Becka's Project Journal

Saturday, April 30th

tapestry

i just got done hanging my very first (and probably last) gallery show. we are a bit short staffed and so we have all been pitching in to help out. i took on the task of getting the pieces on the walls, the labels and lights on them and helping make everything beautiful for the opening. you can see a few pieces on the website for the Textile Center. the artists, archie brennan and susan martin maffei have been absolutely delightful to work with and i will never forget the time i have spent with them and their work. they are both tapestry weavers, which is an art form i have gained a whole new appreciation for.
i ran across a great website while doing a little research for the exhibit. archie has been doing a study of a series of tapestries called "The Hunt of the Unicorn", which is on display at the Metropolitan Museum. You can see a virtual tour of these tapestries here. you can also see more of their work here.
becka on 04.30.05 @ 12:37 AM CST [link]

Tuesday, April 26th

strawberry kiwi part 2

kiwi2 (17k image)
i got the top all pieced together on the strawberry kiwi quilt. i really like all the bright colors. next i have to figure out how to quilt it.... swirls? lines? diagonals?

becka on 04.26.05 @ 10:23 PM CST [link]

Friday, April 22nd

catch up day

inkle (5k image)
it is once again the day to catch up with a bunch of works in progress. these are a couple of inkle woven bands that i made. they are both going to be lariats for keys etc. when i get some split rings to finish them up. these were done with a mix of perle cotton and cross stitch floss. you can't see it well in the picture, but the center blue stripe of the left band is a variegated perle cotton so the color chages from blue to green randomly throughout this stripe.

i took a basket making class on wednesday night. the class had a may basket theme, so these are both baskets to hold flowers. i didn't put handles on them because i liked the way they looked plain. the one lying down is made from fresh-cut willow and a kind of flexible reed. i love the spiral pattern it has. i am hanging this one up on the wall, i just love it. the upright one is woven to fit a drinking glass inside it, so you can fill the glass with water and put real flowers in it.
inkle (5k image)
this is the beginnings of the strawberry-kiwi quilt. i have been awaiting inspiration to make a baby present for a friend of mine. finally, the strawberry kiwi fabric spoke to me. i pulled out every red and green and pink i had in my stash and i am delighted with the effect. the pieced blocks will alternate with strawberry blocks. i think i am going to put a red border around the whole thing and back it with more strawberries.
becka on 04.22.05 @ 04:21 PM CST [link]

Tuesday, April 19th

Tuesday's Illustration Friday: Reinvent

reinvent (39k image)
i often have to reinvent a recipe...
becka on 04.19.05 @ 08:21 PM CST [link]

Happy Birthday Dear Blog.

my blog turns one today. to celebrate, check out Lucy's Birthday Maze. this is a game andy and i wrote about 8 years ago for lucy's website. be sure to reload a couple of times, there are different mazes you can do. (it may not still work on all browsers.)
becka on 04.19.05 @ 08:13 AM CST [link]

garage sale treasures

treasure (8k image)
this weekend was the textile center's annual garage sale fund raiser. all the items are donated and all the proceeds go to support the textile center. it's a pretty cool deal. so anyhow, it was huge & it was busy but i managed to find a few treasures this year. i got a "UFO" or unfinished object that i just couldn't resist. this suit (above), in just this color, was in a bag and complete except for the hems and waistband. the original stitcher did beautiful work. the seams on the inside of the jacket are all covered with bias tape so they won't ravel. the best part is that it was $5 and it fits me perfectly.
becka on 04.19.05 @ 08:05 AM CST [link]

Wednesday, April 13th

Wednesday's Illustration Friday: Alone

anchovies (47k image)
for daddy.
becka on 04.13.05 @ 05:15 PM CST [link]

i am surrounded by rebeccas today

rebecca (5k image)
so, i started working part time in the office several weeks ago. then we got a great new interim librarian, named rebecca. now next week, we are interviewing someone for another position. can you guess what her name is? that's right! rebecca.

today there was also a "Becka" (not me) that posted a comment on the blog. odd. odd. odd.

