The Fiber Art of Judy Dominic
The Weavers Guild held their opening reception for the exhibit at XU’s Student Center this afternoon. Arturo Sandoval came in from Lexington to jury for the HGA award. And…………..
……….. my piece, Prayer Flags for Life, earned a Merit Award! I’m thrilled!
My love took lots of pics of the piece – may have more to post soon, now that all the silk has relaxed and is floating nicely.
I know I have been silent for quite a while.
THIS is what I’ve been doing! As the picture shows, we just finished installing it this morning.
By the numbers:
2 panels each 20′ wide x ~17′ high
two 10′ cpvc pipe sections per panel
50 mudded silk scarves per section
200 total mudded silk scarves
3 spools silk thread
~ 6 c black MI mud, ~3 c orange GA mud, ~1/8 tsp burnt umber pigment
12 ferrule and stopper sets
4 S-hooks
4 turnbuckles
150′ of 1/16″ wire cable
minimum 240′ of 20 lb test monofilament
approx 10′ black duct tape
2-3′ of masking and clear duct tape
7 helpers (including one documentarian and one extremely capable, strong brother!)
and one wonderfully helpful and supportive husband who put up with all sorts of things while I was immersed in this project!
More pictures and details will follow soon.
Spent most of today pulping up recycled papers for the 7th grade art classes at Batesville Middle School. I’ll be spending the week with them starting Monday.
We’ll do two days of basketry using the twining technique and rattan reed. Then a day with recycled pulp – sheet formation. A day of paper sculpture over wire armatures (that they have ready to use). And the final day using cotton pulp pulling sheets and ‘drawing pictures’ with some of the colored recycled pulp that is left. Maybe even slip in some shaping over balloons.
Should be a fun week!
This past weekend I attended a workshop taught by Mary Hettmansperger from Peru, IN on Woven Metal Jewelry. I’ve known Mary for years through our common basketry interest and it is just wonderful watching her branch out into other areas. She is just too creative for words!
Working with metals was quite fun – there were torches and rivets and hammers and anvils …. oh, my! LOL! Great fun playing with the coloration you can get on copper with heat and the texturing you can achieve with very little effort.
What was really good from my perspective is that I was able to use stuff that I’ve been saving for years (not really knowing why I was saving the stuff but figuring it was too good to throw away). I have a roll of copper flashing that my Dad had collected – with the tar paper still on the back of it – that is at least 30 years old. Pretty cool to see it all flame up and disappear (the tar and paper) while torching it. Lovely colors on it, too, from the heat.
Most of what I ‘produced’ I am envisioning on the covers of new journals that I need to make soon. I think the coppers and my handmade papers will go well together.
…. That’s the title of the latest audio book that I listened to. The setting is the turmoil of Papua New Guinea in the early 90s – which caught my interest since my recent trip there. It is the story of “modernity’s creeping advance on an indigenous population through the eyes of a young girl.” It kept my attention, once it got going. But the pace was certainly an island pace.
Author Lloyd Jones. Recommend it!