Well Used, Well Loved

Eight towels – ready to be well used and loved!

“Well Used, Well Loved”A community art project that explores age and beautyEight hand-woven linen hand towels will go out to eight households (individuals and families).Over the duration of nine months these households will be asked to use these towels as they please and to record periodic reflections and observations in a small journal that will be provided.  Each household will be invited to have a “kitchen table conversation” with me at least once during the time period.At the end of the nine months, I will collect the used towel, exchanging it for a new towel as a thank you for participating in the project.The eight Well Used and Well Loved towels will be the centerpiece for an installation grounded in an exploration of age and beauty.  The journals (and/or text from them) will also be a part of the final installation.Each participating household will be asked to sign a participation agreement:  to agree to use the towel, to communicate during the project’s 9 months, to write in a journal, to return the towel at the end of 9 nine months

• Project blog – http://wellusedwellloved.blogspot.com/

I will be doing an official launch of this project very soon – and an invitation to participate! 

July is jumping!

As I have said many times before, summer in Maine is THE BEST! While much of the country is suffering with excessive heat, we are enjoying a perfectly lovely summer thus far. The temperature is mostly in the 80s, bright sun, occasional rain and tolerable humidity. There is always a breeze and the nights have cooled a bit so sleeping is easy. My goodness, this period of bliss makes up for the harsh and long winters!!

Hanover St. Parking garage 2010

Last Friday I re-installed “Caught between Us” an installation I created for the city of Portsmouth, NH in 2010. This piece is made from recycled shrimp netting, bait bags, lobster trap headers, and gummy fish lures. It is 12′ by 22′ and originally hung on the Hanover St. Parking garage in Portsmouth. For two years this piece was rolled up in my studio, looking for a new home.  About a year ago, I had the idea that it might look good hanging on one of the bait shacks on the town docks in York.

Detail of "Caught Between Us" as it hung on the garage

Net laid out on the dock

After a few conversations with folks in town and a year later, I was able to install the fish net to its new and permanent home on York Town Dock #1. Thanks to the amazing help of Joey Donnelly, Richard Lee and Ben Fowler the net went up smoothly and without a hitch. We had to hang it at low tide, so that the ladders could rest on the rocks and mud. I think it looks pretty amazing in its new home!

Low tide installation!

Pulling it tight ~ teamwork!

Hanging with the pots at Town Dock #1

Winter play and winter creativity

It has been an entirely snow-less winter so far.  I cannot recall a winter that has not only been so snow-less but so warm.  Last night at a non-profit board meeting the Chairwoman opened with the question “How you you feel about this winter? Do you miss snow?” The answers were as diverse as those attending the meeting. My answer was YES… I miss snow days. I miss playing in the snow. I miss the unbelievable quiet that a heavy snow fall makes as it muffles all other noises.

1st Izzy's installation

I have been involved with a new arts organization in Portsmouth called 3S Artspace. Last fall they put out a submission call for a winter long installation in a local ice cream shop that is closed for the winter. This collaborative project has three artists rotating installations once a week for nine weeks, culminating in a group installation for the final two weeks. My first installation was inspired by our road trip to Florida in January. Riding in the car ave me the opportunity to sky gaze for hours on end. I saw so many beautiful hawks soaring along the highways edge, and the sky was so wide and beautiful. Each installation is supposed to build on the previous one. I used the red sticks and blue background from the artist before me, stenciled the cranes and added more sapling branches.

2nd installation at night

My second installation followed the same artist who had built these trees out of bark and created this forest scene with glass balls inside the trees and rubber snakes. I added these balls out of Styrofoam and plastic spoons and forks. I covered the windows with paper snow flakes and red cellophane, plus added more rubber critters. The spoon/fork balls were on motors and slowly rotated. I felt wintery and bizarre to me.

beginning the mandala at Izzy's

My third installation was this past Friday, and I followed a different artist who is much more of a minimalist. All of the previous materials had been removed and the space stripped clean. She painted stylized mountains on the walls and hung painted pieces of bark (from the a fore mentioned trees).

