| The Canadian Tapestry Network Newsletter Winter 2008/09 It is hard to believe that we are now into the fullness of the holiday season, enjoying all that the winter months bring to our woven tapestry adventures...
Editorial: As I type and format all that Barb and I have found, which we thought would be of interest for you, my two Himalayans and I live in knee-deep snow. Because of the continuing series of winter storms, some days we have power and water, and other days not.... The cats have been adding an extra thickness to their fur and I, extra woollen socks and sweaters. I have to say that I have come to realize what is important to live and what is not. As a wonderful small community on MayneIsland, we all help each other out and share everything without question. And now the good news is that the one and only snowplow has parts to do the necessary repairs to get it going again. What luxury! And by candle-light, another tapestry is being woven and isn’t that the bottom line! We trust that you are safe over the holidays and wish you all the very best for the upcoming New Year ... Sincerely, Madeleine and Barbara Would you like to have a link to your website from the Canadian Tapestry Newsletter website? Just contact Krystyna Sadej, our esteemed webmistress and ask! ksadej@gmail.com
News from CTN Members
· Jane Kidd has been nominated by the Alberta Crafts Council for the Award of Excellence which is presented to an established craftsperson that excels in his/her area of craft. Congratulations. · Marcel Marois exhibited a new tapestry and drawings at Galerie Roger Bellemare last fall. You can find images at the website : http://www.rogerbellemare.com/marois/ · Thoma Ewen was recently awardeda grand prix d'excellence for her tapestry work. LAURÉATS DES PRIX D’EXCELLENCE DES 9e CULTURIADES DE LA FONDATION POUR LES ARTS, LES LETTRES ET LA CULTURE EN OUTAOUAIS. Le 6 novembre 2008 - La Fondation pour les arts, les lettres et la culture en Outaouais a rendu hommage aux artistes de la région hier soir, lors de son événement annuel, qui s’est déroulé au foyer de la Maison de la culture de Gatineau… Le Grand Prix d’excellence - IVes Jeux de la franco-phonie attribué à un artiste pour l’ensemble de ses réalisations, assorti d’une bourse de 2,500$ · Alexandra Friedman has won the American Tapestry Alliance Award for Excellence in Tapestry for her tapestry "Flow 3." www.americantapestryalliance.org/NandR/ATAawards/ATAaward08Frie.html  Flow 3 by Alex Friedman
Alex writes : “The Flow Series represents a change in direction in my work. For a long time I have been aware of tapestry as a construction project with the accompanying sculptural possibilities. By keeping within the traditionally defined boundaries of tapestry (weft faced, discontinuous weft) and exploring the process of tapestry weaving, I am experimenting to see what happens when the boundaries are pushed, technically and materially. The third dimension is not fully realized until the tapestry is cut from the loom and the shapes, released from a long period of increasing tension, begin to form."
