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Although the Xmas period is generally one of crazy activity, I always like to warp up my loom so that, when I need recharging, I can disappear into the Loom Room and do a little weaving!  You know that lull between the excesses of Christmas and the indulgence of New Year?  When your body needs calming down and your mind needs something else to ‘chew’ on?  That’s the time to contemplate the threads and do some therapeutic shuttle-throwing!

I always find the week between Christmas and New Year incredibly invigorating where weaving is concerned.  This year I have a series of pieces to try to weave for the Stage 2 assessment in January for my masters degree.  It’s also coming up to a year of frantic weaving to create some amazing pieces for a joint exhibition that Agnes Hauptli and I are touring in 2014.

As some of you may know, Agnes and I are travelling companions when we meet up every 2 years in the US for Complex Weavers Seminars, and we try to take a road trip of around a week to explore the area around the seminars’ location.  Two years ago, we spent some time in Arizona and Utah, visiting the Grand Canyon, on a boat trip down Glen Canyon, were wowed by Bryce Canyon, and stunned by the beauty of Antelope Canyon.  This year, we visited the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virgina, and took in the wonderful caves full of stalactites and stalagmites.  Our joint exhibition is all about the geology of these amazing places, and fits in really well with my masters topic of expressing geology through weave.

Our exhibition tour will start in New Zealand in February 2014, and probably be in two venues before moving on to Lyssach in Switzerland, then on to the Seattle area in time for Complex Weavers (we hope) and finishing up in the UK.  I hope you notice that all the locations are areas of great geology!  We’re really excited about this – it’s a huge undertaking and will challenge us in many different ways, not least writing exhibition proposals and finding venues.  We also are planning on publishing a catalogue.  But first, we have to do some weaving!

As part of my masters, I am hoping to set up a new blog to record the process of organising the exhibition and doing the weaving, and hope to include short videos and photos as we go.  This will also keep anyone interested in the progress of the work for the exhibition updated, so this will need to be set up over the week between Christmas and New Year.  I have to say that I’m really excited about this adventure.  It is a chance to work in large-scale and to put the philosophy and theory of what I’ve been researching into practise.  It’s a daunting prospect, but as Susan Jeffers so eloquently put it, “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway”!!!!!

I suddenly realised a while ago that Richard and Chris Jeryan challenged me to put on an exhibition of my work when they were here learning jacquard weaving all of 5 years ago!  We agreed on a 7 year window, and this will just fit the challenge!  So I can put all the blame on Richard and Chris when it all gets a bit stressful!! :^))  Thanks, guys.

So whilst my DH is slaving over the hot stove preparing the Christmas lunch, I’ll be chilling out (literally!) in my workshop working on some stalactites!

If I don’t get round to posting next weekend, can I take this opportunity to wish you a peaceful and happy Christmas time, whatever your religious convictions (or not…) and

Happy Weaving!