Blog
Inspiration for tapestry design can come from an infinite number of sources. But actually recognizing something as a starting point for a design can be tricky! My experiences as artist-in-residence at Petrified Forest National Park last year have informed my design skills tremendously.
This experience of using a little loom and simple forms inspired by the environment was so powerful for creating meaningful tapestry designs, that I wanted to share it with all of you.
I really enjoy playing with color. And what better way to experiment with color than making your own yarn for tapestry? Interweave's spinning magazine, Spin Off, has an article in the current issue (Spring 2017) about spinning for tapestry weaving by yours truly.
The dyeing, spinning, weaving, and writing of this article was an adventure. The real story is that my original intent was to spin various colors of fleece and weave them while hiking for two weeks on the Colorado Trail last summer. I quickly remembered how much I like hiking for 12+ hours at a stretch and how little time that leaves me for sitting still and spinning or weaving. I only finished one tiny tapestry on that hike and it was not the thing for this article.
The tapestry heart project has been a lot of fun. I am still seeing hearts out there being woven, and quite frankly have one more in my head I haven't gotten to yet. Thank you to everyone who has participated so far. Keep weaving! The more love we send out into the world, the better. I am happy to add more photos to this post, so if you have a woven heart image you'd like here, send it my way! And if you have a story to go along with it, I'd love to hear it.
Yesterday I finally made the trip to FedEx where I shipped off my newest tapestry, Emergence VIII. I was surprised to find that I was a little shaky and sad when I got back in the car. Partly that was about entrusting this piece of art to the 19-year-old behind the counter. (In Marcus's defense, he was exceptionally professional, he helped me pack the piece extra well, and he made sure it was appropriately tracked and had to be signed for.) Partly it was that empty-loom syndrome and the need to take the next step forward and not being quite ready for it.
Have you seen this new trend with people using Facebook Live? It is rather popular and I think that is because it is a lot of fun to know you're watching someone live and you are even able to ask them questions in real time.
Yesterday I did my first lengthy FB Live on my business page, Rebecca Mezoff Tapestry Studio. If you missed it, you can see the replay on my page right now. I have pinned it to the top of the feed for the moment, but if you're seeing this a week or more down the road, just search for it using the guide below.
Sometimes I think there are two different people living in my head in regard to stuff. There is the massive-yarn-stash and weaving-tools-collecting Rebecca and there is the woman who can head out for a month-long backpacking trip with 15 total pounds of gear (plus food and water of course) and be totally happy with the items in my pack.
I have a decision to make about an upcoming residency at Hambidge. I have been saying for months that I was going to drive to Georgia as The Hambidge Center is a difficult place to be without a car. But if I'm totally honest, the real reason I wanted to drive was because I could fill my little Subaru with ALL the tools. I could bring my spinning wheel and boxes of yarn and all the drawing materials I wanted. I could bring my hot pot and a folding chair and my yoga mat and even my favorite foods. It was about the stuff.