 The Patriot by Barbara Heller
· Terri Stewart’s tapestry piece "Old Man" won first place in the Handweavers Guild of America's Small Expressions juried show. Terri writes “I was not only thrilled to have received first place, but that a TAPESTRY was the winning entry!”  Old Man by Terri Stewart
· TWiNE Exhibit by CTN member, Jan Austin In September 2008, Tapestry Weavers in New England (TWiNE) put on a tapestry exhibit at the RivertreeCenter for the Arts in Kennebunk, Maine. It all began with TWiNE member Anne Homme, who lives in Kennebunk, and contacted the gallery on our behalf. Kennebunk is a very picturesque and bustling tourist town, and September is still very busy, particularly with empty nesters who prefer visiting after everyone else’s kids are back in school! The plan was for a TWiNE members show, and from the beginning we wanted to encourage all TWiNE members to enter. Since we didn’t know how many entries to expect, we decided to encourage each artist to enter up to 5 pieces. That way if we didn’t get a lot or artists entering we could still have plenty of tapestries to choose from. To encourage participation, we made it easy, allowing photo prints, slides or digitals, and set a low entry fee of $15. TWiNE has a little money saved so we didn’t have to cover all our exhibit expenses with the entry fees. We did not set a limit on how old the work could be, because we felt that if a tapestry was good 10 years ago, then it is still good, and should be eligible. Obviously this approach would not be practical with a larger show, but since TWiNE only has 40 members, it worked out fine. We ended up with 19 artists entering, and almost all of the images were good enough to see what the tapestries looked like. In one or two cases we decided to reject a piece because we could not see it clearly enough, but were still able to accept another piece by the same artist. Sue Pretty, Michelle Mancini, and I volunteered to jury the show. As we have in the past, each juror was invited to include one tapestry, since nobody would volunteer to jury if that meant exclusion from the show. Anne Homme volunteered to be the liaison with the gallery. Anne, Mary Adebonojo, Dolores Broberg and Bonnie Eadie volunteered to help the gallery with hanging the show. Priscilla Alden coordinated refreshments for the opening reception. Fortunately, the gallery had a designer for the postcards, so that relieved us of one major chore. On jurying day I drove to New Hampshire, where both Michelle and Sue live, and we had a nice lunch together at Sue’s house, then got down to the jurying, with Michelle keeping notes of which tapestries we accepted. It turned out to be easy, as we were in agreement in most cases. Sue had posted every entry into an Excel spreadsheet, because the gallery wanted to have that on file. (After the jurying she made an updated file for the gallery with only the accepted tapestries.) During jurying we each had a printed copy, which was really helpful, and I went home with a list that had check marks to indicate which were accepted. In a few days I sent out acceptance emails to the artists. We went through all the entries fairly quickly first, and made our initial choices without too much agonizing. Then we went through a second time to resolve any uncertainties. Then we added up the width of each acceptance tapestry to get a measurement of how much wall space we would need, and it seemed like they would all fit; we didn’t have an exact figure for the running feet of wall space in the gallery and were just using a rough estimate. At the opening we were quite relieved that everything fit nicely. In fact the hanging committee did a fabulous job of grouping items for best effect. As I pointed out at the reception, we jurors didn’t give a lot of thought to how all these different tapestries would look together, so they really had a challenge! Two other chores for the jurors were choosing an image for the postcard, and choosing a winner for the ATA Award. The postcard was difficult because we found out that the gallery wanted an image about 3 weeks before we were planning on jurying, so we had to send out an emergency call for high resolution images to be sent immediately. Fortunately some of our members were ready to help out with that, and we chose Elinor Steele’s Reconstruction II. We chose Flow 3 by Alexandra Friedman for the ATA Award. Alex’s new work is innovative while making reference to traditional textile traditions. The seemingly simple acceptance letter has to include a lot of details: the titles of the accepted tapestries, the address and dates for delivery, information about who to contact for postcards, dates and times for opening reception and gallery talk. The final paragraph included lots of important stuff, and I could only hope I didn’t forget anything: “If you mail your tapestries and want them returned by mail, include a check for return postage, or a prepaid mailing label. Make sure that your packing materials are sturdy enough to be reused. All work must be READY to hang! Tapestries must be labeled with the artist’s name, the title and an indication of the top. The label should be firmly attached to the back.” Blah blah blah…. I notified the artists by email, a big improvement over the last time when we did it all with envelopes and stamps. In addition to the acceptance letters, some artists had to be reminded to send prices or insurance values for their work, or to send materials for the Artist Book. So there was a LOT of emailing going on. One other project is a favorite of mine: Demonstrating! I sent out an email request for a loom to borrow, and Bonnie Eadie offered a 16 inch Mirrix with stand. I asked her to put an 11 inch wide warp on it, at 8 epi, and she left it in the gallery for me. I designed a cartoon that says TWiNE 2008, with a simple border, wound off the weft yarns, and prepared a basket with all the necessary tools and instructions. On the night of the opening reception I arrived early (but not as early as planned, see my blog: www.austintapestry.blogspot.com, September 13 entry) We planned a brief TWiNE meeting at the gallery 2 weeks after the opening, to be followed by a public gallery talk, where any artists who are present can talk about their work, or the jurors can talk about the exhibit. At the same time someone will be demonstrating on the loom. RivertreeCenter for the Arts: www.rivertreearts.org Exhibit photos on Jan Austin’s blog: www.austintapestry.blogspot.com (September 14 entry) · By E-mail to Barbara Heller and Madeleine Darling-Tung: Hello both of you,
First, a much belated thank you for your continual work on The Canadian Tapestry Network Newsletter. There is a lot going on these days - it is exciting.
