Barefoot Weaver: I have been in love with color since my first box of crayons and I fell in love with weaving in the 70s when I watched a girl weaving (barefoot, of course!) in the back of a store in Brattleboro, VT. Here was not just color but dance as well! By the early 90s I had my first loom and there was no looking back. Looms have a way of multiplying and taking over the house (as my family can attest) and now I have four (we won’t count the one in the barn). I am always amazed seeing them warped and vibrant with potential.
Colors live in my living room and cones of thread fill my bookcases. I dye my threads on a big plywood table upstairs in one of my workrooms (did I mention that I have taken over the entire house?) and my clothes line is often draped with skeins of freshly dyed thread. I do my designing on my warping mill and my work now is mostly warp driven which just means that I want the warp to show more than the weft (or weaving).
I started adding more texture to my weaving some years ago as well inspired in part by knitting yarns that have flags and tufts and wraps and shiny bits and skinny and fat parts.
So, I overproduce. And I have three grown sons who really don’t wear my creations aside from a very plain chenille scarf or two. I live on an old farm with my two horses, three cats, one small dog, and a very supportive husband. We heat with wood, snuggle down in the winter up here in the North Country, and I am content.
Wendy Russell says
July 11, 2009 at 3:55 amWhen I opened the Handmade email this morning I was immediately drawn to the photo of handwoven fabric. Having a history of handweaving and spinning myself, I feel a kinship to all things woven. My first thought was that the close up photo of a detail of fabric was a brilliant way to pull in the viewer. Many people never get close enough to the spun fibers to see how varied and beautiful they are, or that the yarns themselves are works of art. Then, reading your story, I smiled to hear that you’ve “taken over” your house in Vermont. I moved to VT in 1980 and filled an apartment with weaving paraphernalia. Although my art led me in a different direction I still miss the meditative therapy that weaving and spinning provided. Thanks for sharing your story. Your work is exquisite and it made me dream of finding a loom again. Wendy (Artrussell)
.-= Wendy Russell’s latest post: NOTE TO MYSELF: =-.
Valerie says
July 11, 2009 at 4:30 pmWow, what a great story, I totaly understand how your art can take over the house. The colors she uses in her handwoven pieces are amazing and very beautiful. I love the cuff bracelets in her shop.
.-= Valerie’s latest post: A Good Read =-.
Valerie says
July 11, 2009 at 4:32 pmBarefoot Weaver http://bit.ly/sxIoX <—- check out this amazing work on Try Handmade
Kelly Stewart says
July 16, 2009 at 6:53 pmI/m lovin all the textures,and color that is used in this weaving,great work!