Japanese Woodcuts

I was signed up for a Japanese woodblock class with Andrew Lorish but it got cancelled because of Covid.  I was thrilled when a new date was set for this summer and it got cancelled too because Andrew got Covid.  Several weeks ago the class was announced for this weekend and I think I'm the first person to sign up.  I'm so out of shape.  I really needed something to kickstart me.

The class was held in the Studio 6000 in Sisters Oregon, just a half hour north of Bend.  Much of the equipment was from Bend Art Center which closed about four years ago due to financial woes.  That was a sad day.  A half dozen of my friends from previous classes were also there so it was a bit of reunion too.

Ian says I "spread out" when I'm working but this was worse than normal.  I wanted to carve a second block but only had 30 minutes to do it in.  I worked like a mad woman and made a huge mess with the shavings everywhere.

Andrew rolled out plates of transparent cyan, magenta and yellow.  We used Caligo ink with lots of extender, about five-to-one extender to ink. We inked our plates and printed our cut-to-size Hosho paper with a barren.  He had us print one direction then do a 180 turn and repeat the process with either the same color or different to see how it worked.  These are the first prints finished.  We had four sheets to print and three hours.  We had to work fast.

And some more.

And these are mine.  I like the block I carved in 30 minutes the best.  I printed with just two colors, and l'm not sure I like the prints with three. You have to click for big to see how the colors worked together, just yellow and cyan.

I came home energized and ready to do some more carving.  I have a couple of wood blocks left before I have to order more and I have a head full of ideas.  This is just what the doctor ordered, something to look forward to on the long gray days of winter.

Make it work

I bought three of these Pottery Barn stools at a local upcycle store that sells exclusive names.  I thought I got them for a steal but forgot to measure the height.  No steal.  They're too tall to fit under the counter.  One has been hidden behind the easy chair in the great room with the digital antenna on it.  The other two have been put into service in random places.

My workroom isn't very big and three of the four walls are in use.  The other wall is two accordion closet doors.  I've taken to piling stuff on the stools.

One day recently I realized that the rungs could hold shelves and tested it with a picture that fit just right.  I appealed to my construction-knowledge son, asking him to cut four pieces of wood to fit.

The next day he dropped Delaney off and left rather abruptly.  I didn't realize how seriously he took me.  He had some alder plywood and came back about 30 minutes later with the four shelves, uniformly cut and sanded, made with equipment in the back of his truck.  This simple fix augments my storage space significantly.  Thank you construction-knowledge son!!

This past weekend was the third Holiday Show and Sale for Central Oregon Spinners and Weavers. The first year was a straight-up craft fair with individual booths.  Last year the board met and decided to run it as a boutique, all sales done through a central checkout system.

We expanded from one day to include the evening before and capitalize on the First Friday Art Walk.  Attendance was far better than anyone could have hoped for.

I took these three photos about 3:15 when the show was winding down and just a few people were trickling in.  We were well into break-down at 4:10 when I heard everyone asking if anyone knew of a yellow scarf.  A lady had thought about it and come back to buy it, but no one could remember seeing a yellow scarf.  It turned out to be a gold and bronze huck lace scarf of mine.  It's in this picture, in the back corner.  It was the only scarf I sold and it was ten minutes after closing.  As Yogi Berra said, it ain't over until it's over.

Both of my looms are nekid.  I've been eyeing this color combo for more than a month.  It's going to my next project.

And finally, a Big Happy Halloween from the Littlest Mummy :-)

Good Equipment

I ordered the weaving bench that Theresa Davies said that she bought and liked.  It's made by Janet Fox, a woodworker in Houston, whose Etsy shop is called Handywoman.  Unfortunately the extreme cold caused the Styrofoam to shatter so I had to clean that up before I could begin assembling my bench.  And you know how that stuff is, full of static and clinging to every surface.

The poplar she used is beautifully grained and I was pleased by the ease of assembly.  I was also pleased by the price tag - $165 instead of the Schacht bench at $350, though shipping was free.  Still it's about half the price and half the size.  I wove on it for a couple hours today and think I'm going to like it.  It does rock a bit but she says in her instructions that it will.  The feet are there for stability.

