Tag Archive for: saori kai

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Artist in Residence (AiR) – Fall 2016

Lynn Jones – reflections on her Artist in Residency at SAORI Salt Spring – Fall 2016
I was delighted to be the Artist in Residence at SAORI Salt Spring for 3 1/2 days this month. The deciding factor for me was ‘weaving on Salt Spring Island without distraction’! I have a very full life at home. Both of my sons are living with me right now, my hubby, Bob and my (getting very old and grumpy) dog, Wilma. Though I have a ‘studio space’, it is shared. With musical instruments and a family computer and lately, some silver smithing / jewelry making tools. I love the busyness of it all, but it does impede the creative process for me. One thing that I took away from my time on SSI is that I’m best really early in the morning. Always knew that, but never really put it to creative use. So, from this time forward and forever more, I will use the time from waking til 9:00 am to be creative, alone, with my cloth and my babe (draping, shaping, cutting and sewing). I can weave with everyone around, but I can’t improvise with my cloth unless I have some peace and quiet. So, I had time to create…2 pieces I’d woven earlier. A jacket in blues with blue jean sleeves and a tunic woven with fabric from some thrift store finds.

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img_0570-e1479166785661-450x600The other amazing experience I had with Terri was the time to collaborate on a weaving. I had ‘scored’ some thrift store silk. 75% off beautiful blue, green, pale yellow, mustard and white silk threads! This was our inspiration.

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Though I had a plan for the weaving, it became something completely other! SAORI philosophy tells us to listen to the cloth, not to plan ahead of time, to weave ourselves. So, the plan I had will materialize on some other visit. What Terri and I created was a kelp bed, unintentionally of course . The whole weaving was shared…every piece that went into it, every idea, all the threads. As Terri so beautifully put it, there were no egos. We threw ideas back and forth. We have so many more ideas to put into our future weavings!

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It was just as much fun weaving as it was photographing the experience. We had to keep reminding each other to take pictures….. And sometimes we just got silly!

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I had time to create in the cottage.

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To cook for Terri and Alan. To sip wine and listen to music. Carole King’s Tapestry was my go to cd. How appropriate!!!
I am so very grateful for the experience of being the AiR. Looking forward to annual WOWWWs (weeks of weaving, wondering and wandering) and whatever else comes from my journey into SAORI weaving and it’s never ending possibilities.

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I read this quote from Misao one morning:
“I am often asked, “What did you do before you started weaving? You must not have been just an ordinary housewife.” Well, when I was twenty five years old, I had a profound experience that opened my eyes. Some would call it a revelation sent by a Supreme Being. Anyway, it turned out to be my work for the rest of my life. In my pursuit of this, I have always been aware that some great, invisible power is within me. Looking back, I see that each small incident I experienced as an ordinary house-wife (mother, sister, banker for me) led me to this path. All the experiences in the past were preparation for what I am now doing. Simply put, everything was leading me to comprehend that kansei (the significance of an intuitive sense of beauty existing inside of us.) is inherent in everyone.”
How appropriate for me to read this while being the AiR.

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I had a great time with Lynn. It was fabulous to collaborate and explore together – so many ideas!
Happy Weaving,
Terri
Next Artist-in-Residence: February 2017 application info tba
My website: www.saorisaltspring.com
Or you can find me more often on Facebook or Instagram.

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Artist-in-Residence – Spring 2016

Earlier this month I was so happy to host Stacey Piwinski as the Artist-in-Residence at SAORI Salt Spring. When we were setting up the residency, Stacey requested that we go to Pacifica Paddle at the beginning rather than at the end of the residency. She wanted to meet others in this SAORI community and see how that may influence her work during the week at the studio. “We learn from each other”

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So, we set up weekend workshops and a SAORI Kai. I had a lot of feedback from people after about how much they were inspired by her presentation of her work and her process. One piece that she shared with us was something she had worked on over the period of two years. She wove a piece each month that reflected her life over that month. The following year in the same month she did more work on that same piece.

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We shared with her some of our weavings and clothing design, wall hangings and pieces of cloth. It was all a wonderful start to the residency.

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As Stacey was here, she wrote a blog post for every day – documenting the weaving, meetings with people, conversations, places we visited on the island. If you haven’t already seen them, these posts are well worth a read. Lots of photos too!

