Website Overhaul

Summer studio Goddess Quan Yin

Summertime in the the studio  -  I am weaving the last two panels for “Well Used, Well Loved.” When these 40″ by 72″ panels are woven I will embroider on the surface using Shifu thread as well as embroidery floss. Balanced with this indoor studio time, I am spinning more paper and drawing while sailing or traveling. I continue to post on Instagram (sdhaskell) and my Facebook page (Sarah D. Haskell).

Weaving yardage for WUWL embroidery

Last Spring I stepped away from teaching to focus entirely on my studio work and community art projects. This shift in focus has offered me the opportunity to compete several new pieces and to bring some closure to “Well Used, Well Loved.“  I continue to guide a few Mandala Community Waving project for local venues. No surprise to my art colleagues — my website is the last frontier to get any attention and an update.

Portsmouth Pride Mandala

This blog posting is just to say — hang on — it’s coming. Please watch for an updated gallery with many new images. Plus a redesigned website to reflect my redirected attention.

I’m glad I wore a T shirt today.

Each One: The Button Project – detail

Sitting in the brilliant sun, lap top in my lap (how ironic) in the waiting area of a windshield replacement shop – I am feeling grateful for small measures. I am glad that I wore a t-shirt today – it’s hot here. Life offers multiple opportunities for gratitude – and I’ll certainly step into this simple gesture right now.There are a many of other things I am grateful for as well – and that’s where this blog post will go.1. “Each One: The Button Project: a 9/11 Memorial” has been invited for exhibit at the September 11th Memorial and Museum in New York City! The curator Jan Ramirez reached out to me this winter – and the piece will travel to NYC for exhibit from March until September. I’ll post more information when the details are settled. Thanks to the City of Portsmouth NH (who owns the piece) for graciously loaning the work to the 9/11 Museum.2. “Well Used, Well Loved” my current and on-going community art project is in a winter phase – meaning I am germinating ideas and closure – even though there appears to be not much happening on the surface. Check out the blog link to learn more about this long term community art project that focuses on age, beauty, attachment and impermanence.

Detail of new art with Shifu embroidery

3. Pecha Kucha is a local presentation of 10 area creatives who each get 20 slides for 20 seconds each image. I will be a presenter this week – February 23rd. 7:30 at 3S ArtSpace My topic is “Across the Divide: community art in turbulent times”. It’s free, it’s local and it’s creative. Hope to see you there!4. New art – Last month I was an artist in residence at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson VT. For an entire month I had the space, time and opportunity to focus on my work. In preparation,  I spent time last fall weaving works that I hoped to complete with embroidery and other details during my time at VSC. I was able to complete two large works as well as 5 smaller pieces.  I hope to have these news works up in my gallery soon.

Shifu paper prior to cutting and spinning

5. The process of making thread from paper – Shifu - continues to fascinate and motivate my work. The act of writing or drawing on kozo paper – then carefully cutting it into strips and spinning it into thread has held magic for me for over a decade. Most of my current works employ this thread – so each piece has some hidden text or image embedded into the cloth. This technique is also an easy way for me to include the thoughts, images and words of others into my work. And this work is portable – when I travel for the next month I will be taking my drop spindle and papers to spin.

Drop spindle and papers for spinning

Patience and perseverence

Hand dyed rayon threads for my new series.

As a weaver for over 40 years, I am well acquainted with patience and perseverance. To create my artwork requires massive amounts of both of these attributes.I believe that by following this pattern of consistent and steady work I not only create strong and weighty work, but my personal character and my artistic vision are strengthened. The rewards for this path are never immediate – but they do show up (think of the turtle in the Tortoise and the Hare fable).

Journals and towels from WUWL

“Well Used , Well Loved” (WUWL) my on-going community art project is one such pathway of persistence and patience. Currently this project is in a nesting phase.  This resting is perfectly aligned with the seasons. We are about 3 weeks away from the Winter Solstice and the word Solstice comes from the Latin for “sun” and “to stand still”.  My latest WUWL blog post explores this period of creativity – this time of pausing, a fertile suspension of time and effort.Winter has always been a deeply reflective and creative period in my life. This winter will be no exception. I’ve been working on a new series currently titled “Sinking Houses” -  expanding on images that I sketched out last fall during the first waves of the European/Syrian refugee crisis. I am weaving several pieces that I will bring with me when I go to VT in January. I have had the good fortune of being a recipient of a fellowship to the VT Studio Center for one month! I will have a whole month to embroider and embellish these pieces.

Sinking House #1 in progress

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.