P.S. you can get the cute "ransom note" style letters on this site. type in your word. change them around. it's fun!
becka on 04.13.05 @ 04:44 PM CST [link]

on tuesday, my blog turns one!

in honor of that event, here are some project highlights from last year...

April 04 costuming Little Women	May 04 my first artist residency	June 04 Rachel visits and rescues a guinea pig
July 04 learning to dye	Aug 04 lots of paper piecing	Sept 04 getting ready for holiday shows
Oct 04 Halloween	Nov 04 the beginnings of illustration friday	Dec 04 silk screens galore
Jan 05 quilting for a good cause	Feb 05 first gallery show	Mar 05 spring break in Sanibel

becka on 04.13.05 @ 08:37 AM CST [link]

Thursday, April 7th

making dolls

dolls (15k image)
i have made all kinds of stuffed toys, but somehow making cute dolls is much more complicated. i have been wanting to make a raggedy ann ever since i drew one for illo friday several months ago. this is draft three or so. one had proportions that were all wrong. one was just not right. this one is looking more like what i want. as you can see, she's not a traditional raggedy ann. i wanted long ponytails and bright citrusy colors. i am taking photos of the work in progress. i haven't settled on her face yet. none of my experiments have captured the right expression yet. i think that may be the hardest part. next she gets a pinafore....
becka on 04.07.05 @ 06:24 PM CST [link]

Tuesday, April 5th

odd and arcane

rigid1 (20k image)
rigid2 (20k image)
it's been a busy couple of days, so i am posting all kinds of things all at once. this contraption was my mystery of the week. a kindly benefactor donated a very large number of these (sans instructions) to our education program and i wanted to figure out if we could use them. i had my wonderful intern do some library research (a few small leads). i consulted with our master weaving teacher (some theories). finally, i walked down the hall to the weavers guild and asked for guidance. we think what we have here is a "rigid heddle tape loom". rigid heddle refers to the slots and holes (or heddles) that hold the warp strings. these are in a fixed position, hence rigid. it is a loom for weaving tapes or small ribbons. the close-up shot shows how you can move the threads up and down to create your shed (opening you weave through), so the loom does the "over-under-over-under" part for you. i managed to weave about a 10" band that is about 1/2" wide. i am a little awkward with the loom still, it seems like i don't have enough hands.

i am also learning about a cord making tool called a "lucet". a friend showed one to me. she carries it around in her purse to work on when she has time to kill. we have a coffee date so that i can learn how this little gadget works.

becka on 04.05.05 @ 11:41 PM CST [link]

Tuesday's Illustration Friday: Travel

travel (22k image)
for my sister, who travels a lot for her job. i imagine her walking through the airport in her stripey socks.
becka on 04.05.05 @ 11:19 PM CST [link]

Saturday, April 2nd

A Month of Softies: Self-portrait of the Artist as a Young Child

softiemar (36k image)
i didn't get in by the deadline, so it's not part of the gallery this time. here is my self portrait. i don't really think it looks like me, but it certainly represents me. i made my little doll out of felt. i used to love tiny things - tiny books, dolls, toys - and i loved making little felt creations. "becky" has long hair and ponytails , which must mean that this is about 3rd grade, since that's when i got bangs cut. she's wearing a flowery sundress, because i love to wear dresses, even though i didn't wear them all the time. and she's holding a pair of scissors for making all kids of crafts and my "bear-bear", cinnamon. cinnamon bear is a little steif teddy bear about 4 inches tall. she was my very favorite friend to make clothes and things for. my very first knitting project was a sweater for cinnamon (a pastel rainbow cardigan with a hood) and when i learned smocking, she got a little smocked dress. fond memories of my friend, berit, who taught me both of those arts. "becky" is also wearing a little orange necklace that i remember having. my aunt marcia made for my sister and i necklaces with our names on them. she asked us what our favorite colors were and i picked orange. i think it is also important to imagine another little felt doll standing just behind "becky". this one also has long brown hair in ponytails. as a kid, where ever i went, my sister beth was always there too.
becka on 04.02.05 @ 01:24 PM CST [link]

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