd start designing another series of scarves.

I use what's called a pick up double weave technique. I draw my cartoon onto a piece of graph paper cut to the size of the scarf. Each row on the paper equals one warp string (for those non-weavers, the warps are the verticals.)

Double weave means simultaneously weaving two layers of fabric at once. There are a ton of practical applications for double weave, but I really only use it for pattern and plushness. My technique is called pick-up because I lift up the colors to make the pattern. I weave one color at a time, picking up the white to weave the gray, picking up the gray to weave the white... and so on and so on and so on, making a piece of fabric that is the color opposite on one side from the other. In the picture above you can see my pick-up stick (my friend Matt Williams made that one for me!) which I use to count out and grab the warps indicated on my graph paper cartoon.

As I finish a row for each layer, I mark it off on the cartoon with a pencil so I don't get confused and make the same row twice. This pattern has been particularly friendly and fun to weave. When it comes off the loom, I want it to look like a length of tile that is cracking.

Things I Heart II

Things I love on Etsy, architecture edition:

Buildings ) Pocketbook Slash Checkbook Holder

by QuietDoing

That is some sweet urban diagonal excitement right there. Plus the inside is all full of tiny pockets and places to lose receipts... Just how I like it.

Circle Map Wood Box

by theharbingerco

City block grids! I love them.

Birdumbus Visits St Basil's Cathedral

by PragyaK

Two favorite things: birds and landmark buildings. What do you think he's thinking?

brooklyn bridge card pack

by serimony

It's the negative space that makes up the focus- a lack of ink that successfully portrays a monument! Does anyone else find that exciting?

Dear artists,

care to trade?

Love,

Caitie

Welcome to my Asheville studio, part II

The set up:

About a month ago Hugh and I did a redesign on the apartment layout, deciding that the loom had to find a new home away from the living room. So all art in the house now takes place in the second bedroom. I thought that it would be frustratingly full (you can't see in the picture, but the wall I'm standing against has industrial shelves in an L-shape, and then the cat boxes are shoved in the closet behind those, leaving about as much floor space as you can see in the picture) BUT it turns out I thrive in over crowded conditions. My dad always used to call me a nester. If I was working on something, all the tools and materials I needed would be spread evenly over an arms-length radius and then I'd leave it that way till I was done, much to my parents' unhappiness. The jewelry nook in the corner is absolutely perfect for me- everything's in arm's reach. And yes, there IS something new on the loom! Next post!

thanks for reading!

New Favorite Artist

Kim Cridler.

I first saw Kim's work in the catalog for a show I was in last year called Decorative Resurgence. I can't believe I'd never heard of her before that. I need to get my head out of the sand. Anyway, I was browsing the catalog and saw an image and just lost my breath. Her metalwork is so impressive and beautiful. The precision of the lines, the 3 dimensional layering, the inclusion of personal narrative and metaphor-heavy imagery, it all just blows me away- and really, it's all pieces of what I want in my own work. When I first saw it I was actually frustrated that someone had a similar aesthetic and achieved it so much more successfully. Then I realized that these vessels are 5 FEET TALL! ... And she's a professional artist and professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. So it's now become adulation. And hey! Good news! This summer I'll be a studio assistant for Amy Tavern at the Penland School of Crafts (Amy is another inspiration of mine) and Kim Cridler will be teaching a class at the same time! Two birds with one studio! SO EXCITED. These pictures were taken from Kim's website.

I am fascinated with both of the above images because of their textile elements. In the top piece, what looks like an oriental rug (or decorative tile?) provides a backdrop for a huge chalice. I am intrigued by the interior space Kim invents for this monumental vessel and the connotations associated with a rich, decorative furnishing such as a woven rug.

The second sculpture contains my very favorite symbolic element in the world. There's something about a single bird that makes me think of playful innocence: just a sparrow flitting around a tree, enjoying the sun, right? Then there's something about congregating birds that speaks of dread: circling vultures, or who can really talk about birds without thinking about the scene with the crows gathering on the playset in that Alfred Hitchcock movie. This piece takes me more to that place. The woven hair helps the creepiness.

Then there's this amazing piece of architecture in Arizona. I love (LOVE, I say, LOVE) Spanish architecture. This bridge has an arch in all the right places... namely, everywhere. It's gentle and pleasing while keeping clean, pragmatic lines. It is a bridge after all.

I totally can't wait to meet this woman.

Sundays are a day for a blog

Latest work:

I have been making just a bit of new jewelry to beef up the portfolio. I'm applying (maybe begging is a more operative term) to a couple of galleries in areas where I think my work might be better accepted, and I needed a few new wearables. I'm struggling to find a balance on the effort to income scale, if that makes any sense. I spend days on pieces like the one above and find myself writing a price tag for it that my non-artist acquaintances choke and gag at. On the other end, I spent a few months in '09 focusing on a production line that I found tedious and unfulfilling, but put a couple bucks in my pocket. I'm not going to lie- I need the money (badly)- but I am wondering if my time spent making dead-end one of a kinds is more valuable than a meager income from a production line. I am wondering if there is a missing link that would make the one of a kind work profitable. I am hoping that it's location. Hence the previous ramblings about networking and advertising- I've been thinking about it a lot and desperately trying to get over myself. The goal is to get work in areas with a customer base educated about the value of craft and accepting of art jewelry. I'm having a rocky start, but at least it is one (cross your fingers, Seattle!) On Wednesday I'm attending a business class at Mountain Bizworks here in Asheville that is all about getting your portfolio together and approaching stores and galleries. I really can't believe I live in a city that hosts affordable business classes aimed towards artist-makers. I can't wait!

Introversion

I suggest everyone I know read this informative article: Caring for your Introvert by Jonathan Rauch at the Atlantic. It outlines "the habits and needs of a little understood group" of which my husband and I (and most of our friends) are a part!

an excerpt:

"What is introversion? In its modern sense, the concept goes back to the 1920s and the psychologist Carl Jung. Today it is a mainstay of personality tests, including the widely used Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Introverts are not necessarily shy. Shy people are anxious or frightened or self-excoriating in social settings; introverts generally are not. Introverts are also not misanthropic, though some of us do go along with Sartre as far as to say "Hell is other people at breakfast." Rather, introverts are people who find other people tiring.

Extroverts are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone. They often seem bored by themselves, in both senses of the expression. Leave an extrovert alone for two minutes and he will reach for his cell phone. In contrast, after an hour or two of being socially "on," we introverts need to turn off and recharge. My own formula is roughly two hours alone for every hour of socializing. This isn't antisocial. It isn't a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: "I'm okay, you're okay—in small doses."

Thanks to Alissa for posting this on the facebook!