the mandala completed

close up of the mandala, spoons, forks, twigs, oranges, styro-balls

So on Friday, I came in with the idea that I would take down the bark, but not remove it, and create a 6 foot mandala on the wall using any/all materials from previous installations. Here’s the result. I love it! I also wrote a short quote from Rumi along the edge of the mountains and their shadows.This installation will disappear on Friday when the third artist returns and creates her final installation. What an amazing process!This winter I am also bringing to an end”Woven Voices: Messages from the Heart”. Please check out my blog and learn more about the closure of this four year global community art project. I am in the final stages of completing my Masters of Art and Healing, with a non-traditional thesis on this project.

the last prayer flag

All is well, even without the snow.Namaste ~ Sarah

Something old and something new

It is June after all…something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue…..cheers for all the June brides! I was not a June bride, but it is  my birthday this month and blue is my favorite color!The something new is that last Friday I launched a Kickstarter project. If you’ve never heard of Kickstarter…check it out! It is an on line funding site for some really really cool projects.I launched a Grand Finale for Woven Voices. There is a really short video to introduce the project.  I hope you will check it out…and I hope you will make a pledge. Every pledge gets a reward! And every pledge helps to meet the all-or-nothing goal!The something old for this post is I am finally getting around to posting images of a  commission that I completed last year. In July of 2010 I installed at Temple Israel a 4ft by 7ft hand dyed/woven weaving called “Tree of Life”.

"Tree of Life" Temple Israel, Portsmouth, NH

Here’s what I wrote about the piece:  “The Tree of Life is an ancient symbol present in many cultures and spiritual traditions. This version seeks to honor life and to illustrate the continuum of the past, present and the future.”“The lessons and wisdom of the past are represented by the deep roots of the tree. The joy of this present moment is represented by the strong and solid trunk. The hopes of the future are represented by the upwardly extending branches. The leaves represent our individual spirits. The golden vine that weaves up the tree is the Divine love that connects all human beings.”

"Tree of Life" detail

"Tree of Life" detail

Autumn 2010 ~ Colors in my studio

The “Woven Voices: Messages from the Heart” project continues to grow and to captivate the attention of many individuals and communities. To date there have been close to 1,800 messages received and read out loud in Market Square, Portsmouth. Over 400 prayer flag have been woven by over 50 volunteers. These prayer flags hang from Italy to Indonesia, Africa to Oakland, CA and from New York to New Delhi, and more. I continue to learn personal and creative lessons as I extend this project into its third year. Check out the Woven Voices section on this website or the project blog to read the latest news and learn how to participate.

Sunset at Tanah Lot on the south western edge of Bali, June 2010

This past year has been quite busy with travel, new works of art, teaching, residencies, commissions and graduate course work. One highlight was a trip to Bali in June which I have written about in my two blogs, Macomber Looms and Me and Woven Voices.

In the small village of Tenganan Pegringsingan, Kadek supports her family by weaving on this simple loom

While in Bali, I had the opportunity to meet a few weavers. One special visit was to Ni Kadek Trisnawati a traditional ikat weaver in the village of Tenganan Pegringsingan. She is from a long lineage of weavers, and uses the loom that her grandfather built.

"Caught Between Us", Public art installation on the Hanover St. parking Garage

Another highlight of this spring was the installation of my large public art piece “Caught Between Us”.  This piece, inspired by the idea that the water that separates the shores of New Hampshire and Maine is also what unites us, was a part of the city of Portsmouth, NH’s OverNight Art event.  This site-specific work pays homage to the men and women who work on the Piscataqua River, the marine life that inhabits these waters, and the Memorial Bridge, which connects the communities of the Seacoast.

Detail of "Caught Between Us"

Built from fish and shrimp nets, this piece references the web of life and the net-like construction of the bridge. The title, “Caught Between Us,” evokes the uncertain future of the Memorial Bridge as well as the fragility of our marine environment. 

"Tree of Life" Temple Israel Portsmouth NH

Also this summer I completed and installed a large woven commission for the Temple Israel of Portsmouth.  This piece titled “Tree of Life”  was commissioned to celebrate the life of Kathy Krasker Ramras. This piece, hand dyed hand woven linen and four feet by seven feet was installed and dedicated on July 16th.

detail of "Tree of Life"

I have not yet had the opportunity to get this piece professional photographed…so please forgive my amateur attempt to capture this magnificent piece.And finally I am having a one person show this fall at Maine Fiberarts. “Thread by Thread” is up until November 30th. I am delighted to have this opportunity to gather art works from the past 20 years and exhibit them in one show.  Come to the reception and artist talk on November 6th.