• We had 11 folks on the call, including one guest, Betty Hilton-Nash, from Asheville, NC
  • Betty is starting up a new Tapestry Study Group at Local Cloth in Asheville.
  • Local Cloth “is dedicated to growing and supporting the fiber economy in Western North Carolina through education, inclusive programming, and services which add value to local products. We advocate for our regional community of farmers, artists, makers and designers.” They have a shop at their facility too, so if you’re in the Asheville area, be sure to stop by.
• Mary Jane shared pictures of her yarns and samplings for the O’Keeffe challenge, and talked about them
• For the topic: Do you have any routines you use to make you feel productive, or to even want to weave?
  • Mary Jane shared a quote from the book Listen To Him by J.D.Walt: “Discipleship always leads from inspiration to intention and from attention to action.”     We feel that the word Creativity could replace Discipleship, and voila, you could be talking about what we do for our tapestry process.
  • Mary Jane like to journal about her “themes” to help keep her seeing beyond to next steps and staying on track.    But some folks don’t do journaling.  Rebecca likes to keep track of where she is and where she is going via the computer.  Mary Alice likes the mind mapping app Simple Mind on her tablet,  so she can easily get ideas our of her head which never seem to flow in a linear progression.  With the mind mapping,  all thoughts and ideas can be easily captured and related to others when the thoughts arrive randomly.  Rebecca also is a fan of mind mapping, using the Mind Manager software on her computer.  Basically, it seems we were saying that we were wanting to a) to get our thoughts and ideas out of our head and onto some capture media, be it paper or digital, and b) have those notes easily retrievable, to be able to further build upon them, rather than having to re-think them over and over.
• Jean was not liking what she was getting with the silk roving she showed in the photo from last week, so several suggestions were offered:  do not cut the fiber, draft apart to separate out specific colors, having your hands far apart to pull the roving apart; hand cards are not a silk fiber friendly tool;  strip off small sections from the side of the roving and work with then rather than the entire bundle; try simply winding the fiber around a dowel, and then pulling it off from the end to bring in twist, repeating as necessary to add more twist instead of using a spinning wheel; add in something else to the weft bundle with the silk; try core spinning the silk around a previously spun yarn;
• There was discussion regarding the technical aspects of getting our upcoming March 23^rd meeting able to be a combination in-person and Zoom.  Rebecca will bring an external microphone to help those on zoom to better hear those in the room.  Rather than using the speaker/audience setup as is done with the regular guild meetings,  those in-person will just gather around a table or two, hopefully in such a way that they will be able to be seen by the camera and that a screen of zoom participants will be seen by all.  It was suggested that those who are joining via zoom come to the meeting with more of an observer perspective rather than as an active participant.  We’re just going to have to see how this all works out, and learn from our experience.
• Our next zoom meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 9^th at 10am EST
  • We will be joined by Beverly Walker, who had several pieces in the recent TWS exhibit.  For one of those pieces, she included a technique she called “snakeskin”  which no one at the Feb 9^th meeting was familiar with, so she will be giving us a little demo.

