Elaine Duncan

Last Monday, June 22 was registration for the Maiwa Handprints Symposium of workshops and lectures.  I have tried for 3 years now to get into the Natural Dyeing Workshop with Charllotte Kwon.  Registration opened on the website and by phone and in person at 10 am.  I was driving my friend to an eye appointment in Victoria…so pulled over and my better half took over the driving.  I went into the backseat and kept redialing the number.  It was always busy.  We arrived at our destination in Victoria early for the appointment with the plan to get some lunch.  So I turned the phone off, we parked the car, and walked to a restaurant.  After our order was taken, I started dialing again.  After about 5 min, I actually got through to a wonderful lady who asked if she could help me.  I said I would like to register for the Natural Dye Workshop….I couldn’t believe my ears when she said there was one place left and it was mine!!!  I am very excited to participate in this class.  It will be for four days in September at Maiwa East.  I love natural dyes, teach classes, and dye lots of my handspun yarns.  Now to expand my knowledge with an expert like Charllotte is wonderful.  I will keep you posted on my dyeing adventures in September.

The students in the weaving with cotton class finished their samplers and we had a show and tell at Sheila Holmes’ on 15 of June.  There were five people in the class.  Each person threaded their 4 harness loom with either 8/2 cotton or cottolin.  The samplers were approximately 8″ wide depending on the sett.  Four different twill weave structures were threaded:  straight twill, reverse twill, rosepath and herringbone twill.   There were 62 different treadlings to weave from.  Most everyone wove all the treadlings.  Students chose their own colours and setts.  It was interesting to see all the different results.  The warps were approximately 4 1/4 yds long to accommodate all the treadlings.  Shown in the photo were 4 of the weavers with their samplers.

Students with their samplers

Once again this wonderful publication by Susan Schaefer has come through for tapestry.  In their latest issue Summer 2009 on page 17 they have written about Christine Rivers and myself being selected for the ATA Connections:  Small Format International exhibition.  Contact information for this magazine is:  www.islandartsmag.ca .

I have just completed weaving and mounting my entry for the exhibition “Weaving Within” small format tapestries woven by the members of the British Tapestry Group.  The title was chosen to reflect the size of the tapestries (max. 11″ by 17″) as well as the fact that it is only open to members of the BTG.  The exhibition will be shown at Stirling Castle and the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum from 12th September to 8th November 2009.  Four speakers:  Joan Baxter, Sara Brennan, Dina Ward, and Rudi Richardson are part of the Conference Day agenda scheduled for Sept 9.  On Sunday, Sept 10, there are workshops scheduled.   After the exhibition the BTG is hoping to have the tapestries as part of an on-line exhibition.  I have never exhibited overseas and I find the process exhilarating as well as nerve-wracking.  CD of images, entry forms to be mailed.  Then the actual shipping of the tapestry in mid-summer.  Due to the small format size this should not be too difficult to do.  The piece I am sending is part of a new series I have started:  Nature Designed.  I will be posting photos and artist statement in the Gallery section very soon.

L-R Nancy Trissel, Elaine Duncan, Sonja Miremont, Jean Pierre Larochette, Yael Lurie and Christine Rivers

On May 10, 2009 I attended the opening of Connections:  Small Format International in San Jose, CA at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles.  Christine Rivers and I flew down and stayed with our good friends and teachers, Yael Lurie and Jean Pierre Larochette in Berkeley.  This  is the first juried biennial small format exhibition sponsored by the American Tapestry Alliance where 48 pieces were selected from over 189 submitted by 98 tapestry artists from Canada, United States and seven other countries.  Jane Sauer from Santa Fe, New Mexico was the juror.  A catalog is available from the ATA website:  www.americantapestryalliance.org .  Twelve of the tapestry artists were able to attend the opening.  Mary Lane, representing ATA, welcomed the guests and introduced the artists.  Five artists gave short talks about their work.  It was a wonderful afternoon of renewing old acquaintances and making new ones.  The catalog is a great record of these extraordinary tapestries, but seeing the pieces in person is much better.

Last Friday, March 20, 2009 a group of us went over to Abbotsford  to the Ag Rec building for a show called “Fibres West”.  There were about 30 vendors from Capilano University Textile Program to yarns, fibres, books to the Lace Group of Vancouver.  All very enjoyable and because it was not very crowded you could get a good look at what was offered for sale.  The main reason our group went  was to hear a lecture by Ruth Jones of Vancouver.  Her presentation was roughly based on colour and how she works with it in her tapestries but it was more about how she weaves, what motivates her, what works for her.  She told us of her background and how she became interested in French tapestry, her training in Aubusson and her current studio situation.  Through slides and narrative the audience got to know an artist who shared her passion for French Tapestry.  She explained that she weaves from the back of the tapestry facing her and this allows her to let the tapestry tell her what is needed, she finds it is freeing rather than restrictive.  She feels she is attempting to capture the natural world with natural fibres and dyes.  She is trying to limit her colour palette using between 7 and 10 colours.  She compared this to the equivalent of the musical chord which can interpret her art.  Ruth recommended two books:  “The Craftsman” by Richard Sennett (why do you love fibre? what kind of a gift to the world can you give? how important for this world’s future is your gift?) and “Slow Food” by Carlo Fortini which shows us that by slowing down as something as simple as the cooking of our food we can weaken the hold the industrial revolution has on our civilization.  Ruth feels that her weaving designs illustrate the relationship with a spiritual force that needs to come out and that she is the servant in this relaitonship.  It was truly a wonderful experience to hear the words of this tapestry weaver and artist and feel inspired, taking away food for thought.  To see Ruth’s tapestries visit her website:  www.ruthjones.ca  .

  Tapestry Exhibition Gabriola Island

At our tapestry study group meeting last week, we discussed our up and coming show at ARTWORKS on Gabriola Island.  It will feature the Doors, Gates and Windows tapestry exchange between Las Aranas group from New Mexico and our own TAPis group locally.  Also space permitting we will be showing tapestries from individual tapestry weavers from our area.  The show opens on Thursday, April 2 at 7 pm with many of the tapestry weavers present.  It will run until Wednesday, April 15th.  This will be the last showing of the complete exchange as the New Mexico pieces will be returned after this event.  ARTWORKS is located at #9-575 North Road, Gabriola Island, BC.

Hope to see you there!