Wednesday, February 28, 2018

We Persist....



I think Persistence is a good characteristic for a tapestry weaver! I began this small 8x10" tapestry a bit more than a week ago. I was determined to get it done for the ATA small tapestry exhibit, which I had entered before the loom was even warped, and for which the finished piece is due very soon! Knowing it must be done quickly, I warped it at only 8epi, and wove it with doubled weft, except for the face area, where I used singles.


This first half wove very quickly, done in 2 days, while I was watching a bit of evening Olympics.


The eyes and mouth are always my biggest challenge, so weaving the face with singles was helpful.


The hat! I knew I would add some 3-D buttons to the tapestry, so decided to add texture to the hat brim for balance. That seemed appropriate anyway, since I had also knit the hat quickly, with bulky yarn. So I used a bit of that same yarn for the hat brim, woven at 4epi.



Almost there! I do begin and end with a 1/2" hem, as well.


I had several small 'woven sketches, each about 4x4", that had not yet been blocked, so I blocked the 'selfie' tapestry and the other small tapestries all together in a 'Block(ing) Party.'


The finished tapestry. It is 8x10" and will be in the ATA exhibit in conjunction with Convergence in Reno, NV this coming summer. It is based on this selfie that I took the morning of the 2nd Women's March in January. I wore the hat and participated in both last year's and this year's Marches. I persisted.


In the meantime, I have entered the tapestry in an online competition of self portraits. If you'd like to help a tapestry win this competition (which is otherwise paintings) you can vote for this piece at this link:
http://www.jerrysartarama.com/contests/self-portrait/2018

Or, find another piece to vote for, or submit your own self portrait! (If you submit one, let me know, and I'll go vote for you!)

11 comments:

Merna said...

Done! You’ve got my vote, Kathy! Nicely done portrait, looking forward to seeing it in person in Reno.

Rebecca Mezoff said...

I love it!! Thanks for showing the process. That was a fast weave!

Firefly Farm said...

Gorgeous and thank you so much for showing us your process. And thanks for persisting!

Phillenore said...

It's fabulous! Online voting doesn't begin until April 16. Will you remind us?

Lu Ross said...

This is fantastic!

K Spoering said...

Thank you all!

Unknown said...

Someone posted a link to this on the Mirrix closed facebook group so I bet a lot of our folks are visiting it. I love this tapestry, I love your face, I love your hat, I love everything about it!

K Spoering said...

I saw that the post was shared on the Mirrix page, and I Have been getting lots of visits from there! That’s great, and this tapestry WAS woven on a Mirrix loom! Thank you all, for your visits!

Marga said...

So beautiful! I love your work.

Love Marga from The Netherlands

Spiderlady said...

I just took a portrait weaving class and this is fantastic....I love it.

K Spoering said...

Thank you, @Spiderlady! Have fun with weaving portraits- one of my favorite things to weave!

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