Second, my email address to add to the mailing list. I have two, but it seems most suiting that the Capilano one be listed: amallins@capilanou.ca
Of course tapestry is still a portion of our 2 year foundation program. I teach it over an 8 week period in the Fall Semester. It is also available as an option to alumni or artists who are eligible to take the Advanced Certificate.
I also wanted to share with you the email address of the man who makes bobbins for my class every year: Bruce Campbell www.artizansworkbench.com
And Maurice Brassard has a new seine twine, #6, that I find to be quite a good weight for tapestry warp: Maurice Brassard www.mbrassard.com PQ. 819-362-2408
This is just a quick note, as I am in the throws of marking. Thank you both again, Anthea Anthea Mallinson, Instructor, Textile Arts Department, Costuming for Stage and Screen
CapilanoUniversity; Website: www.dyedept.com · Sasha McInnes of Puchka Peru Tours writes to say: “Maximo Laura, … has just advised me from China that he has won the Bronze medal at Beijing's Fifth International Fiber Art Biennial - so many international awards these past few years and we're all very proud of him and thrilled for Taller Laura!! The exhibition is from 25 November - 25 December just in case any of you are in Beijing :) On his return to Peru in early December, his home province of Ayacucho is honouring him as "Cultural Ambassador".
We're planning on his coming to British Columbia after the 2010 Olympics to exhibit and teach and I will keep you in the loop about this as details evolve and specifics firm up.” http://www.maximolaura.com/home.html · New CTN member Constantine Issighos offers a “How-to” - DVD on Weaving Wall Tapestry. You are invited to discover the Magic World of In-Laid Pictorial Tapestry. You'll follow easy, step-by-step illustrated instructions from start to finish on in-laid pictorial tapestry. This innovative weaving technique makes it possible for you to create intricate pictorial images, similar to a well executed oil-painting. This DVD includes over 300 pictures and illustrations, inspirational narrative, and how to use natural and synthetic dyes. Price of $ 29.95 includes taxes & shipping. Send cheque to: Constantine Issighos, , or e-mail: constani@telus.net  
After a short summer season filled with garden delights, we can em brace the autumn and winter months with colourful woven tapestry... Celebrating Tapestry, the Canadian Tapestry Network is a volunteer not-for-profit organization dedicated to communication among its members, fellow tapestry weavers, with the documentation, promotion & advertising of individuals, activities & events related to woven tapestry. We all love it when you write to us and send us photos of your work, and more importantly, all CTN members love reading about your tapestry adventures – whether challenging or not.
Membership, Treasurer & Co-Editor: Barbara Heller Fibre Arts Studio, 1610 Johnston Street, Granville Island, Vancouver, BC V6H 3S2 Canada Telephone: (604) 224-2060; bheller@telus.net
Editorial: As I type this issue of the CTN newsletter, our sun-bleached plants are appreciating a touch of rain, and the cats are licking their lips as they watch the birds play in the bird bath. What serenity! As I watch for a few minutes, potential tapestry designs tumble from my imagination.... but alas there is still only 27 hours in the day to accomplish all that I want to do. Perhaps, it is more about simplifying our lives a dash more in order to enjoy those items at the top of our priority list. Personally, I do know that with the coming Autumn weather, I will be back to enjoying every morsel of weaving tapestry designs and I trust that you will also have that pleasure. ...Madeleine Joanne Sanburg who has shared some of her tapestry images with us in this issue suggests: "Aesthetically, the number of human types is so restricted that we must constantly, wherever we may be, have the pleasure of seeing people we know" ...Marcel Proust
My subjects are people that you and I know. I "paint" with recycled fibres, feathers, and jewellery - things worn by similar "human types" - in an effort to transform my works from mere portraits to totems.