• We had 10 of us joining on the Zoom call for our meeting.
• The guild’s Tapestry Newcomers class is off and running, thanks to Terri, Jean and Terri’s husband, Ken.  Also a thanks to Sue for the donation of the FRID yarn for the students to use during the class.  The class is starting out weaving with a needle and using a table fork as their beater.
• FRID is a 6/2 wool yarn from Norway,  distributed in the states by Sidsel Moreb of Norsk Fjord Fiber
• Many weavers start out with a kitchen fork and continue using one. This got us into a bit of a discussion and show n’ tell of various beaters we are using, as well as some discussions on the use of bobbins and various alternatives to the needle for passing our weft yarns in our tapestries.
• Are there any books recommendations for the guild to add to their lending library?   Kathe Todd-Hooker’s books were recommended for their good example illustrations, and Nancy Harvey’s DVDs on weaving Tapestry.   Fortunately these already DO exist in the library.   It is nice to be able to look and learn from different sources, and we all do tend to learn differently, and one may resonate more with you than another.  I just did a search of our library for “tapestry” and came up with 39 hits so there is much already available for us to explore. (Now that I’ve said that,  I’m probably going to have to wait in line to get them checked out! )
• We had a recommendation for a future meeting discussion topic from Izumi: Do you have any routines you use to make you feel production, or to even want to weave?   So start thinking about this.
• For our O’Keeffe inspired postcards sized tapestry challenge,  Jean couldn’t be with us, but had sent a lovely photo of the various weft options she has started playing with to see what works, or not, for her cloud inspired piece.  
• Three of us on today’s call had attended the Zoom presentation by Nearly Wild Weaving (UK) with the subject of Hatching and Hachure.  Mary Alice said she had learned about and done some hatching exercises, but never Hachure, and was contemplating how to use it effectively.  Studying how it is used successfully in finished tapestries was the recommended approach.  This includes pieces by Jean Pierre Larochette,  Elizabeth Buckley’s pieces and her blog.  Perhaps the addition of Larochette’s book, Anatomy of a Tapestry , would be a nice addition to the library?  Izumi indicated that Rebecca Mezoff’s online course on gradation does include using the Hachure technique.
• Mary Alice had visited the Tapestry Weavers South (TWS) exhibit, Follow the Thread, in Asheville NC earlier in the week,  so the remainder of the meeting consisted of viewing the photo’s she shared.  Discussion continued regarding the textures achieved,  the various methods and techniques used (including Hachure 😊) as well as the variety of materials.  Folks that would probably not have the opportunity to see the exhibit in person seemed to enjoy the photos.
• Our NEXT meeting is scheduled for February 23, 2022 at 10 am, EST via ZOOM
• Our next in-person meeting is scheduled for March 23, 2023 in Room 1 at the Dunwoody Cultural Arts Center.  Rebecca volunteered to look into the technology for us to do a Zoom session at the live meeting for those unable to attend live.

• We had 9 of us sign-in on zoom for this second meeting of the new year.
• Sue was not able to share image of her Maximo Laura purchase due to it size and not yet being hung. (looking forward to seeing it at some point in the future).  She did indicate that the colors used were very vivid and bold, and the weaving very dense with texture.  The yarns are very fine and she speculates that there may be 8 or more strands in the bundles.  His techniques are certainly not the rather flat surfaces most of us are accustomed to seeing.

• This got us into a discussion about how we are accustomed to seeing very bright colorful woven attire we seem to think as typical for the Central and South America handwoven clothing.  Much of it is due to the influence of commercially dyed yarns.  Jean owns several pieces woven by Nilda Callanaupa Alvarez (author of the book, Weaving in the Peruvian Highlands) and says Nilda has promoted the return to natural dyes in the cooperatives under the umbrella Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco. Nilda grew up in Chinchero and that’s the specific co-op Jean visited and met her there.

