what we share with child's play

mary jane dodd

weaving card

i wanted to follow up on marsha's post from yesterday. while i will be showing you something called pin weaving for part of my contribution to this month's boot camp, i have done the kind of weaving marsha is doing. 

like marsha, when i started i did not want to invest a lot of money into looms. ok, it's not that i didn't want to - who doesn't like to go all in for a new technique? - but i couldn't. when my children were little i used to like to order from stores that had really basic, nicely made wooden toys. so i started searching.

i found a shop that offered a number of ways to weave. with the card above and the one like marsha showed you, you want to make sure your warp threads (the fixed ones) are taut, but not too tight. you have to be able to get under them and also add your weft threads. 

for my hands' comfort, i found using a darning needle to be ideal - it doesn't have a very sharp end and usually accommodates thicker threads. also, for your sanity, get a needle long enough that you can get from one side of the other in one pass. 

arched weaving loom

this loom is nice because you can get under the warp easily. i own and get use out of both of them. they are different enough that they each inspire you to try different types of projects. 

the card i use for my sacred space mats

mjd - sacred spaces 2014

the little card is $4.50 and the loom is $27 (we can spend that on a bead order with our eyes closed). i have gotten so much use out of them both.

also - notice that marsha used a thinner stronger thread for her warp, then the weft can be the more textured yarns. it keeps your projects from looking like the pot holders we all made on those square looms as kids!

i'm sure there are other places to buy these, but the owner was accommodating and helpful at explorations early learning. 

what i hope you will do is play. i know i can very strict with how i spend my time. but truly, play is essential. and you never know what you are going to take away from it. 

so many wise people call to use from the past and urge this - 

but i'll pick a contemporary, steve maraboli

'how would your life be different if... 

you decided to give freely, love fully and play feverously?

let today be the day...

you free yourself from the conditioned rules that limit your happiness and dilute the beautiful life experience.

have fun.

give - love - play!'

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happy friday!

Room for Discovery in Fibers and Weaving

Do you ever put so much pressure on yourself to work on a project, that it becomes a burden?

I tend to do that, and the project gets pushed to the side and forgotten.

Here is a quick pic of a stash of various silks and fibers I have been collecting over the years (I'm not about to throw that stuff out - it's good for "something" - that project in the back of my head).

 And these stringing materials - LOVE them and have lots!

Picking up some Tapestry needles at the sewing store - done that a couple of times...

So as a kid - I loved knotting, braiding, twisting, tying, weaving natural things...

I grew up in the 80's and my mom was big into cross-stitch (oh embroidery thread - how I adore you! Especially the Magenta and Peacock blue colors...)

So as a "grown up" I wanted to try some weaving.

While on a very restricted budget, and refusing to go out and spend any money unless I really knew this is something I want to do, I went to Pinterest to look up some weaving practices.

It's been a while, but I think I searched things like: loom weaving, handmade loom, weaving for kids, nature weaving, and such (you get sucked in and hours later - there are ideas everywhere).

So this cardboard loom - made with an old cereal box and masking tape worked for me and my allowance for self discovery.

First I Wrapped hemp around in the long direction 8 times (I think an even number is what you need to make it come out right) - the ends are just temporarily taped with masking tape on the back - nothing special.

I left a tail - just incase I need that for when I figure out what I will be doing with these (bracelets???)

Then over, under, over, under...

Back and forth.

Add on more - hide the ends in there.

Tie a knot on the last string at the end.

For me - this was completely experimental.

I wanted to see what happened with different fibers in the warp and weave positions.

And how are pattens made.

This just barely touches the iceberg - seriously...

And always - if you think you are going to work towards making something wearable, you should make sure to do a skin test to see if any of the materials will poke or scratch, and avoid using them if your weaving is to be wearable.

So now that I have fiddled with my small, cheap looms, I can see about getting something a bit more sturdy. And I get to see about finishing these - so check back for that post.