Day 1 – Pacifica Paddle – “Weaving, Water & Butterflies”
Day 2 – SAORI Kai – “SAORI Sunday” – Part 1 & Part 2
Day 3 – SAORI Salt Spring – “Tall Trees and Green Moss”
Day 4 – SAORI Salt Spring – “Delightful”
Day 5 – SAORI Salt Spring – “Wednesday Already”
Day 6 – SAORI Salt Spring – “Kan Ryoku is Sprouting Up”
Day 7 – SAORI Salt Spring – “West Coast Dream Squid”
Day 8 – Victoria – “Headed Home”

Stacey worked on different pieces while she was here including one she called “Little Terri” – this piece incorporated a collection of items that I had given her at the beginning of the week. It was jewelry of mine, collected over years, that I didn’t wear anymore.

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…a mobius (note that there is no fringe!)

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… and a squid vest

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squid vest

She brought me one of her works – that incorporates painting and weaving and it now hangs next to my SAORI Calendar in the studio.

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We enjoyed the days, the visitors to the studio and the island…the days went by way too quickly!

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Until next time…

Mt. Maxwell

Happy Weaving,
Terri

My website: www.saorisaltspring.com, see some updates on my Gallery page here.

Or you can find me more often on Facebook or Instagram.

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A weekend at Pacifica and an upcoming SAORI Kai

For a year now, I’ve been teaching workshops at the beautiful Pacifica Paddle location in Brentwood Bay on Vancouver Island. It is so wonderful to have my looms and supplies there at a ‘satellite studio’ and just come over on the ferry to share SAORI weaving.

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Here is a sampling from this weekend.

We arrived on Saturday morning and the weather was a bit misty…

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One of the first weavings was in all whites. Stunning!

White weaving

Then more colour, a lot more colour, crept into the next one.

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Some rugs were woven with local wool and alpaca roving. This one for a lucky kitty!

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The following day we had a full workshop including members of the Victoria Weaver’s Guild – they were interested in seeing what SAORI was all about and trying the looms out, learning about the philosophy and letting go…

We tried some ripple weave,

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feather plying,

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And lots of colour and texture.

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Marilee was learning to make warps with Kenzo’s new warping tools. It’s kind of like making your own pre-wound warp. Quick and easy to do – and it can all be beamed and threaded right at the table. Or you can use the loom.

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A wonderful weekend again.

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Thanks to Peter & Sandra for making these workshops possible at their workshop location. And to all who come out. You can always go out for a paddle while you are there – or bring a partner or friend who would like to get out on the water.

You can also enjoy a paddle

Next month there is a workshop on Saturday, March 12 from 10-3 and then a mini-workshop on Sunday, March 13 from 10-12. We will be joined by a special guest – Stacey Piwinski from Boston – who will be the Artist-in-Residence at SAORI Salt Spring that week! Come and meet Stacey and see some of her works from her recent exhibit.

Stacey Piwinski, Artist in Residence

PLUS a SAORI Kai on Sunday, March 13 from 1-3. Please come out, bring your weaving, your questions and share in the joy of SAORI. All are welcome.

Happy Weaving,
Terri

My website: www.saorisaltspring.com, see some updates on my Gallery page here.

Or you can find me more often on Facebook or Instagram.

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Artist in Residence Month

February this year is an Artist in Residence month for me. The last time I did this was May 2013 – you can read about my adventures from that year here. I felt it was time to do it again. For those that didn’t read my blog then, it was a time for me to focus on my weaving as an Artist in Residence – in my own residence and studio.

So this year’s residence started with a SAORI Kai over in Victoria at Knotty by Nature. What a great way to start out – sharing our SAORI stories and inspiration. Some new and visiting people were there which added to the Kai. Thanks to all who came!!

 

Lynn showing the back of her vest and it's construction

Lynn showing the back of her vest and it’s construction

As I start on this next Artist in Residence (AiR), I’ve been wondering what my focus will be.

The first day at home, I was unloading my van and organizing the studio after taking 6 looms and material, etc. over to Victoria. As I was doing that I was thinking about my AiR and also thinking back to Loomsday and what warps were still on my looms. One was my ‘Christmas warp’…

 

This was a warp I put on before Christmas thinking that someone might like to weave something in Christmas colours – or that I might. One person did a weaving, but then there was still lots of warp left. I wondered – how can I weave this so that it doesn’t look like ‘Christmas’?

I looked at my bobbin tray – full of partial bobbins from my recent workshops…

 

…and wondered what colours & textures would change the look of the warp? And so I started to weave…

 

 

We’ll see where this goes.

It’s interesting that I have this feeling as I start out that I have to clear all my previous warps before I start on some new things. Making space perhaps for new ideas. I also wound some new warps yesterday – so I’ll just let this process unfold and see if it becomes clear.

During this month I have a workshop in White Rock and another in Victoria at Pacifica Paddle in Brentwood Bay – great chances to share SAORI weaving. I also have people coming to the studio to learn, to share. This is what I love – sharing SAORI!