• Jean showed some sampling she was doing on the loom Terri & Ken built (the loom they will be using for the upcoming CHG beginning Tapestry Weaving class).  Another creative adaption of the loom is the use of a couple hardware spring clamps on the back side of the upper bar.  This allows the loom to be in the weaver’s lap with the top of the loom resting easily on a table top, without any abrasion to the loom or the table.   One of the yarns she was weaving with was a handspun, and so irregular in diameter.   This gave some interesting variation in the color blending with surrounding yarns, as well as some variation in texture.
• Pat says she typically single threads her projects,  sticking with one until it is done, and currently that her focus is on a 4-shaft scarf project, but she was taking advantage of this zoom call to multi task and spend a bit of time weaving on a tapestry project.
• Jodie has started work on a sampler from ideas/techniques from Tommye Scanlin’s book that we are focusing on this year.  Rather than doing multiple samplers,  she is going to try and combine the various things she learns into a single sampler.  She is thinking she will create a carton of sorts, probably with geometric shapes, and then use the different shapes to illustrate the techniques as she learns them.  She’s warped up at 12 epi with 12/6 cotton seine twine, and wants to play with yarns she already owns.
• Speaking of using yarns you already own, Sue has been working on creating a collection of postcard sized pieces, one each for the letters in the alphabet (Sue also contributed to the  Follow the Thread by Tapestry Weavers South exhibit discussed in the Jan 12^thmeeting recap).  Seems that weaving with some gold metallic yarn Sue was trying to use for some gold coins on one of the pieces was providing a bit of a challenge.
• We then got into a discussion of viable yarns to use for weft on tapestry, especially for newer tapestry weavers. Lots of input on that topic.  
• Cotton vs wool?  Cotton will typically provide a crisper image, with wool a “softer” image. 
• Caution away from using a stretchy yarn as it becomes too easy for an insufficient length of weft to be places in the shed, even with bubbling, and that causes problems with drawing in of the selvedges.  
• Look at the gap between warp ends on the loom.  The size of the yarn used, either a single yarn length or of numerous yarn lengths within a weft bundle, should just fit within that gap. 
• Changing the size of the warp yarn and/or changing the sett of the warp will affect the size of that gap.
• Archie Brennen’s guidance for sett for a given warp yarn is to determine the number of wraps of that warp yarn within 1 centimeter should then be used as the warp sett in terms if inches.   i.e.   a warp yarn that wraps at 8 epc (ends per centimeter) would be viable for a sett of 8 epi (ends per inch)
• Using a finer yarn that allows for multiple strands to be used within a weft bundle allows you to produce new “colors” by combining several different yarn colors within the weft bundle
• Appleton Crewel yarn is a nice fine yarn and is available in many colors
• Harrisville Highland is also a commonly used tapestry yarn
• Gist Array yarn seems to be the new kid on the block receiving high regards, but as discussed at the prior meeting, is expensive
• An inexpensive cotton yarn, from someplace like JoAnne’s, can work nicely at an 8epi set.  It is not a stretchy yarn, but had enough loft to pack in nicely
• If/when you do find a yarn you like but it needs to be ordered,  the purchase of a color card is a good investment
• Jodie had received a suggestion of using sock yarns, as they are similar in diameter to yarns such as GIST Array yarn but no one at the gathering had any experience using these yarns.
• Anything goes! Embroidery floss,  any floor loom weaving yarns, blending different types of yarn in your weft bundles like thick and thin,  cotton or silk or metallic with wools, and the list goes on.  Be brave and just try what is already in your stash.
• Speaking of warp setts, I am attaching PDFs for a couple of different SETTs that can be printed on acetate/transparencies, and then as you are designing, you can use the in conjunction with your proposed cartoon get an idea if your design is going to be too detailed for your sett.   Jodie provided these for us in a meeting last year.  (if you want to create an grid overlay for a different set,  here’s a link to a website that will allow you to create graph paper, in other grid sizes, among other things).
• Rebecca showed us a PowerPoint presentation that she is building to document her journey with our Georgie O’Keeffe weaving Challenge this year.  She is also keeping a word document to further provide details for her.   She included the knowns, such as the desired size, and several O’Keeffe floral images that spoke to her, and also several of her own photographs.  She is wanting to use the O’Keeffe images as inspiration only, rather than attempting to duplicate.  She is hoping to use one of her own images as the subject matter.   Rebecca also included a list of various techniques that she would like to consider for potential inclusion in this piece.   She showed us how she is taking the ideas out of her head, and capturing them, lest they get forgotten.
• Rebecca offered that she assist with any presentations or with building PowerPoints for any slide shows we may find the need for in the future, utilizing her DropBox account that would be password protected, and not open to the public.   We should keep her in mind as we individually work thru our experiments from Tommye’s book, or with the progression of our O’Keeffe challenge.   As we had discussed this past fall, we are not wanting to retain images for viewing external to our online meetings, but certainly as we work on things and wish to share during the meeting, Rebecca may be able to help us out.  Thanks Rebecca.
• Jodie shared something of interest we should check out,  The Weave a Real Peace (WARP) Migrant Quilt Project.  Here’s a link to the website that describes the project, and another to just the video.
• Anne reminded us that Nearly Wild Weaving (a tapestry group in the UK) will be conducting an online workshop in two parts, Feb 25 and Mar 11, with the topic of Eccentric and Wedge Weave.  Cost is 55 pounds (abt $67 USD) and paid via Eventbrite.  Check out this link for more information and to register.
• Also, the next Tapestry Together presentation and discussion, also by the UK group Nearly Wild Weaving, is February 8^th with the topic of Hatching and Hachure. This link will take you to their site info about this, which contains the link to Eventbrite to signup.  There are two live discussion times to select from (both are shown in GMT time) and the minimum suggested donation comes out to about $6.35 USD.   Also on their site is info about past presentations that are recorded and available for the minimal fee.  The January topic was Using Photography for Design.
• Reminder of some current and future tapestry exhibits:
• Connie Lippert: Ecological Survey
• Blue Spiral 1 gallery in Ashville, NC
• January 6 – February 22, 2023
• Follow the Thread by Tapestry Weavers South
• Folk Arts Center outside of Asheville, NC
• January 14 – May 3, 2023
• ATA Biennial 14 – New Dimensions
• Appalachian Center for Crafts, Smithville, TN
• May 12 – July 20, 2023

