The Community Saori Weaving ready to hang

Today I finally got to finish the saori, freeform,tapestry that we made as a community last September at the Festival of the Arts, with people of all ages taking part. We used plarn, yarn, ribbons, daylily stems, pompons, and sequined fabric.

 I did the finishing rows of half hitches today, then we were ready to remove the work from the Earthloom.  The first picture shows it with the leashes still in place, then what it looked like once they were removed. I was very happy to see that the weaving held its shape nicely without leashes on.

Gallery director Donna obligingly did some warp cutting and some warp tying so I could get pictures of the process, and to help me get the piece cut at the top, before I cut the bottom warp ends, then I turned back all the warp ends top and bottom, and stitched them down at the back. 

 Now the weaving is ready to slide in a dowel, and quite soon, to be exhibited on the library wall for all the participants to admire, and for everyone else to just enjoy.

Now that the loom's empty, I can plan my own weaving on it, and this will not be participatory, but be a work of my own, to be done as an artist in residence, so that people can come in on weaving days and observe and chat and ask whatever they would like.

I have yet to design this, and create a cartoon to attach to the back, and figure out yarns to use, probably my own handspun, and maybe unspun roving, too.

I'll also probably do some beadweaving and other small stuff as a demo, just to show that homemade simple cardboard looms can work fine.

And one of the sessions will be an event, with an old friend, pianist Bill Bauer, improvising on the piano as I work, a new idea, which came from him recently, and we still have to figure it all out!

I will have a solo exhibit in the gallery in the vicinity of all this frantic activity, so there'll be a context.  All good. And the work for the exhibit is coming along, too.