Festival of the Arts 2013 Plainsboro

Yesterday was the annual Festival of the Arts of Plainsboro, complete with visual arts displayed on clotheslines, waving in the wind!  weaving indoors on the giant Earthloom, Chinese knotting, stitching -- the Embroiderers' Guild put up a display and works in progress, and several members took care of the stitching requirements of visitors -- music of all kinds, including symphonic, chalked mandala, indoor gallery exhibit of found object art, outdoor musical instruments from found objects, food, jewelry, fingerpainting, Chinese painting and calligraphy, Indian henna handpainting,you name it, it probably was there!  all ages and species -- a couple of nice dogs being petted endlessly --  taking part happily, great atmosphere.

I got a nice Community Award, which involved flowers, pix, highly flattering descriptions, and I felt quite famous for a bit there.

Great props to library Director Carol Q, event coordinator and gallery curator Donna S, and cow-toting country girl Julie D, who in real life is the children's librarian.  They are the kind of professionals who make a huge event look like a spontaneous eruption of art and joy, while staying totally calm and on top of it all.  While paddling furiously under the water!

I'll just give you a rapid tour, and you'll see the loom in various stages. The small helpers organizing the red thread were there before opening time, and helped me cut and count the leashes you see traveling up the sides of the weaving as it progresses. Then everyone, including the Deputy Mayor, tried their hands.  I was very happy when I observed several times one youngster teaching another, and bringing their friends to join in.

The loom was mobbed all afternoon, with people working on several different areas at once, ending with the final weaver beside the almost completed weaving, at closing time.  

I need only add the top few rows of stabilizing stitches before the saori weaving, which consists of plarn -- plastic yarn created from shopping bags -- and scraps of fabric and regular yarns,  is a complete artwork ready for mounting permanently in the children's department.  It's about art and recycling!

More adventures for me in the next few months with this loom, about which more later...