• We had 12 folks online for the meeting, including two new faces to the group, and introductions were made.
• The response was good for the Beginning Tapestry class Terri and Jean will be teaching. Terri showed us the loom her husband built and she had it on a small wooden easel stand.
• Ken will build one for each of the students.
• This led to a discussion of tapestry looms. Some like the built-in shedding devices like on Mirrix looms, vs having to use string heddles. Some like using leashes and picking their shed. Some like using shed sticks to hold a shed open. Some would rather spend their dollars on yarns, etc, and prefer to build their own loom to fit their needs. The discussion also included using floor looms for tapestry weaving. Use of a Countermarche or counter-balance floor loom is a preferred to keep even tension on the forward and rear warps, although rising shed looms do also get used. The key components for a tapestry loom is one that is able to hold the warp under strong tension, and having the ability to adjust the tension on the warp is a very desirable feature.
• A couple members offered some feedback on the Nearly Wild Weaving’s Tapestry discussion from Wednesday, 1/11/23, Using Photography for Design. Both agreed it was worth their time, and reminded us that the presentation is recorded and available for a slight charge. If you “purchase” the recording, you will receive recordings of both sessions. Here’s a link to more info, including future topics as sell as prior topics available for purchase.
• Also Nearly Wild Weaving will be conducting an online workshop in two parts, Feb 25 and Mar 11, with the topic of Eccentric and Wedge Weave. Nearly Wild Weaving is a group in the UK, so keep that in mind when looking at the times for the workshop. (If my math is correct, that is 8:30pm – 11:30pm EST) Cost is 55 pounds (abt $67 USD) and paid via Eventbrite. Check out this link for more information and to register.
• Sue asked for opinions on the Gist Array tapestry yarn. Primary reply I heard was it is expensive! This is a yarn the Rebecca Mezoff is now promoting via her Tapestry Discovery Box.
• And what about our efforts to work on exercises on design from Tommye Scanlin’s book? Jodie confessed to having read the book from cover to cover. (wish I could say the same) She has done some wrappings which were valuable to help her visualize colors. She has also been using colored pencils to sketch on paper. Terri says she hasn’t done any exercises recently, but shared some weavings she did based upon the Fibonacci series that she did when we were working thru exercises for Tommie as she was writing the book.
• Sue said she splurged with a Christmas present for herself, a tapestry by Maximo Laura. She spoke about how it was “finished”, with a 3” wide satin border on all 4 edges and all ends were trimmed on the back side to 1”. In addition to having a beautiful piece of art, it also was accompanied by his book.
• Izumi planted a seed of an upcoming book (to be released Aug 1st, 2023) Write It All Down, by Cathy Rentzenbrink. Here’s an Amazon link to the book info.
• And now for some tapestry exhibits (follow the links for more info)
  • Connie Lippert: Ecological Survey, Blue Spiral 1 gallery in Ashville, NC, January 6 – February 22, 2023
  • Follow the Thread by Tapestry Weavers South, Folk Arts Center outside of Asheville, NC, January 14 – May 3, 2023
  • ATA Biennial 14 – New Dimensions, Appalachian Center for Crafts, Smithville, TN, May 12 – July 20, 2023

