Kids Gone

My daughter went back to college today. Last year, Daddy and I went north with her, but her brother never got to visit her at school. So he went with her, to see her school, and help her move her stuff.
They got up early and loaded her car.

They headed out by 7:30. . .

. . .and were gone by the time I could get to the bottom of the driveway.

he'll stay overnight and fly home tomorrow. It will be quiet again until next May - It's much quieter with just one kid in the house. Now that my son has his driver's licence, he comes and goes on his own, and he'll be driving himself to school. . .

. . . smells like freedom!

Plastic in the Oceans

Since my last post, I went to Convergence in Tampa, Florida. I had two pieces in the juried basketry exhibit. And I won 3rd place for Our Layer!
I found out last week that the two pieces I submitted to the National Fiber Arts Exhibition at Escondido Municipal Art Gallery were both accepted, and Forever Yours won 2nd place.

What's new on the loom. . .
I call this Plastic in the Oceans. It's an adaptation of Flourishing Wave Border, a draft from the Davison Book (A Handweaver's Pattern Book by Marguerite Porter Davison).

When I did Plastic in the Trees, I put out a call for colored plastic bags, and lots of white ones came along with what I collected.
This is a blue, green, and Violet warp with white grocery store bags in the pattern weft. The tabby weft is the same yarns as the warp.

It's companion piece is still on the loom; I'll probably finish it and cut it off the loom today.

I still have lots of white plastic bags, and a small number of colored ones. I'm still getting them from people, though I'm not actively seeking them.

I've gotten to the point where I'm not happy when someone hands me a bag of bags; because it means they are still taking them from stores. I'll actually be very glad when I can't get any more plastic shopping bags to weave with. I hope someday we will be able to look at these pieces and think they belonged to a specific time. I hope someday these bags won't be so ubiquitous, everywhere in our landscapes.

I also have a coiled piece in progress. This will be a wall piece. I started it as my demonstration piece for the Designing Weavers sale on May 17 & 18. Here it is on June 24, right before Convergence:

July 7th:

and today:

Unprofessional Photos

Plastic in the Trees 1

I finished the two Plastic in the Trees pieces and cut them off the loom yesterday. I wanted to take some pictures with me to the Designing Weavers meeting last night. So these were taken with the uncut, unfinished piece laying on my family room floor, and me standing on the coffee table to shoot them.

Plastic in the Trees 2

One or both of these pieces will be in the Designing Weavers show at ArtCenter Manatee in Bradenton, FL. June 12 - July 5, 2008.

This blogging thing takes way too much time, I don't know how people do this every day. . .

New Piece

Last week I made great progress on the second version of Plastic in the Trees.

This is looking down on the loom; with me standing on my loom bench to take the picture. And a closeup:

Cut plastic bags, ready to weave:

I haven't woven since last Tuesday. I've been on the computer a whole lot these past few days, and I don't feel very chatty right now.

more later. . .

Work in Progress

This is my new blog, where I plan to post work in progress and newly finished work.

Here is what's on the loom now:

It will be called "Plastic in the Trees I," and it is inspired by, what else, all the plastic in the trees all over the place.

This is the Los Angeles River, just before it passes under Burbank Boulevard, upstream of the Sepulveda Dam.

I'm about ready to begin "Plastic in the Trees II." Weaving on the loom, by its nature, lends itself to working in series. So there might also be a "PitT III." I'll have to see how much warp I have left on the loom after I finish #II.

More later. . .