It's certainly nice to have a bench for each loom again.  I wove on both projects today which I'm more inclined to do when I don't have to move a bench.

Ian and I went to the potluck/party at A6 Sunday evening.  It's a small group because membership is about 30 though Dawn, the director, says that has increased thanks to the new location that brings in more foot traffic.  Afterwards we did a print exchange.  I was reluctant to participate since I'm a beginning student but was encouraged by my instructors so I did.

Some poor person got my student print and I got this astonishing solar print from Jeannette, who was my first instructor.  It's really lovely and Ian wants to get it framed though we're out of walls so something else will have to come down.

The next morning I went in about a half hour early for my volunteer shift and helped Dawn ink the plexiglass plates for a school visit.  We had two tours of 2nd/3rd grade students - 26 the first time, 24 the second.  Each were given the opportunity to make three prints.

We had a space of about 45 minutes before the bus rolled in with the second group.  We took a lunch break then Jane and I cleaned up from the first tour and inked the plates again. Dawn instructed the kids about positive and negative space and how to remove ink to make a picture.  Most of the children were imaginative and bold though a couple were so afraid of making a mistake that they couldn't bring themselves to remove much ink in spite of being sent back to do some more work. Though disappointed they still had fun.

All of the children loved running their plates through the presses.  The large press was a favorite with the boys who stood at either side and spun the wheel.

I facilitated printing at the smaller press which does require some elbow grease.  For the smaller children it took two to turn the handle.  They were like eager puppies every time we stopped the press and I flipped back the felts and newsprint.  Time for the big reveal!  I had fun though wouldn't want to do that too often as I don't love standing on concrete for five hours.

Based on the forecast Ian went to Lowe's yesterday and bought a 24" Troy Bilt snowblower.  This is wetter than our Nevada snow which he always managed with an ergonomic shovel.  Not any more!  We have over a foot of snow right now and are supposed to get another 5" before morning.  I don't think we're not going anywhere for a few days.

And It's December!

The irrigation district releases water into the canals about once a month during the winter months to allow ranchers to refill their cisterns and stock tanks.  I couldn't resist the nice weather to take a walk and enjoy the opportunity.  It doesn't last long and then the canals are pathetically empty.

After cutting Christmas trees for the past 14 years we have lost the enthusiasm for this tradition.  Tree lots are abundant here and when you think about the $10 tree tag, gas and meal afterwards, the $30 for a tree seemed like a deal.  Ian found this lot behind a church, well organized and well priced.  We have a new tradition!  Weirdly all three of our families came to this same conclusion - phew.

Dawn asked me to attend the two fund raisers and "say a few words" about my experience at the A6 gallery.  In the sake of time she offered to excuse me and just introduce me as she told my story.  Fine by me!  I've learned that there are 40 major donors in Bend and 800 501C3 organizations struggling for the same dollars.  A6 is branching out into the schools and hoping to partner with Parks and Rec. I am so thankful to be part of this organization.

As always, December piles on the activities.  We all met downtown Saturday for the annual Christmas parade and to see Logan march in the Bend High band.  I thought the Thanksgiving parade was astonishingly big but this was double that.  Bend loves to love Bend.

Afterwards we walked over to JDub for lunch where the paper table coverings and cups of crayons provided silly and endless amusement and also let us celebrate Josh's birthday two days prior.

And this is the sitchiation in my studio.  I am once again back to one weaving bench.  Josh redid my Gilmore bench last summer, replacing the broken screws and regluing everything.  I took it back to him at Thanksgiving because it was simply unsafe.  He says he'll have to redo the whole thing, sand it back down, reglue and screw. I almost want to buy a second Schacht bench and just let the other one go - expensive firewood.

Maddie is pretty enthralled by the tree.

And then we did this to it!  This is a Douglas fir, totally new to us, fragrant with soft tips.  It's a smaller tree and between reduced size and soft tips, there are a lot of ornaments that I looked at but had to put back in the box.  The tree is about memories, so whether or not I was able to hang them all, I got to enjoy them all.

Making More Yarn

Josh and Missy stopped by on Sunday to bring me the Gilmore weaving bench that has been in Josh's shop since last June. The cheap Chinese screws couldn't stand up to the rocking motion in weaving and snapped in half, one at a time until the bench was dangerous. I bought the Schacht bend in the foreground to use for both looms until Josh could get my other one fixed. It is so nice to have a bench at each loom. This is a first for me.