• We had 8 folks on the zoom call
• Sue indicated she had dome some additional research regarding the lining of tapestries following our Oct 13th meeting.  She found a reference from a museum’s curator that they now use a “Down Cotton” rather than linen for the linings.  This is because of the chemicals that are used these days for the processing of the linen.  This “down cotton” is a tightly woven fabric used for making things like Down comforters, pillows, etc. that are down filled.  Sue also indicated that it is a rather pricey fabric.
• Anne mentioned that Rebecca Mezoff mentioned on one of her recent Change the Shed live streams that she has tried, and liked, using Jameison & Smith yarn for tapestry weaving.  Even though this is a knitting yarn, it is not as stretchy as other knitting yarns and works well for tapestry weaving, AND comes in many colors.  Anne, I missed it if you said, but was this the 2-ply Jumper weight yarn?
• A reminder that our NEXT group meeting will be an in-person meeting at The Barn, 4770 North Peachtree Road, Dunwoody, GA.   But the zoom link will be available for use during that time of those that can’t attend in-person would like to meet on-line.  The Barn does not have internet access, so it is NOT anticipated to be a hybrid meeting of in-person and on-line.
  • Who is planning to be in attendance for our in-person meeting???
• There was a little discussion about the MAFA 2023 conference and the interest in Elizabeth Buckley 3-day workshop, Hachures in Contemporary Tapestry that is on the schedule.   Sue has taken her online course Weaving Water in Tapestry  before (which is a 12-week long course that will be offered again in 2023)  This took us into a bit of a discussion regarding learning to see things with an “artist’s” eye as we observe our environment and attempt to interpret it in tapestry, either with defined shapes, or perhaps with just visual suggestions that lead the viewer into “seeing” what is not actually there.  (oh, and Buckley sells a Anahara Tapestry yarn on her site that Sue says is very nice.  The description says it is “similar to the former Paternayan crewel weight yarn that is no longer available.”)
• And we have come up with an quasi-plan for our meeting topics for the upcoming year.   For those of you that have Tommye Scanlin’s book, Tapestry Design Basics and Beyond,  I am asking that you please spend some time and LOOK at it before the end of November,  and send a list of 3-5 topics that you would absolutely love to explore, working thru the accompanying exercises.   From the feedback I receive, I will compile a list of the meeting topics we will go into some depth on.  We anticipate that there will be a bit of an introduction of the topic at one meeting, the each of us, on our own time BEFORE the next meeting, will work thru the exercises and play.  Then on the following meeting we will share what we did,  what we learned, and be inspired looking at other’s “play”.  So your assignment again is…
  • Before the end of November, send Mary Alice your top 3-5 exercises/play from Tommye’s book Tapestry Design Basics and Beyond
• And on a parting note,  Anne told us about a website she subscribed to where she receives daily, multiple pictures and the color palette for it  (in DMC floss colors) in her email.  I went out to have a look at the site, Krisztina’s Stitch Palette.  I like that I can look at the color card of all the DMC colors, and generate a color palette,  or submit a picture and have a color palette generated for it.  Or just explore pictures and palettes by color family.  Have a look and maybe even subscribe to some eye-candy emails yourself.

At this ZOOM meeting we had 7 members connected. There was some discussion regarding ways of providing additional communications to our non-CHG members via possibly a separate website, or a private Facebook group. Due to various concerns, the group will continue with the current method of notifications via email to reach its members. During show and tell, we got to see the rug that Pat is weaving on her Navajo loom for her son. Its almost done!

Our next meeting is scheduled for Aug 25, 2022 at 10am EDT via zoom. At that meeting Jodie will do a slide show the photos that she took of all the ATA Tiny But Mighty tapestry exhibit entries from Knoxville. In a future meeting, Terri will share her experience from the workshop she took from Fiona Hutchinson. The experiences and exhibits at Knoxville showed us just how non-traditional Tapestry weaving can be, so we anticipate more discussions along this line in the future.

FYI, our meetings on ZOOM are NOT recorded and we have no intention to do so.

