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Program for Thursday, May 18 : A Revue in Review of Guild Study Groups

Past Programs, Programs

Program for Thursday, May 18 : A Revue in Review of Guild Study Groups

We’d love to give the general Black Sheep membership a clearer idea of what happens in our various study groups, when they meet, and where (house, zoom, variable).
Black Sheep Handweavers Guild 2 May 2023 Newsletter
This month’s program will showcase some of the range of work that our guild members are
doing, give people ideas of areas they might want to explore, and help provide our members with new ways of connecting with other guild members.
This meeting will be via Zoom, 7:00 pm on Thursday, May 18, and the link will be sent out
in the week of the meeting, and will appear on the calendar in the Members Area of the website.

 

Show and Tell April 2023

Show and Tell

Ply Split Rug by Ulla de L.  

 I made another split ply rug while I was in Sweden last month. It is made of the 260
cords I had made the year before, walking back and forth on our veranda. As with my previous ones it is made out of the Maypole Nehalem wool yarns I got from Gisela Evitt many years ago, using 10400 ends of 2 ply wool. It is 24″ X 7’4″ in size.

Creative Endeavors by Betsy C

The Creative Endeavors Group learned sashiko stitching with Jodi P. This beautiful boro was made by Betsy C.

Stand Clear of the Closing Doors by Sarah A

Here is my recent piece Stand Clear of the Closing Doors. It is inspired by the New York City subway. The design was generated by artificial intelligence (image included below) and then I reproduced it with modified Theo Moorman technique using handspun mixed and upcycled fiber inlay weft, cotton warp, and bast ground weft. 

       

The woven piece                                                   The AI Starting Point 

Gail B – More Creative Endeavors

 

Completed Scarf: Four Shaft Deflected Doubleweave variation, 5/2 cotton and Bambu 7

Sashiko/Bpro Mug Rug, cotton, 6″x6″ (April Creative Endeavors Event)

Mushroom-Dyed Wool yarn (March Creative Endeavors Event)                                    

April 20th Black Sheep Meeting – “Weaving Wizards”

Past Programs, Programs

April 20th Black Sheep Meeting –

“Weaving Wizards – Structure – what works for what purpose and why?”

The April 20th Black Sheep meeting will be a Zoom “Weaving Wizards”.      Barbie and Ange will be our wizards, facilitating the meeting. The topic will be “Structure – What Works for What Purpose and Why? ” 

Please send any questions, thoughts, examples to Barbie –  weaverbarbie at  gmail  dot com – by Thursday April 13th.  

But as always, questions and comments are welcome any time at the meeting.  

This time is meant for all to be involved and share issues, problems and successes. 

 

Mary Zicafoose: My work in Ikat

Past Programs, Programs

Please join us on March 16 for a presentation by Mary Zicafoose: My Work in Ikat.

               

Ikat tapestry, 2018

Mary Zicafoose’s tapestries and rugs span the globe from large-scale public installations to the private collections of the United States Embassies on three continents. Her woven pieces blend cultural icons and symbols with a contemporary hand, creating powerful visual statements in fiber. The work and processes are a reflection of the artists’ superb craftsmanship and her ability to speak articulately through the use of color.

Artist Statement
Weaving is my medium, but creating decorative textile art is not my goal. Rather, it is my use of “Ikat,” the complex technique of resist dyeing and over-dyeing fibers, that best defines my intent. The term “Ikat” means to “bind” or “tie” in the Malaysian language. I create contemporary tapestry, pushing the boundary of this ancient art form, to investigate the intricacies of how we, as individuals, are tied to one another. The complexity and uncharted potential of warp and weft – combined with the alchemy of color compositions and archetypal symbols – reference the elaborate and intricate patterns of our lives and my work. Each densely woven and intricately layered textile reflects the infinite and repetitive ways that cultures, rituals and collective memories bind us all together. By evolving and transforming timeless motifs and visual language into a contemporary (con)text, I seek to engage my viewers – as well as myself – in dialogues and discussions that reawaken and tie us all to one another.

2023 Guild Programs

Uncategorized

The Programs Committee is happy to announce our 2021-2022 programs. At this time, all guild meetings will be conducted via Zoom until it is safe to meet in person again. Meetings are on 3rd Thursdays of each month, beginning at 7PM. Zoom links are available in the Member’s Calendar.

