Looking back at sticks and stones

Driftwood loom

Driftwood Loom detail

I recently was going through an old journal from my first-ever artist residency (1996) on White Island. To be able to look back is so important – it gives me perspective and assures me that  - yes, I have been on a very focused path for decades. It is curious to me that over 20 years ago I was pushing my belief that art can be made from anything.Here is a peak at my journal and photos from those 8 days alone on a rock with an automated lighthouse (yes…. the fog horn does blow every 30 seconds ….night, day, fog, sun).

Journal from White Island

Line of bricks

 As I continue to make art using not only natural objects – but simple tools, and minimal materials – I am affirming my belief that art is simply personal, creative expression.

So Blue

The real blue with a happy dog.

If you follow my work  - you will know of my fascination with the color blue.  As a swimmer and a sailor, the ocean blues appear regularly in my work.I love to hand dye my blues – either with cold water synthetic dyes or with traditional indigo dye pot.  It all comes down to the subtle variations I can achieve by hand dying my threads, and then weaving them in a fluid progression.

The 56″ 8 H work horse!

Shuttles at the ready.

This month I have been busy with the weaving of a series of large panels of  these gradated blue linens. There is almost an unspeakable beauty about this progression of blues, from deep to pale.These panels are about 4′ by 6′  - and will ultimately hang side by side to giving the viewer the feeling of a wide oceanic horizon.

Progression of bobbins.

Washed and dried

New Old

Check out the new images of recently completed works in the Weathered and Rusted section of my Gallery.

Enduring – detail

Looking for Answers – detail

I continue to make “Small Parts.”  Enjoy a couple here – and more on Instagram.Small parts = we are all small parts of a bigger universe. These little weavings a wee bitty mediations on that concept.This week I will head out to sunny California (we’ve had rain here in Maine for the whole month of April!). The show “Excellence in Fibers IV” opens on May 11th at the Craft in America Gallery. I’ll be delivering my piece “Well Used, Well Loved.” Super excited!!

“Soul Boat” – Small Parts weaving with seed pod and indigo linen

Small Parts

Evidence

The Evidence

EVIDENCE is “the available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid.” 

No surprise, this word is currently part of our political climate.

Just back from a month long sojourn in warmer climes, I laid out and examined the “Small Parts”   that I created while away – examining the evidence of my own life.

Leaf with Blue Hole

These little works of art- the woven shells, embroidered leaves and netted horseshoe crab shells – are physical objects that are evidence of a period of contemplation and curiosity.

But these concrete things are really a gateway to the unseen, the invisible.

Here I am reminded of what the Little Prince says

Rusted Chip

“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

It is easy to get caught up in the evidence, the concrete and physical. Perhaps the truth lies in the invisible, not necessarily in the evidence.

Small Parts

Shell Weavings

This winter, I am away for a month, renting a small bungalow in the Florida Keys. On this trip I decided to test the idea that limiting one’s tools, materials and palette has a way of forcing new paths of creativity.I intentionally limited my “art bag” to a few materials and supplies. I brought drawing supplies, water colors, and a sketch book. I brought some embroidery threads and a bunch of bobbins with indigo dyed linens, needles and scissors. Thats it.I have always believed that to make art, I do not need to have elaborate equipment or materials. My teaching mantra has been “any solid object can be a loom.”Years ago, during a solo residency on a White Island (off the coast of NH), I tested this theory and built looms out of driftwood, found ropes and other flotsam.So are I am again, testing this idea, opening doors to new ways of making art.

Horseshoe crab #1

These little weavings and embroideries are a small part of a larger story:  my curiosity about the invisible mysteries of life, the infinite wisdom of the natural world and the beautiful potential of each moment.This collection of works is titled “Small Parts” in reference to the idea that we are all small parts of a larger Universe.   

Pondering 50 years

A long time ago.

I was recently asked to write a blog post for Brittany Whittam McLaughlin’s forum, “The Common Thread.”  It was a real treat to have the opportunity to think back and look forward while standing in the spot that marks my 50th year as a weaver.This month also marks the end of two exhibits: my solo show at Maine FiberArts (until 1/12/19) and the Cahoon Museum (ended 12/22/18). However the Center for Maine Contemporary Art Biennial is still up until March 3.I hope you get a chance to read this short piece I just wrote. I think it sums it all up.Thanks.Sarah