PS - I watched Jill Wiseman's DVD on Kumihimo with Beads - and the finishing the ends part has my brain thinking in terms of how to finish something like these. It also makes my bead making brain think - what kind of ceramic component can I make? But that is a whole other issue...

you are a maker

mary jane dodd

mjd - fragile strength 2013

and you are human.

it's no secret that last january i became mortally ill. 

there have been surgeries, 3 months of iv antibiotic infusions, and more.

more is the residual, lingering pain.

but this post isn't about the pain -

it's about being a maker and being human.

and what do you do when you get cut off from what allowed you to express yourself?

when i couldn't get to the bench to do metal working, it sent me into a depression. not just because of my inability to physically work (though that was big), but because it was and is how i process thoughts and feelings. 

mjd - pin weaving 2013

to my great good fortune, this post came to my attention - and i was able to interpret this technique into something that spoke my language. above you see it as a pendant. below, i changed the shape of the pins into leaves.

mjd - woven leaves 2013

mjd - 2013

i then became interested in small affordable looms that allowed me to make these:

mjd - mat with carved stone 2013

thanks to pinterest (that font of inspiration) - i learned about boro and japanese stitching

mjd - peace flag 2013

and added it to my weaving.

autumn arrived with its gorgeous foliage and hydrangea petals stained by summer.

mjd - fragile strength 2013

mjd - pumpkin garland 2013

i find the stitching to be very soothing

mjd - 2013

mjd - 2013

the point of this post isn't about me -

it's about you.

life doesn't always go along as planned.

and if you are a maker

it is imperative that you find a way to keep doing that.

for you it might be baking,

knitting

crocheting

making your own cards

sewing

or something else that resonates with you.

i just ask you to keep trying

depression

physical injury

emotional injury

are all debilitating.

but you are stronger than any of them -

even on your worst day.

mjd - open heart 2013

remember

'the wound is the place where the Light enters you.'

- rumi

mary jane dodd

brass discs - mjd 2013

one of the things i love about metalworking is that the skills i have learned for jewelry can be applied in other places.

september 21 is the international day of peace.

i was weaving flags for my project but by the end realized that i needed soft chimes to hang with them. 

brass discs - mjd 2013

enter stamping, doming and wire working. 

flags for peace - mjd 2013

i hope that as you add techniques and materials to your repertoire, you sometimes allow yourself to imagine them applied in other ways. 

making is magic

who are you?

mary jane dodd

leaf - mjd 2013

part of maturing as a crafts person is gaining insight into what resonates with you, 

into what aesthetic is most representative of your intentions. 

it takes a lot of experimentation,

patience

and an understanding of who you are 

and how you wish to connect with others. 

leaf - mjd 2013

finding a way of working with fibers that is consistent with how i worked with metals is something for which i am grateful.

i have been working with leaves for a good while now -

sheet metal

softly folded

and given heat patinas -

and was so pleased when i could translate them with threads. 

leaves - mjd 2013

it's not always about how clever you are,

but how true you are to yourself.

your way of processing,

of seeing the world

through your eyes

with your experiences

and with your hands

is a beautiful thing.

find a way to make the techniques you learn

and the materials you use

into a reflection of you.

that's what the world needs.

loose ends

mary jane dodd

mjd - 2013

my work is driven by thoughts and feelings.

i came upon some words of rumi that resounded richly -

'the wound is the place where the Light enters you.'

mjd - 2013

where the Light enters, 

it heals and intensifies.

this results in a need

for its release

so as to share it with others.

mjd - 2013

loose ends 

can have purpose.

mjd - 2013

they are like a hand extended

or a rope thrown to a drowning person.

available and willing 

to anyone who needs them.

creating ties where none existed before.

loving the ripples

mary jane dodd

i was invited to teach at our county teen arts festival this week... almost 2000 kids come through over the course of 2 days... this photo is from my first workshop (there were 3 a day - 45 minutes each with 15 minutes in between... riiiight)... 

see how neat and orderly everything is? it's like when you have your first child... and just like having your first, they are the only group i got pictures of... 

because after that, all bets were off!  

i thought it would be sensible to limit the class sizes to 15... 

that was sensible... 

but it didn't happen! 

really, how do you turn away the kid who wants to learn but didn't get to sign up because she was being critiqued?!  except it wasn't just one child... 