From the BBC News: (published 2008/08/06 14:06:01GMT) - To summarize the article - the Dovecot Studios has recently moved into their new home in Edinburgh’s Old Town. Originally, Victorian swimming baths, the physical structure has just been renovated to accommodate studio space as well as providing for rooms to house workshops. New exhibits are currently happening as a means of promoting an art and craft link, and advertising the new premise for the Dovecot Studios, the oldest tapestry company in Edinburgh. For more information, visit: www.dovecotstudios.com
News from CTN Members
• Ixchel Suarez writes: “I’m preparing the next Lecture for the Five Counties Seminar 2009 (the OHS regional Seminar) on Tapestry: Traditions vs. Innovation. The Oakville Tapestry Studio (which I opened 6 months ago) is having great response in Oakville. I hope we can make enough "noise" around here in order to make Tapestry a competitive media to explore. There are 6 fibre Guilds in Oakville (the Tatters, Stitchers, Crocheters, Quilters and Hookers) but surprisingly, weavers and spinners has only 10 members. Now with my Studio I hope to double the numbers at least in this year. I will keep you informed on the development of our projects.” www.ixchelsuarez.com• Michael Rohde has sent postcards of the many shows in which he is participating. Currently:
Forms in Wood and Fiber – (3 rugs) – Mingei International Museum, San Diego, CA, June 8, 2008 to January 8, 2009 and ATB 7.
• Linda Wallace has a detail of her recent work used as the cover of a new book. She writes: “Not only is it a thrill to see a detail of "Promethean Dreams" used as the cover illustration of a scholarly feminist book, one of the editor/authors discovered the image by 'googling' ...."Canadian women feminist artists".
• CONGRATULATIONS to Sue Pretty: Tapestry Weaver Commissioned for New Hampshire Governors Arts Eagle Awards
“Recipients in five categories are designated to receive 2007 Governors Arts Award presented every two years. The 2007 Governors Arts Awards recognize outstanding accomplishments in arts education, arts patronage, distinguished arts leadership, folk heritage, and individual artist’s lifetime of work. Suzanne Pretty of Farmington, New Hampshire was selected to create a piece for the Bloomfield Family for Individual Arts Patron Award. Suzanne is a two time recipient of Artist Fellowship from the New Hampshire Council on the Arts. The awards interpret the eagle designed for the dome of the State House. The interpretations are across the spectrum from very traditional to abstract in a wide variety of mediums.
Suzanne worked with the theme of the fractured landscape in her paper weaving Soaring above the Divided Landscape, selecting this piece from the five pieces created. The multi-layered paper weaving is a stack of block of forest precariously stacked on gravel against the forest background with a soaring eagle…
Soaring above the Fragmented Forest is one of the other images. The three fragmented trees are set against the bog background woven with words while the eagle soars above these fractured images.
The forest imagery for these pieces was used for a plaited paper weaving woven on the diagonal entitled Forest Interwoven and Fragmented. This creates an entire different feel. In this multi-layered piece the three foreground images are printed on both sides. One side is the forested hillside; the reverse is the clear cut forest with the stumps. Folded plaiting technique blends the imagery. The forest in the background is a blending of this imagery.
An outgrowth of these designs the tapestry entitled Divided Landscape is in progress.”