Other thoughts for the month are to try some new fibres in the studio:

Some great recycled linens from Give a Darn Yarn that arrived last week…

 

Some beautiful rovings from Ashford and of course some of the SAORI Yarn Sets that came just before Christmas.

And some new yarns that I’m hoping arrive soon from New Zealand from Black Hills Yarn which I will be carrying in my shop!

Fun!

I’ll keep posting my explorations….

Happy Weaving,
Terri

My website: www.saorisaltspring.com

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The Joy Coat – SAORI Connections coast-to-coast

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

I thought that this story would be a good celebration of Canada Day. It is a story of Coast-to-Coast SAORI connections. It also has a connection to Peachtree City, Georgia – as that is where the 2014 SAORI Conference is being held this month!

Susan Forsberg writes:

There is a SAORI Weaving page on Facebook that I frequent as a source of inspiration and community and one posting caught my heart. The cloth was attractive for the colours used and the texture of the weave. The photos were tantalizing as well as intriguing. I wondered how it was woven and kept looking to see what I could. The more I looked the more in love I was with the cloth. The weaver Janet Sponagle Hopper from Halifax called it Peach Tree City Cloth. As I was to find out later she wove it during the never ending winter on the East Coast and was intending it to go to the SAORI Conference in Peach Tree City in July 2014, the colourful weave uplifted her spirits during the cold winter. In the comments of other weavers to her post was the question about how it was woven. Janet’s answer was precise and clear as she gave her method of warping and weaving, which I printed out for future reference, as I said I was intrigued by the weave. Janet’s description of how she wound the warp and threaded it and then wove it opened new doors for me as I had not explored any of these areas in my own weaving. I kept examining the photos one after the other and the more I did the more I was in love with this cloth.

 

Finally I contacted Janet through a message and told her that I was ‘reaching for the moon’ and asked if she would part with this cloth and sell it to me and to my delight Janet said YES, I was so excited I nearly fell off my chair.

 

Soon after we talked on the telephone and got to know one another and connected on many levels and many things. Her mother in law lives in Victoria and hopefully we will get to meet on a future visit to British Columbia. A short while after that first phone call the package arrived with tissue carefully in the folds and all around it along with a lovely card saying that ‘it had been a pleasure to get to know me a bit across this vast country and to know that she had created something in the Peach Tree City cloth that brings me joy’ and that she would look forward to seeing my new garment.

 

Well I looked and looked and hugged that cloth, studied patterns for garments, and looked at the cloth some more and I loved the flow of the weaving. The more I enjoyed the cloth the more I didn’t want to cut it to pieces and reassemble it into a garment. I liked it just as it was woven and in the order that it had been woven. I made my choice to cut it once only in half. Then I hand stitched it together and made my “Joy Coat”, put it on took photos and sent them to Janet. Thankfully she was pleased with how I had chosen to create the my part. I am filled with the Joy of the Coat, and the joy of the cloth, and the joy of the SAORI Story we share coast to coast across Canada.

 

Thanks to Susan for the great story and to Janet for the photos of the cloth. This story was shared recently at the SAORI Kai in Victoria at Knotty by Nature. Great SAORI Connections!

Happy Weaving,
Terri

My website: www.saorisaltspring.com

 

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SAORI Kai

Last week I hosted a SAORI Kai at Knotty by Nature in Victoria…

 

It has been a long time since we’ve had a kai and it was great to see everyone, share our weaving and be inspired by each other.

I was so excited I forgot to take photos of most of it and so missed many of the lovely pieces!

Here is the ‘firebird’ warp that I made, woven by Tara…being discussed by Eve, with Lynn in the photo in her wonderful boat neck top…

 

An amazing find by Jean – she was at a Thrift shop and found this yellow SAORI dress that we all think must have been made in Japan. I wonder what the story behind it is? It now has a home where it is treasured…

 

Tara’s Cirque de Soleil jacket …

 

Looking at fabric…

 

Marie shared a lot of what she has been working on, including upcycling sweaters, making bags and more. I missed photos of all of her work, but here is a photo of her…

 

She now has an ETSY shop where you can see some of her work – and buy it too!

I love to see what people have been working on and hear the stories behind them. Two new weavers were at the Kai and it was great to hear about their experiences with SAORI weaving. Claudia (Claudia’s images) was also there. Catherine Mick – also known as the Rag Lady – brought some things she has woven from kilts – repurposed into beautiful weaving and clothing.

So much fun and inspiration!

Thanks to all who were able to come. We’ll have another in a couple of months – dates tba.

Back to Salt Spring in the fog. Fulford….

 

Mt. Maxwell…

 

Happy Weaving,
Terri

My website: www.saorisaltspring.com

 

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