We had 9 of us at this Zoom meeting.
Terri gave us a slideshow from Tapestry International exhibit that she was a part of! Thank you Terri!
She also shared a quote from Fiona Hutchinson, “…don’t have to weave a picture, just your interpretation of it”. We should consider WHAT is making you want to weave an image…WHAT is your INTENT…WHAT do you want it to SHOW ??? Good things to keep in mind as we consider what we might weave in our Georgia O’Keeffe challenge.
As for the Georgia O’Keeffe challenge we have set some milestone dates

• Dec 8, 2022: have your Georgia O’Keeffe painting inspiration piece selected
• March 9, 2023: have your plans firmed up for your version of the selected inspiration piece. This might include a sketch or cartoon, special techniques, yarns, colors, etc, etc. Basically what you need to get you moving forward with the actual weaving
• Nov 9, 2023: have your tapestry completed…although, we DID say it would be nice if we could exhibit them at the Spruill Center Open House in September, 2023
• As a reminder, these are to be PostCard size. USPS defines that as at least 3.5” x 5” with max of 4.25” x 6”. Yes, they also define a JUMBO postcard size as 5×7 or 5.5 x 8. But these would not qualify for Postcard postage. Yes, I know, our tapestries would not qualify for PostCard postage either, but can we leave out the JUMBO size from our criteria/specifications?

Mary Jane made mention of a possible Tapestry Retreat for March 2023 in Cashiers, NC.
Held over for the October meeting were some Photos Mary Jane had from Knoxville, but since she is not going to be joining us at this next meeting, I’ll hold them until the second October meeting, 10/27
But I will share photos Pat took of her finished rug! I didn’t see her email with the photos until after the call ended.

• We saw 8 folks on the Aug 25,2022 Zoom meeting and everyone seemed to enjoy Jodie’s slideshow of the tapestries from Knoxville.   Personally, I was not remembering all the weavings, so this was a good review for me.   I’ll be anxious for obtaining the ATA catalog of the Tiny But Mighty exhibit, so if you hear anything about it being available, please give a shout out to the group. 
• One slide that seemed to strike some interest was that of the Scenic Valley Handweavers Guild Challenge entries. I’m including a photo of their challenge description for you to read, as well as a photo of their entries. We were so inspired that we are wanting to do our OWN challenge.  There is no target destination for any display except for perhaps the display cabinet at the Spruill Center, like we did when we did our Post Card challenge in 2016.  So we discussed making these tapestries postcard sized again, and the artist we will base our inspiration upon is Georgia O’Keeffe.  Each weaver will select their own piece upon which their tapestry will be based, so start reviewing O’Keeffe’s works and consider joining us for this challenge.  Certainly more discussion will be happening at our September meetings. 
• Jodie got back with more info regarding posting photos on places like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.  (hopefully I get this right) It’s not that you loose all “ownership” of your photos,  its just that these venues are at liberty to use those photos you post for their own purposes.  Additionally,  the general public is able to copy and save the photos in their own libraries and subsequently use them without your permission and even use them without giving credit to you.  So just be aware if and when you do post photos.  One other option Jodie is going to research is the Google Photos app, thinking that your photos may remain private, with only visibility to someone that you explicitly “share” them with.   This might be something we could use for our group.
• Show and Tell included a look at a tapestry Jodie is working on,  from a workshop she took with Molly Elkin.  In it she has a center section with exposed warp, but these warps have been PAINTED to resemble a rock.  Very cool!  Jodie says she used Jacquard Fabric Paints for this.
• Also to inform everyone that The Barn has successfully be reserved for some in-person meetings, so mark your calendars. Address is 4770 North Peachtree Rd., Dunwoody GA

