Martha Stanley, rugweaver extraordinaire, will talk about “passion in weaving.” One of her favorite sayings is that she weaves because she has to. It’s not a choice for her. Do whatever, you can’t NOT do is her favorite saying. I expect it will be very inspirational.
How braids are made is never a mystery to those who make them, but to many of us they are mysterious and I for one would love to know the answers. Braids to me are the most fascinating of all textile structures and they been an absorbing interest for the past 40 years. It is this never ending journey I wish share with you as we look at braids from Europe, Asia, Japan and South America.
For an interview of Rodrick with Weavezine: http://weavezine.com/audio/48-rodrick-owen
Our November program is going to be dedicated to fun, hands-on activities. In one corner we will have card weaving with Ruth Temple, in another, spinning with Barbie Paulsen. In the third corner, saori weaving with Cookie Shuman and in the fourth, surface designing with Ulla de Larios. Donna Jeffrey will be doing bobbin lace, Gudrun Polak will be doing braiding, and Dorthy Tursby will be doing back strap weaving. There will be something for everyone.
If you haven’t tried any of these fiber related techniques, it will be a fun, informative, and maybe even challenging night. Try out one or two activities, or maybe all seven!
Come prepared to learn something new, get your fingers working, and have fun with your fellow guild members.
Our December program will be our annual potluck get together. It’s a wonderful way to connect with fellow weavers, purchase hand crafted scarves and jewelry made by guild members.
Always fun and often funny is the gift exchange with the swapping poem. So bring your wrapped white elephant gift to be part of this Black Sheep tradition.
Lucy Arai’s sashiko pieces are a wonder to the eye. Learning the technique from her uncle, her innovative approaches combine her Japanese heritage and western art backgrounds.
Her mixed media compositions combine the Sashiko embroidery technique with paper and cotton indigo to create one of a kind works of art.
Don’t miss this evening with Lucy to hear about her process and see these amazing pieces up close and personal.
This video clip from KQED highlights Lucy’s techniques.
http://www.kqed.org/arts/programs/spark/profile.jsp?essid=17665
Blacksheep Weavers’ Guild will be meeting on Stanford campus on Thursday, July 19th, to see several works of art. For those who would like to meet for supper, we will meet at 6 pm at Coupa Cafe by the Green Library:
You can see the menu and even order ahead of time here:
http://www.coupacafe.com/locations/stanford-green-library/
At 7 pm we will meet at the Green Library, 557 Escondido Mall, at the entrance by the Red Fountain, just off of Galvez, to see a tapestry called “Wordscapes” at the Green Library woven by famed Swedish weaver, Helena Hernmarck. PLEASE BRING A PHOTO ID!
After we visit the Green Library, we will go to the new Knight Business School to look at two outdoor exhibits by artist Peter Wegner, which have been put up recently at the (grand) new School of Business, by a man named Peter Wegner, one of which could also be called a wordscape.
We welcome acclaimed silk weaver Polly Barton to our April 19th guild meeting. Her website is http://www.pollybarton.com/
Her talk will be about the evolution of her work, the artists who have inspired her, and techniques she uses in her work.
Her work is in the Sourcing the Museum show which opens this coming March 23rd at the Textile Museum.
She is also featured on the virtual tour of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. at the Textile Museum in Washington, DC. http://www.textilemuseum.
We welcome renowned fiber artist Mary Zicafoose to our May 17th meeting.
For over two decades, international textile artist Mary Zicafoose has been creating tapestries and rugs that are as rich in color as they are in symbolic content. Her work is included in private and public collections that span the globe, including U.S. Embassies on three continents. The artist’ practice and processes reflect superb craftsmanship as well as her ability to articulate a brilliant contemporary vernacular based on color. Her woven pieces blend cultural icons, images and symbols with an unabashed hand, creating powerful visual statements in fiber. Zicafoose maintains a one-woman fiber studio in Omaha, NE where she lives with her family.
Our June meeting, Thursday, June 20th will be the annual raffle and sale. Now is the time to start looking in your stashes for wonderful items that someone else is coveting. This year we also welcome hand-woven, knitted and spun items.
Katazome, Then and Now with Karen Illman Miller
A thorough discussion of the traditional art of Japanese stencil dyeing, with slides and examples of antique fabrics and of my own work, illustrating where it has taken a contemporary surface designer and fiber artist.
Karen Miller was born in Oakland, CA in 1946. She was a marine biologist before becoming an expert on katazome, the art of Japanese stencil dyeing. Using her own hand cut stencils to apply a resist paste she produces fabric for art quilts, as well as silk garments, linen hangings and indigo dyed cottons.Her work has been exhibited twice in Japan. She has shown her work in numerous juried and group shows. Her work was accepted to Visions 2002, In 2009 she had Oregon solo shows at the Newport Visual Arts Center, Benton County Historical Society and the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center in Portland. She shows regularly at the Japanese Garden in Portland and Kobo in Seattle. Her work is in numerous private collections and hangs in the Washington D.C. office of Jane Lubchenco, the head of NOAA.
She has taught katazome nationally and internationally and published several articles on katazome. She was invited lecturer at the Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe New Mexico. She was featured on Oregon Public Broadcasting TV Oregon Art Beat in October 2007.
Karen’s website is: http://www.nautilus-