i taught about 120 kids... 

at the end of the first day, i was cleaned out of the materials i had purchased for 2 days... 

i wanted to show them something they could do, they could afford and that might keep them experimenting... something they could teach their friends... 

we made wrapped beaded bracelets... i taught them a weaving technique and they were excited... (and i was excited that they were excited because i was worried that no one would sign up... i even brought a book with me just in case...)

it was an incredible experience and i want to thank sandy at the monmouth county arts council for the opportunity... i would love to do it again... 

the kids were wonderful and, as always, helped me to hone my skills and kept me learning... i thank them sincerely... 

if this sounds like something you might want to do, join your local arts council... you never know what kind of opportunities might present themselves!

and on a more serious note, i would like to mention the loss of one of our own from this blogging community - judy glende... a beautiful, caring creative who no longer suffers but will be terribly missed...)

guest post - jeannie ortiz

Hi!  My name is Jeannie Ortiz, I am happy to be a guest blogger...and I can’t stop making things! Right now I am all wrapped up with fiber arts - spinning, weaving, macrame and playing with all modes of adornment - sacred, beautiful, playful and practical.  For the past five years, I have been living nomadically in the American West, India, Nepal and Mexico.  I’ve spent countless hours meandering through the mountains or near the ocean where I find natural treasures to incorporate into my art.  It is impossible for me to come back from a hike without pockets full of rocks and other treasures from the earth. These crystals, stones, bones, seeds and wood meld together in an amazing puzzle with string or yarn to create something new, which carries an essence as ancient as the stones themselves.

I create adornment that intersects every day life with the sacred and have always found it very important to draw from tribal cultures.  In these cultures jewelry is worn not solely because it is beautiful,  but because it connects them with their lands, people and history.  In my work I want to create bonds from our primal humanity to our modern world by creating treasures that anyone can connect with.    

Macrame baskets feel like a natural form to carry the tiny treasure I find.   The making of baskets is a personal way to incorporate all the cultural history of basket making - carrying food, belongings, ashes, sacred things - into a simple and beautiful object to be worn and treasured.  Experimental macrame has become an amazing mode of working for me because of its sculptural possibilities and ability to marry many materials into one piece.

At a certain point it is equally as important what is physically within the basket as the thoughts and ideas have been put into it by both creator and wearer. I like the idea that these stones I find move around in the world of people, bringing the energy of the place they were found to the wearer, whether it be from a mountain top in New Mexico, a stream in the Himalayas or the beach in Mexico.   As they are worn and loved, I hope the pieces take on a new life with new stories becoming entwined within their knots.

I love to make things that make you want to look closer, pieces that have a strong visual weight, although their physical weight may not be much.  Wearing a piece of jewelry should be a sensual experience that engages more than just your eyes.  Its like going to a museum and being able to touch the art, to feel it out, and see what it is all about.  For many of the pieces, the stones are permanently knotted within, and are only visible upon close inspection, or when the sun hits just right to reveal the crystal, or turquoise nugget hidden inside.  

I also have a bit of an obsession with the need to make jewelry both extremely strong and comfortable, something that can be worn for weeks or years, and not be taken off.  This comes from my own habit of breaking and loosing jewelry while swimming in a river, camping or dancing.  It is important to find the balance between a visual delicacy and simplicity, and inner strength.  Most of my necklaces are made of a supple waxed nylon which is extremely strong and lends itself very well to the tubular forms of macrame.

When I physically begin a piece, it’s all about the central point.  For the baskets I begin at the bottom of the basket and work up.  For the pieces with a focal point, I begin with the stone, and watch it grow.   The beads are also an amalgamation of collected treasures.   In the formation of a necklace, the beads throughout become just as important as the center-piece.  

It all starts, and ends, from the need to create, to take the materials I have, or have found, and turn them into something new, something like I have never seen before.  A constant evolution through experimentation is what it is all about...to truly make something new each time, with love.

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learn more about jeannie and new tribe textiles at these places:

http://homemadespaceship.net/

her etsy shop

thank you so very much jeannie for sharing your beautiful and inspiring work...