I plied my handspun single with 16/2 honey-colored bamboo. It was a toss-up for me on the warp color but I ultimately chose the rust.

I've wondered which of these 2/16 bamboo yarns to ply with my hand-dyed roving and have decided that since I didn't use the deep teal with the previous yarn, I'll go blue all the way.

I didn't split the sliver and so had large areas of the same color which makes long color runs in the yarn. I divided the roving in half and spun it on two bobbins making two balls which I then held together while warping to integrate the colors. This is way I like to hemstitch a scarf, plus the slats add a couple inches of warp for the fringe. This is 10 ends per inch and the 8/2 Tencel is also 10 epi. The weave is open like gauze.

The new yarn is shaping up nicely and I'm very pleased.

I just ordered this book on the recommendation of several other weavers. I wish it had been around when I was struggling to teach myself to weave using a variety of resources, though mainly Chandler. This picks up where Chandler leaves off and I already know that I want to try some of her samplers. The writing is clear and the samples are attractive.

I've enjoyed our sun catchers this winter, especially when they catch the sun in a slight breeze. We can see them from both the dining and kitchen windows. The wind isn't gale force here like those we left behind in Nevada and they tolerated the winter here very well. I decided to check eBay.

And I found this. They're all made by Kitras Glass in Canada and new, they run between $20-$30 dollars so I was pleased to win this auction for $8.50. It's only 3" instead of the usual 4-5" and also very thick but it still responds to the breeze. I love that they're made from recycled glass. Now we have nine.

I'm still getting ready for Fiber Market Day the last Saturday of this month and after that I have a baby blanket to weave - yarn ordered.

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Fitting In

Wednesday we met Josh and Missy downtown for the Veterans Day parade.  Grandson Logan was playing in the combined high school marching band and Josh just walked the couple blocks over from work.  Ian and I walked over to Le Margi for breakfast afterwards.  It has a reputation and a price tag to go with it.

Then on Thursday night we all met at Pacific Pizza and Brew to celebrate Evan's 12th birthday (click for big to see the birthday boy).  The tradition is that the birthday person gets to pick the dinner place so the next one will be Josh's on December 1st.  At this point Ian and I have just been in our house three weeks and we already feel at home.

I got my studio sorted out and put a towel warp on to get started.  I haven't woven in two months and cannot believe how many sleying and threading errors I managed to create.  It's just nice to be able to sit down at the loom again.  I know I'm going to love this space.

The fiber arts community here is vibrant and I attended my first meeting today of the NWRSA (Northwest Regional Spinners Association).  Cindie Kitchens send me the email of Molly, a contact person whom she has worked with in NWRSA but never met.  I drove up to Redmond today which is 20 miles from here, allowing an hour because I'm still conditioned to long drive times.  I was 25 minutes early.  The meeting felt chaotic but I also felt right at home.

I randomly sat next to Cindy Wasner (on the right), a Norwegian knitwear designer.  And yes, she speaks the language.  It was like we had been friends for years.  She asked me to take a picture of her with Molly who has modeled so many of her knitted garments that she gave her this cap, a mate to the one she is wearing.

Another of the ladies showed the sweater that she has almost finished - she is one of Cindy's students and used one of her patterns.  This group is for spinners and knitters.  The weavers have yet a different guild and I'm planning to attend that meeting next Wednesday.  Reno had the same division of guilds.  I had hoped for one guild like Foothill Fiber Guild in Nevada City that encompasses all the fiber arts but today I was just glad to be with my kind of people - fiber folk.

The plastic bags are leftovers.  Someone brought a bale, yes a true bale of Dorset fleece and these are the residuals.  I hope I am disciplined enough to never say yes to another fleece.  I said no.  No thank you.

This is the brand new wheel the previous knitter just bought.  She's a seasoned knitter and a brand new spinner.  I had forgotten how white the Lendrum wheels are when they're new.  I left the meeting today, reaffirmed that we made the right decision when five months ago we spontaneously decided to move here.  If I didn't miss my daughter so much it would be perfect.