A Wealth of Events

After two nearly two and a half years of watching concerts and conferences, festivals and gatherings being cancelled or postponed, this past month has been a whirlwind of activity. I’m grateful for all the opportunities we have had to stay in touch and have virtual experiences through our modern technology, but there is nothing like the real thing. In the past few weeks my cup has been overflowing as I’ve gotten to be with my fiber arts tribe again and again.

July started right off with my sister and her partner driving down from Denver to join us in volunteering and enjoying the events for the International Folk Art Market. The market has made some adaptations over the past couple years and I think they are working well now, with extended days and timed entries. We were very happy to have the parade and grand entrance of about 150 artists from around the world. This is one of my favorite events of the year here in Santa Fe, and I have missed its presence for the last two years. Here Nilda Callañaupa and the rest of the contingent from Peru make their way around the plaza to cheers and greetings.

I worked as an artist assistant in an area of four booths, but mostly with Nilda and Janett Soto, an accomplished weaver from the community of Pitumarca. She was visiting Santa Fe for the first time and it was fun to talk with her and show her around the museums where the market is held.

Photo credit: Daniel Quat Photo

Janett is a master at the complex technique of ticlla, or scaffold weave, or discontinuous warp. This pre-Columbian technique was nearly lost, but has been revived in Janett’s community of Pitumarca, where they are creating increasingly amazing examples with each passing year.

Janett had prepared a backstrap loom with a wide piece of ticlla and supplementary warp pick-up. As time allowed, she set up her loom on a nearby post and drew a crowd around her as she wove and demonstrated the process.

It’s always fun for me to work at the market, both to have a chance to see some of the best folk art from around the world, and to see many old friends and visitors who come to attend the market whenever they can. Here Nilda is showing a spectacular piece of ticlla to one of Andean Textile Arts’ devoted and valued supporters.

Nilda stayed on after the market for a pop-up show at Living Threads studio, followed by a workshop on natural dyeing with cochineal that was a big hit. I had to leave early, however, to fly out east for Complex Weavers Seminars and Convergence. I flew from Albuquerque to Atlanta and spent a night there with fellow weaving teacher, Dianne Totten, the queen of crimp cloth. We had a lovely three-hour drive up the back roads to Knoxville and checked into our hotel and began our time with Complex Weavers.

The first evening was kicked off with a grand opening at the Complexity exhibit, a showing of some very impressive works by Complex Weavers members. I was honored both to have my piece ‘Smoke & Mirrors I’ accepted into the exhibit and to learn that it had received the HGA Award.

People were surprised to see a piece of mine in such subtle colors, but I have been experimenting a lot over the past couple years with subtle nuances in neutrals. This is a value study of seven different neutral tones in 20/2 cotton with the addition of a smoky blue weft. It is a 8-block doubleweave woven on my 32-shaft Louet Megado compudobby loom.

A piece in the exhibit that really impressed me and made me want to put it on was a coat woven in double waffle weave by Teresa Edmisten. I’m afraid that I’m guilty of forgetting to pull out my phone and take pictures when I’m at events and in classes, but you can go to the Complex Weavers website - https://www.complex-weavers.org/complexity/ and see the images from the exhibit.

Over the next several days I was able to take seminars at both Complex Weavers and Convergence from some great teachers that will give me food for thought and exploration for years to come - Rosalie Nielson, Stacy Harvey-Brown, Sara Nordling, Alice von Duijnen, Nancy Arthur Hoskins, Carol James, Cameron Tayor-Brown, Ben Jones. Imagine the traveling you would have to do to take workshops from each of these people!

Prior to the actual Convergence conference Dianne Totten and I walked through the center of Knoxville and made our way to the first day of the Small Expressions exhibit. Again, there were so many inspiring pieces, and you will be able to see images of them in the next issue of Shuttle Spindle & Dyepot. I was honored to have one of my pieces in this show as well, this one a pair of doubleweave pick-up pieces done in 20/2 cotton that were mounted in a two-fold rotation to each other titled ‘Parallel Universe’.

The big events that everyone looks forward to at Convergence took place over the weekend. Friday evening was the Fashion Show that had been juried by Dianne Totten. I found this year’s show to be particularly fun and a bit more informal than in some past years. There were plenty of nods to country music, models of all ages, shapes and sizes that were clearly enjoying themselves, and even a Dolly Parton impersonator. This show combined pieces that would have been shown in 2020 in addition to this year’s entries so it was a great feast for the eyes. Look to your next issue of SS&D to see images of lots of wonderful garments.

I always look forward to the vendor hall and having a chance to see new and old favorite books, talk to loom distributors and see a cornucopia of yarn in living color. Robyn Spady and Heddlecraft Magazine hosted Twilight Madness on Saturday night. After a fun Shuttle Race contest Lunatic Fringe Yarns held a book signing for me and presented me with a lovely rainbow-colored tiara to wear for the event.

During the post-conference days I taught a seminar on the Golden Proportion & Fibonacci Sequence and a 3-day Double Rainbow workshop. I had an exceptional group of students, including a 12 year-old boy, who was fearless on his not-completely-functional 4-shaft table loom and a 13 year-old girl who is clearly destined for greatness in the weaving and textile design world. I also had a college student as my classroom assistant who not only was able to help this old teacher figure out her technology, but was already a whiz at doubleweave.

I was so impressed at seeing so many bright and interested young people at Convergence - far more than I have experienced at any previous conference. Many of them served as interns, helping to hang exhibits and assisting leaders in their seminars and workshops. It gave me great hope for the future of our field.

There was also time for a few lovely evenings out with friends. Knoxville has a charming and very walkable central area and we enjoyed a few of the local restaurants. The weather was just about perfect and I especially enjoyed a couple walks we took after dinner on a bridge across the Tennessee River as the sun was going down.