• • November 10, 2022
  • March 23, 2023
  • June 8, 2023
  • September 28, 2023

• We had 9 folks on the Zoom call
• Some interesting questions were asked that prompted some discussions: should you line your tapestries? Should you framing your tapestries under glass? (and there was one more that I failed to capture)   The discussions gave reasons both for and against with the conclusions boiled down to “it depends” 😊
• Show & Tell was of Pat’s completed rug she wove on her large Navajo upright loom.  It took her 8 months to weave it. Lots of texture achieved by multiple techniques,  Rya, twining, and looping, with the traditional over-under plain weave for the background
• Pat gave us a rundown of the upcoming CHG Juried show May 6^th – July 15^th.  Entries can be submitted beginning Nov 1^st.  The Juror will be Tommye Scanlin..  Show theme is “Transformations” and pieces must have been completes since Nov 2020. The MAXIMUMs for any entry is 60” in all directions and 80 pounds.
• Jean and Terri are tentatively planning to do a program about tapestry weaving at the regular CHG meeting next May or June, hoping to spark some new interest, and possibly having a mini workshop that afternoon after the meeting. 
• Word is,  Tommye is working on a new book about “marking time”.
• I had written down that the Surface Design Assoc. has an upcoming program on Staying Motivated for Nov 4^th, but when I went to their website,  I couldn’t find it to provide a link.   Hmmm.  But there was lots of interesting things on their site if you care to have a look.
• We had a very interesting discussion, spurred by our O’Keeffe Tapestry Challenge.   Initiated by a comment from the prior meeting about “reframing your thinking”  and asking yourself WHY you want to weave a particular image, we heard about Susan Martin Maffei finding a “purpose” for a piece, and Kathe Todd-Hooker’s recommendation to write 12 things about the tapestery BEFORE you weave it.   Those 12 things could include things such a goal you wish to achieve, such as mastery of meet and separate.  Then this notion, of defining your parameters took us then to Molly Elkind’s Blog post of Oct 12, 2022, about a body of work by Norwegian fiber artist, Solveig Aalberg, her Continuum series, 100 small pieces that she calls “miniatures” each featuring horizontal stripes in some form.  Molly provides a link to the Textile Forum Blog post that references a book that contains these pieces. Boy did we ever run the with that discussion thread!

• We had 9 of us at this Zoom meeting.
• Terri gave us a slideshow from Tapestry International exhibit that she was a part of!   Thank you Terri!
• She also shared a quote from Fiona Hutchinson,  “…don’t have to weave a picture, just your interpretation of it”.  We should consider WHAT is making you want to weave an image…WHAT is your INTENT…WHAT do you want it to SHOW ???  Good things to keep in mind as we consider what we might weave in our Georgia O’Keeffe challenge.
• As for the Georgia O’Keeffe challenge we have set some milestone dates
• Dec 8, 2022: have your Georgia O’Keeffe painting inspiration piece selected
• March 9, 2023: have your plans firmed up for your version of the selected inspiration piece.  This might include a sketch or cartoon,  special techniques,  yarns, colors, etc, etc.  Basically what you need to get you moving forward with the actual weaving
• Nov 9, 2023: have your tapestry completed…although, we DID say it would be nice if we could exhibit them at the Spruill Center Open House in September, 2023
• As a reminder, these are to be PostCard size.  USPS defines that as at least 3.5” x 5” with max of 4.25” x 6”.  Yes, they also define a JUMBO postcard size as 5×7 or 5.5 x 8. But these would not qualify for Postcard postage.  Yes, I know, our tapestries would not qualify for PostCard postage either, but can we leave out the JUMBO size from our criteria/specifications?
• Mary Jane made mention of a possible Tapestry Retreat for March 2023 in Cashiers, NC.
• Held over for the October meeting were some Photos Mary Jane had from Knoxville, but since she is not going to be joining us at this next meeting,  I’ll hold them until the second October meeting, 10/27
• But I will share photos Pat took of her finished rug!  I didn’t see her email with the photos until after the call ended.

At this ZOOM meeting we saw Terri, Jean, Mary Jane, Pat, Sarah, Deb, Mary Alice, and two NEW faces, Janie and Jodie, who met Jean and Mary Jane at Convergence.

One point of business we discussed was IF we were going to plan to do any in-person meetings so that Leigh could get our reservations made.  Some still are not comfortable with in-person meetings and with our growing roster of remote faces,  Zoom makes reaching out and connecting with others interested in Tapestry weaving possible.   So, at this point we will meet primarily on ZOOM, but we are going to attempt to have a few scheduled meetings, about one per quarter, in-person, at the Barn.  And we will entertain the possibility of additional in-person gatherings, possibly at an exhibit, or even at the SEFAA facility.  At this point, Terri is going to request Leigh to reserve the Barn for us for 11/10/22, 03/23/23, 06/08/23, and 09/14/23 (subject to its availability).

Of course discussion included all the happenings at Knoxville for Convergence, Complex Weavers,  ATA Tapestry Retreat, and all the EXHIBITS!  A few photos of favorite tapestry pieces were shared.Our next Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 11, 2021 at 11:00am EDT, via Zoom.