  • January 19 – Daryl Lancaster: Doup Leno
  • February 16 – Denise Kovnat: Tactile Art: Collapse Fabrics from 4 to 32 shafts
  • March 16 – Mary Zicafoose: My work in Ikat
  • April – 20 – Weaving Wizards
  • May 18 – A Revue in Review of Guild Study Groups
  • June 15 – Let’s Get Together and Share the Weaving Love (In Person)
  • July 20 – Informal Summer Program – In Person Craft Night
  • August 17 – Informal Summer Program (tbd)

Black Sheep 2023 Towel Exchange!

Towel Exchange

Black Sheep 2023 Towel Exchange!

We are excited to announce the guidelines for our 2023 towel exchange and look forward to seeing all your beautiful contributions at our June Guild Meeting or alternatively at CNCH in August!

Guidelines for the Black Sheep towel exchange 2023:

Participation: Any member of the Black Sheep Guild can participate in the towel exchange

Due dates: we will collect all participating towels before our June 2023 meeting on June 15

Submission: You can bring your towels to the June 2023 meeting (if we are holding the meeting in person) , drop it off in South San Jose or or send it via mail

Distribution: We are planning to showcase and distribute your towels at the 2023 CNCH in San Luis Obispo. If you cannot participate, we would be happy to send your towels home with a friend or colleague. 

Specifications: Towels must be woven from cotton, linen, hemp, or any combination of these fibers. Finished size is to be between 18” and 22″ inches wide, and 25” to 28″ long. 

Please plan ahead to address shrinkage and pull-in. Please finish with a hem, either hand-sewn or machine-sewn.

Closer to the due date, we’ll provide you a form to fill out for each towel asking for information on you and your towels, including loom, draft, yarn info, inspiration, etc.

Hang onto your finished towels until the June 2023 meeting; we’ll collect them at the meeting, or if we’re unable to meet, we’ll tell you where to mail your towels. 

When you turn in your towels, we’ll be asking you to tell us your color preference: warm colors, cool colors, neutrals or potluck.  We’ll do our best to honor your preferences.

You’ll get three towels from three different Black Sheep weavers at the 2023 CNCH meeting in early August. If you are unable to attend CNCH this year,, we’ll arrange another way to get your towels to you.

Want to get back more than 3 towels? Go ahead and turn in more! Please make them in multiples of 3.

You turn in 3 towels, you get 3 towels back. We are only accepting multiples of 3 towels

Questions? Contact 2023 Towel Exchange coordinators: 

Stefanie Selck (sselck [at] gmail [dot] com)

Barbie Paulsen (weaverbarbie [at] gmail [dot] com)

 

Events & Exhibitions

Upcoming events

Hidden Villa Sheep Shearing and Fiber Arts Festival

The 2025 Hidden Villa Sheep Shearing and Fiber Arts Festival takes place on Saturday, April
19th. See more information & Eventbrite here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sheep-shearingfiber-arts-festival-2025-tickets-1225571921609

They are also looking for fiber folks to participate in the event. You can show your work in the Maker Gallery and/or demonstrate a fiber technique (spinning, weaving, etc.). You get free admission to the event!                                                                                                                                — Allie Kraus, Education Committee

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Women’s View 2025!

The San Mateo County’s Office of Arts and Culture and the Commission
on the Status of Women is sponsoring the 19th annual exhibition, in
celebration of Women’s History Month.

The exhibition will be on view from March 5 – March 30, 2025, at Twin
Pines Art Center in Belmont.

Show and Tell February 2023

Show and Tell

Barbara Shapiro – Troubled Waters

My work Troubled Waters 2019, 14 x 14 x 14″, has been chosen for The Color of Water at
the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, February 11 to March 26, 2023.

The Reception is on February 11, 2 to 4 PM. The hexagonally plaited sedori cane globe supports a swirl of soiled papers and cloth with a pool of debris inside the globe as well.

Featured Textiles – Sheep-to-Shawl Benefit

Featured textiles

In response to the mass shooting in Half Moon Bay, involving some of the area’s farmworkers, one of our members – Kitty Thorsen – offered to donate a shawl produced by one of the Guild’s sheep-to-shawl teams, to the farmworkers. After consulting the board, we decided that auctioning off the shawl and donating the proceeds to ALAS, a non-profit working with the local farmworkers, would be a better idea.

So . . . we held an auction on January 28th by email. Member Barbara O’Connor had the high bid and won the shawl. We are still waiting for funds to come in to know what the auction netted. Regardless, Black Sheep members are pleased that we could contribute in a small way toward bettering conditions for the local farmworkers.