• CONGRATULATIONS to Monique Lehman: That the Old Might Nourish The Present: Monique Lehman's New Tapestry
By Elizabeth Michel is a writer and weaver living in Encinitas, California. She is a retired physician with a special interest in the care of refugees who have survived torture. elizabethmichel@cox.net A magnificent tapestry woven by Monique Lehman was recently installed at Congregation Beth El in La Jolla, California. At the dedication ceremony for the synagogue's new sanctuary, Rabbi Phillip Graubart spoke of a worship space in which "the old would nourish the present," and Ryan Stone, Chair of the Building Committee, described years of planning that included trips to Eastern Europe to visit synagogues that had survived the Holocaust. Although several charming design elements were borrowed from these synagogues, Mr. Stone devoted much of his speech to Monique's tapestry. In the old synagogues, the Torah Ark was covered by a parochet, an embroidered curtain or decorated wooden panel. The committee wanted Beth El's new Torah Ark curtain to be contemporary yet evoke the beauty of a two-hundred-year-old parochet. Finding an artist to bring this vision into reality proved frustrating until Monique was located. Mr. Stone himself traveled from complete ignorance of the art of tapestry, through amazement that any artist today would spend a year on one creation, to joy at the parochet which Monique ultimately wove.
Although Monique is not Jewish, she grew up, studied art, and became a tapestry weaver in Poland, a country that lost millions of citizens, non-Jewish as well as Jewish, to the Nazi occupation. Thus Monique brought to the Beth El tapestry a personal history closely entwined with the vanished world which Beth El's members hoped to memorialize. In addition, European synagogue decoration was always influenced by the styles of surrounding majority cultures. Monique was very familiar with those styles.
Monique received samples of the stone, carpet, upholstery, and glass with which the parochet had to harmonize, but Mr. Stone's vision was less concrete. She reports: "My client had his own idea of how the tapestry should look…but the only way for me to extract this image from his mind was by designing over twenty detailed images." Working in Adobe Photoshop, Monique created images by "abstracting, modifying and rearranging" elements she encountered during extensive research. She believes that she saw images of all the old textile parochets in the collections of Jewish museums in Europe and America. None were woven tapestries but rather were stitched together from costly fabrics like damask and then embroidered.
"After working with Ryan Stone for three months," Monique continues, "he finally sent me a message, 'I love your last design.'" This design, inspired by a parochet from the Baroque-style Levantine Synagogue in Ancona, Italy, contained hundreds of flowers. Monique used Photoshop to efficiently reverse the left side of her design, paste it on the right side, and make modifications to diversify the design. By enlarging, abstracting and elongating floral elements from the Ancona parochet, she created "a more modern impression, while retaining the atmospheric tone of an ancient design."
Trained as a painter and sculptor, Monique varies combinations of color, fiber and texture in 2 to 6 strands per weft bundle in order to create tapestries with subtle, painterly effects and "a texturally dynamic woven surface." For the Beth El parochet she used unevenness in texture and color to also achieve the "worn out look" her client wanted. By choosing "warm reds, burgundy, sienna, gold, amber with accents of cobalt and cerulean," Monique meant to evoke not only a very old parochet but also "with deep blood red as a background…a remembrance of the tragic events of the Holocaust." Although she usually dyes all her weft herself, for the background of this large piece she mixed some handspun red Swedish wool with a variety of red shades dyed in her studio. For the vines and flowers she mixed in silk, cotton and metallic gold threads. She adds:
The loom is my instrument and I know how to play it…None of the flowers is identical to any other; I was free and creative during weaving and entertained myself by inventing new techniques…The more difficult elements I printed on my home computer to be able to study color design more closely.
During the nine months it took to weave the 8' by 13' tapestry, Monique concentrated on "the balance of the colors and beauty of each individual shape." She worked on the central panels while her assistant, Elizabeth Quick, wove the borders. About weaving such a large piece, Monique comments: When I work on a big tapestry I never think about it as one piece. The work is divided in your mind into sections. I have certain production goals per week and try not to get distracted by the rest of the tapestry. For example when I worked on a blue flower I put away all my reds and golds so the colors that I was not using wouldn't distract me. It always surprises me to see other artists' studios with the entire palette of colors on the wall.