If you are interested in joining us and are not already on the Tapestry Study Group’s email distribution list, request info and the zoom link from one of these contacts:

Jean Clark, jeansclark@comcast.net
Terri Bryson 2brysons@gmail.com

We had 6 members attend this gathering

• There was discussion about the beginning tapestry class Jean and/or Terri are looking to give for the guild next year. Discussion included what sort of loom would be most appropriate for beginners. One with an adjustable tension, easy to warp, portable, affordable, and one the students or instructors would not have to build themselves was the goal. They are currently leaning toward the little copper pipe looms that Kathe Todd-Hooker has listed on her website. Additionally, they are looking for a book that could serve as the syllabus and ongoing reference for the students, and the one by Kirsten Glasbrook, Tapestry Weaving, is in the running. There are still some details yet to work out and additional discussion needed with the CHG board, but it looks promising that this class will happen in 2023.
• Tapestry Weavers South, TWS, will have an exhibit “Follow the Thread” opening at the Folk Art Center (on the Blue Ridge Parkway) in January. Terri and Deb both will have little tapestries that will part of the collage of the exhibit’s title.
• Terri brought in her voice-print Tapestry for show and tell. This is the one that was on exhibit with Tapestry International that has returned home. Just as wonderful as the tapestry was her story of how the idea came to her and developed, including her use of various non-traditional weaving “yarns” such as audio cassette tapes, speaker wire, and other various types of wire that participate in the transmission of voice.
• Pat brought in a tapestry that she is currently working on while we are having our study group meetings. She is weaving it on an Schacht Easel Weaver loom and has it set up with her cartoon mounted to a thin piece of cardboard that she has slipped between the warp and the loom frame.
• Terri brought in some Gelli plate mono prints that she did from a Jane Dunnewold class Backgrounds and Textures that she took. Terri used some high contrast black and white photographic images that were printed on an inkjet printer, and with the gelli plate and a acrylic medium, transfer the image to the plate and enhanced it with an application of acrylic paint for a background color. The effect of the somewhat ghosted images of her husband and of her grandson were very striking. And the unevenness of the acrylic background color is makes it so much more interesti Thanks for the inspiration Terri.
• Multiple Georgia O’Keeffe books were brought to the meeting, and those who had selected their inspiration art piece showed it with a little discussion of why it was chosen. Note, while we are planning to weave these in a postcard size, they do not need to be mounted in anyway as if they were a postcard to be mailed.
• Mary Jane brought in a collection of pot holders she has been weaving, using photographs of birds as inspiration. She tries not only replicated the colors of the birds, but also the amount of each color, as well as the color placements, as much as she can with potholder loops.
• Our NEXT meeting is scheduled for December 8, 2022 at 10 am, EST via ZOOM
• Our next in-person meeting is scheduled for March 23, 2023

• We had 8 folks on for this meeting (not counting Mary Jane who had technical difficulties)
• More Georgia O’Keeffe inspiration photos were shared and discussed for 2023 challenge.
• For this challenge, the Weaving Indiana Tapestry Study group is also taking this on for their annual challenge and will also be creating a working journal used to document the various stages, challenges, solutions, and more as a part of their challenge. Just throwing out this idea in case you would also like to incorporate a journal into your execution of this challenge.
• A recap of the survey results future meeting topics from Tommye Scanlin’s book Tapestry Design Basics and Beyond was sent prior to the meeting. And we discussed our thoughts during the meeting. The best I can summarize that discussion is that since there were so many different primary topics/exercises of interest, it didn’t seem as if formalizing any plan for what we would attempt to cover as a group activity was going to work out. Therefore, everyone is encouraged to spend their own time devouring the book and selecting and actually attempting exercises that speak to them on their own. Then, at future meetings, the results of and thoughts regarding those exercises can be presented/shared with the group, and group discussion can ensue
• Jodie shared a technique she learned at a Molly Elkind class she took, using grids of various sets printed on transparencies that can be used as overlays to help assess the weave-ability of a sketch/photo/cartoon. This will be helpful as we work on planning our Georgie O’Keeffe tapestries