I think I had forgotten how big the sky can be in the northeast, and how lacy the deciduous trees are when the leaves have dropped. I love the edge, the texture....and the pink, of course.

Before getting back to my loom, I decided to change things up and do some block printing on yardage to make a couple of bedcovers for some lonely looking twin beds. Got my new print table set up in our RI basement and it's going really well. I'll post a couple of pictures when it's all put together and quilted. Couldn't bear the thought of all that hand stitching, so they will be machine quilted.

In the meantime, check out this link for inspiration.

Last month while in Rhode Island I took half a day off from home renovations to visit the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, Massachusetts. I couldn't miss the show "Loom and Lathe" featuring weaving by Kay Sekimachi and wood turning by her husband, Bob Stocksdale, which is on until September 11. Several years ago I was really fortunate to take a workshop in double weave with Kay on Whidbey Island. We all helped her celebrate her 70th birthday and had a chance to meet Bob Stocksdale and see and touch a few of his beautiful turned pieces.

There's another show running at the museum that I was glad to stumble on called "All things Considered IV", the National Basketry Organization's biennial juried exhibition. It will be on until December 11 and is well worth a visit -- lots of incredible three dimensional woven pieces.

Here are some pictures from "Loom and Lathe".

Why has this incredible textile artist never crossed my radar until now? I've rented the DVDs for the first two seasons of PBS' "Craft In America" and saw Jim Bassler's work for the first time. Here's an image of one piece of his that I love. I'm really enjoying watching this series. Apparently there will be a third season coming up this fall.

I haven't been getting much weaving done, but have had lots of fun doing surface design. Last week I went on a short retreat to Salt Spring Island with a group of other weavers from the Silk Weaving Studio to celebrate its 25th anniversary. We spent a full day at the lovely studio of Shannon Wardroper doing multiple layers of surface design on silk scarves. We printed using silk screens and thermofax with black setacolor, then painted on acid dyes, followed by wax resist, and added several more layers of wax and dye. We worked loosely and playfully, interested more in the process than the finished product. Here are some photos from the workshop.

And today two friends and I played with deconstructed screen printing in my Vancouver studio. This is a process that I love for its unpredictability and the organic and textural forms that result.

My friend and studio mate in Vancouver, Michelle Sirois-Silver is having a show of her newest work. It should be a fantastic show, so get there if you can!

Life has been hectic the last few months with our move, and little weaving or anything textile related has gotten done. For now, I'm back in Vancouver for the summer and slowly making my way back to my loom.

One of the benefits of being in Rhode Island is its proximity to New York. I managed to sneak away from the demanding and somewhat stressful world of home improvements to see two fantastic shows in NYC: Sonia Delaunay's show at the Coopper-Hewitt Museum and the Alexander McQueen retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum. My daughter and I had to wait in a very long line for the latter show, but it was so worth it. It was an incredibly powerful show and we were both reduced to tears watching a video -- performance art, really -- of "Widows of Culloden", a hologram of Kate Moss dancing  in one of his ethereal white dresses. The piece is an "allusion of spirit" and references McQueen's Scottish heritage and an infamous 19th century battle between the Scotts and Brits. (note: the metropolitan show used a different piece of music than used in my link, for obvious reasons)

I've been neglecting my blog -- too much going on with our move to downtown Vancouver and Rhode Island. Lots happening, but the highlights are....
Some New Work
I am now sharing a studio space in East Vancouver on 1st and Clark Drive with Michelle Sirois-Silver and have been slowly getting settled in but finding my creative juices just aren't there right now. I have managed to produce several small scarves in double weave for the 25th anniversary show for the Silk Weaving Studio in June. Here's what a couple of them look like.

If you are into textiles/fiber and aren't already familiar with Sheila Hicks' work, you must go find one of her books, google her... or best of all, go see her 50 year retrospective now touring museums in the States. I was lucky to be in Boston in February just before the show wrapped up at the Addison Museum in Andover, MA and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. She may be best known for her large installations, but my favorites were the small, playful studies she makes with a simple portable loom fashioned out of stretcher bars and nails. Here's one of her larger pieces.

Moving Day
So, the movers come tomorrow and our new adventure begins. A new start and hopefully some new inspiration and new work to follow.