In the sanctuary, the parochet's size and visual power announce its central role of honoring and protecting the Torah. It is stunning when first seen from a distance, from the sanctuary entrance on the opposite wall. Its beauty draws visitors to walk through the sanctuary in order to feel the tapestry's texture and look closely at its enchanting play of color and shading.
The lower central panel contains Hebrew words that carry special significance for Congregation Beth El. In Genesis, Jacob speaks these words, which mean "How awesome is this place!" upon awakening from his dream of angels on a ladder. He then renames the place of his dream "Beth-el", which means "house of God". The Hebrew letters appear to emerge from the surrounding vines, not separate but still readable, "non-intrusive but guiding," in Monique's words, "like Jewish people in the entire world." Moving up the central panel in shades of yellow and blue, the flowering vines and tendrils grow thick and strong, climbing and coiling with energy as increased light plays through them. Monique sees the spiral forms here as symbolic of the continuity of traditions and life.
From the tapestry's center, the vines grow out over two narrow panels on each side, becoming finer in size, more muted in color. A lighter red border with delicate cream-colored vines and flowers frames the central panels. Monique chose to separate the border from the central panels with a "shaped ivory bank, harkening back to the formal designs of antique ark curtains."
In the old synagogues, elaborate flowering vines, carved into Torah Arks and painted on walls and ceilings, often represented the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. Monique had her own transformative thoughts as she shaped the vines:
Oppression thrives on oblivion, numbing, deception. My intention in weaving tapestry is to reclaim feelings and remembrance….[a] climbing vine…grows despite harsh conditions…even when destroyed [it] grows back stronger and branches out its stems in different directions looking for new ways of surviving. The design that I used invites the viewer to engage in dialogue about…justice, forgiveness, grief, anger, hope, beauty, generosity. While I explore the design concepts, I am developing my own aesthetic of liberation and healing. During the design process of this tapestry my mother was very sick and I spent my time at her deathbed. I think that my personal experience of grief and despair made the design even stronger.
True to its purpose as a parochet, Monique's Beth El tapestry calls us, when we stand before it, to move more deeply into the longing, sorrow, and beauty that live in our most sacred spaces, both within ourselves and in community.
Weavers are welcome to visit the sanctuary; contact the Executive Director in advance (www.congregationbethel.com) Monique Lehman weaves in Pasadena, California (www.tapestryart.org)
Bibliography:
- Rivka and Ben-Zion Dorfman, Synagogues Without Jews, Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2000.
- Thomas Hubka, Resplendent Synagogue, New Hampshire: Brandeis University Press, 2003.
- Murray Zimiles, Gilded Lions and Jeweled Horses: The Synagogue to the Carousel,
New Hampshire: Brandeis University Press, 2007.
Southwest Indian Art Fair
Every year on the last weekend in February, the Southwest Indian Art Fair is held at the Arizona State Museum, on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson.
One thing I loved about this fair was that the sellers were all in a good mood. That’s probably because they have a devoted following who come back year after year, so everybody seemed to be selling well. Some artists were practically cleaned out on the second day. There is ton of jewelry, everything from almost mass produced-looking stuff, to sculptural, gazillion dollar museum quality work. Looking is even more fun than buying. I bought 4 pairs of lovely earrings, including one pair that are tiny hand woven baskets, about half an inch in diameter.
There were a number of Navajo weavers selling their gorgeous rugs. I was very tempted, but they are way too nice to put on the floor, and I don’t have any room on my walls. Not to mention the difficulty I would have in choosing just one! Still, maybe next year I’ll add to my already too large collection of textiles.
