Mesa Seasons

Here’s the scoop on the tapestry/rug weaving I mentioned in my February post....
Skylar Farr is a talented weaver who learned the craft from his mother Beryl Warnes. Together they are Julian Weaving Works.
Skylar is embarking on a new phase in his weaving career, namely teaching, and I had the good fortune of being his first student!
Here are photos from those demanding and delightful four-plus days of my workshop with Skylar, including the finished rug.
“Mesa Seasons” measures approximately 44”square, not including the fringe.

Greetings! To continue on the theme of my previous post:
 a delicate table scarf for my friend Molly, in celebration of her birthday:

And another botanical weaving, in which I used a few tapestry techniques, including soumak, which is a kind of knotting, and hatching. The colors in this piece are mostly subtle blues on a ground of brick red, with Cleveland sage branches among other botanicals.  I named it “Chaparral Blues”.  It’s a metaphor for California’s disappearing heritage landscape. It is currently on display at 2Create Gallery in Ramona. 43”x27”. $310.
Update 12/11:  I have re-titled this botanical weaving “Selah”.  The inspiration for this new and more fitting title came from an article my friend Cecile sent. Roughly translated from the Book of Psalms, it means stopping to look, looking beyond the obvious, to recognize the deep connection which exists in all of creation. I believe if we each can do this, we will see the preciousness of our environment, and rather than mourn the loss of natural places, we will act to restore and preserve its integrity and beauty.

More than three months, five blankets, one table scarf, one botanical weaving, and one tapestry/rug weaving since my last post.  Meanwhile, I’ve been pondering the essential need we all have of comfort and beauty in our life.
Weaving gives me time to ponder, about personal connections, about the comfort of family and friends, and the comfort I feel as I weave something of beauty for someone special in my life, something that will also bring comfort to them.
Beauty itself brings comfort, in a woven wall hanging, in a delicate table scarf, in a colorful tapestry.
My wish for you, and for everyone on Earth, is that you know comfort and beauty in your daily life.
Here are glimpses of some of what I’ve recently woven: more to follow in a day or two or three.....
Blankets for friends and family:

Sunday at Julian Academy of Handweaving

Three friends and I spent last Sunday weaving in Santa Ysabel. Beryl Warnes moved her weaving studio and shop and school to Santa Ysabel years ago, when she outgrew her space in Julian.
In addition to conducting three day workshops, Beryl sets up looms by appointment, for would-be weavers to weave for a day, and is on hand to help with selection of materials and design, as well as basic instruction on how to weave.
Her forty-plus years of weaving expertise and love of weaving contribute to a spirited day of creativity, and everyone leaves with the satisfaction of having woven something beautiful, that will be enjoyed for many years.
Here are the three weavers at their looms:  Annie, Peg, and Alex. Silly me...I didn’t think to take photos of their finished pieces!  The fourth photo is of the blanket I started, which I will finish before the month is out.

Tierra Amarilla

October weaving highlight was a five-day workshop on Navajo-style rug weaving in the tiny hamlet of Los Ojos, New Mexico.
The site of the workshop was Tierra Wools, a long-established weaving center in this beautiful region of northern New Mexico known generally as Tierra Amarilla, which means yellow earth.  There is a retail space, a huge room of looms, and the wool dying area.
Our teachers were Nathaniel Chavez and Lara Manzanares, both multi-generational weavers of the region.  The weaving technique is primarily tapestry, which is defined as a hand manipulated design rather than loom manipulated.  It was not so foreign to me, since placing botanicals in my weavings is definitely a manual process.
This experience has whetted my appetite for more new weaving adventures!  Stay tuned.....

Summer’s End, and Possibilities

I love this time of year....the temperature can occasionally soar to 100+degrees, but mostly it’s what I consider welcomely warm in the mornings, pleasantly summerly during the day, soothingly cool in the evenings, deliciously cool at night.
And the colors of the chaparral have shifted from predominant greens with subtle splashes of color to muted greens among the overall rusty browns with creamy accents.  And the scents, especially the laurel leaf sumacs, are so very rich!
I’ve woven two new botanical weavings in the last couple of weeks, inspired by these colors and scents.  One is the second in my “Patterns” series, entitled “Summer’s End”. The other came to me as I found myself reflecting on the myriad of choices we make in our lifetimes, both those of daily life as we move in familiar routines, as well as those that arise at pivotal junctures in our life.  Each choice is like a seed we plant, which may or may not ever sprout, or which may come to fruition as we envisioned (rarely) or as we could scarcely ever imagine possible.  “Possibilities” is about the plants’ seeds, which hold possibilities for Earth’s future.
Hanging in 2Create Gallery montage — Summer’s End: 22”x37” $330

“Possibilities” 22”x26” $230

How I spent my summer vacation

Weaving and traveling!  That’s how!
Santa Fe, Mendocino, France, Canada....and in between weaving, weaving, weaving!
Two more itty-bitty botanical weavings, a table runner for the newlyweds Justin and Kellie, four baby-girl blankets for friends’ grand-daughters, and a large botanical weaving which I just finished this morning and hung at 2Create Gallery in Ramona.  Photos in the following order:
“Flowers, Sprigs, and Twigs”/“Lavender Prayers”/ baby blankets/“Patterns I:Surrender”
Please contact me for details:  kccweaves@gmail.com THANKS!