I bought a very small Dine Dye Chart from Isabel Myers-Deschinny. Her mother Mabel Burnside-Myers, a renowned weaver, invented this art form. Isabel carries on the tradition, while teaching her son about dying with local plants and minerals. The dye chart consists of a picture frame containing a miniature Navajo loom, with a small rug in progress. The weft yarns stretch out to samples of the natural dyestuffs that were used to color them. Check out the website: www.geocities.com/deschinny/DYECHARTS.html
My favorite purchase was not textile related: I fell in love with a ceramic Grandmother Storyteller figurine; this particular grandmother has only 4 kids on her lap, but each one has brought an animal along, so it’s still pretty crowded. Some of the Grandmother Storytellers had upwards of 30 kids on their laps, shoulders and even hanging onto their heads. It brings back happy memories of reading aloud to my own children, and those times in the public library when I would look up from a book to find 5 or 10 extra kids crowded around.
I spent a few hours in the “Learn About Weaving” tent, which was sponsored by the Gloria F Ross Center for Tapestry Studies (www.tapestrycenter.org), and staffed by members of the Tucson Handweavers and Spinners Guild, who were teaching children and adults basic weaving and spinning. In that tent were four Navajo weavers, who had set up their looms and were weaving all weekend. Two were quite young, college aged weavers, and I had a great time talking to them. It’s exciting to see young people weaving, and these two are both highly skilled.
Michael Ornelas weaves mainly miniature rugs; he was finishing up a very finely woven red and black rug that was about 12x10 inches. Because Navajo rugs are 4 selvedged, finishing up means weaving in the last inch with a curved upholstery needle, which takes just about forever, particularly with a very fine weft; some of Michael’s rugs have about 120 wefts per inch.
Melissa Cody was weaving a large rug, about 4 feet wide. She described it as a figure-ground reversal, using a multi-colored eye-dazzler pattern for the background, and plain black for the design. She had only completed about 7 inches, so although the background was gorgeous, it was hard to tell what the design would look like exactly. She does not have a drawing but says she “knows the design” in her head. She expects it to take her a year to weave, since she doesn’t get to work on it every day. I thought she was weaving very fast, especially considering how complicated the design is; there was a color change at least every inch.
On our way into Tucson we stopped at the lovely little Tohono Chul Park, a botanical garden with galleries and charming indoor/outdoor tea-room. www.tohonochulpark.org I noticed that the locals all sat inside, but we thought the 68 degree day was delightful and had our tea in the courtyard (the high temperature at home in RI the day before was 30). The gallery had 2 group exhibits that included lovely tapestries by Lyn Hart and Michael Rohde. On Saturday afternoon we headed over to Pima Community College for “Land, Art and the Sacred: Three Perspectives”. This show included work by D.Y. Begay, Claire Campbell Park, and Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi, “expressing their community and spiritual values through the abstraction of the land.”
At the end of the last day I sat around with the weavers’ guild members, and helped to unweave the huge mess the kids had made on the demo loom. It was a warm sunny day, about 80 degrees, and we were all enjoying relaxing in the afternoon sun. They were a very sociable group, and I left with the feeling that I had made some new friends.
February in Tucson is fantastic, especially for people who live a cold climate. Because of this, there’s a lot going on, and if you plan to go, you MUST make your hotel reservations early, or you’ll be out of luck. I made mine in August, probably a little earlier than necessary, and managed to stay in a lovely B&B only 10 blocks from campus. It’s the Catalina Park Inn (www.catalinaparkinn.com) , and it was elegant, comfortable, friendly and delicious. We met some really interesting people there, including a delightful visiting professor from Harvard. I told her about the SW Indian Art Fair at breakfast, and she cheerfully informed me the next day that I was responsible for severe damage to her bank account!
The only problem with our trip was that it was too short, so we’re hoping to stay longer next year. Make a note on your calendar and plan you trip in September. I hope to see you in Tucson next February! Check soon for exact dates of 2009 fair: www.statemuseum.arizona.edu/events/swiaf/swiaf.shtml and juried competition award winners at www.statemuseum.arizona.edu/events/swiaf/08win/index.shtml ...Submitted by CTN member, Janet Austin, who lives and weaves in Rhode Island
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