Jun 22, 2011 | Class Act, Latest Art Projects, Tlingit Culture Accentuated, Tools-of-the-Trade |
With left over Ravenstail warp and yarns, I wove a flexible container that straddles the headboard of my weaving loom, to help organize and keep at hand my weft yarns, scissors, straight pins, tapestry needles, measure tape, etc. - all the important tools to have handy while weaving Chilkat or Ravenstail. If you look closely, you will see the individual containers are cedar bark baskets; one woven by my mother, one woven by my daughter, one woven by a friend and one woven by me.
One of the things that I encourage my weaving students to create in their lives is organization. If we want to be an active Chilkat weaver, and we want to keep our sanity while weaving, we must be organized! If we are not born organized, Chilkat weaving will change that part of ourselves to become organized. And if we fight the requirement of becoming organized, then while weaving, we will spend quite a bit of your time sorting through things, trying to find something that was misplaced or lost, etc. When I am in the flow of creativity, the last thing I want to reach for is a tool that has been misplaced and I have to go searching for it, or untangle something or accidentally break something. This kind of act is quite disrupting to the flow of creativity; I work hard at avoiding distractions when I know I’m going into a creative groove; so I have a clean, organized surrounding. For those of you who are Chilkat weavers, for those who have recently learned Chilkat weaving and for those of you who have seen the actual weaving process, y’all understand what I am talking about!
A view from above the Chilkat weaving loom headboard container - notice most of the yarns are in front, while miscellaneous and extra tools are in the back half of the pouch
Why a “flexible” woven container instead of a rigid, wooden one? So that I can travel with it across town, across the inlet or across the continent. It is light-weight and easily packable – a valuable resource for a weaver in motion.
Stay tuned for future blog entries of additional Chilkat weaving equipment and tools.
Thank you for visiting!
Jun 21, 2011 | Latest Art Projects, Tlingit Culture Accentuated |
I immediately took this shot 2 months ago when I moved in and set up my new temporary space. Nope, I didn't plan on having the black leather loveseat match the Tibetan rug match the turquoise couch match the bench match the yellow metal set of drawers match the Chilkat robe - it "grew" organically!
One of the first things I do when I move into a space is set it up comfortably, make the space “flow” and make it aesthetically pleasing; then, I place my loom where it feels best with the natural light being one of the major determining factors for its location. As a young child, my father always encouraged me to “make it look nice.” He encouraged me to take care of my surroundings, be clean, neat, organized, tidy,…and, make it beautiful. I’m not sure if I was already born with the capacity to design and create an aesthetically pleasing, workable space, or if I learned it. But, I enjoy creating spaces. I’ve even helped some of my friends’ do remakes in their homes. It’s fun. And a funny thing, every time I am designing or re-designing a space, I think of my father’s words.
The Chilkat robe on the loom is called “Jennie Weaves An Apprentice” – it is a tribute the apprenticeship with my weaving teacher, the late Jennie Thlunaut from Klukwan, Alaska – it’s the first of my series of robes I call “A Robe Within A Robe.”
Jun 20, 2011 | Latest Art Projects, Tlingit Culture Accentuated, To Market To Market |
A "Catabiense Alba" rhododendrun blooms outside the window overlooking mountains and water. My latest painting: "Jennie Weaves An Apprentice" an acrylic on canvas, is part of a series with this design as its base. It is also the "pattern board" for the Chilkat robe I am presently weaving and intend to complete by mid-July!
I’ve been a privileged girl all my life. My basic needs have been met. I’ve had a roof over my head, decent food to eat, wild water to drink, and nice clothing if I want (but now I’m stuck on black sweatpants over the past 8 years and nobody can get me out of them!). No matter where I have lived in Juneau, there is always a beautiful view because it is just about impossible to not have a view of mountains, meadows, trees, a river, creek and/or the ocean. Although the past two years have been a challenge and I’ve struggled to maintain my basic needs, I am quite blessed with having a wonderful view while I am painting my next 6 original paintings on canvas and new collages. Like what more do we need when we’ve got astounding views to create by, right!?
Painting in the kitchen studio - only for another month, then it's time to move again...("pack it in, pack it out - pack it in, pack it out...")
I am planning on creating a series of 4 to 6 original acrylics on canvas with the same name as above, but numbered in sequence of their creation. Each one will have the foundation of the Chilkat robe pattern board, but a completely different painting. I’m excited about doing this series of paintings. I’ll have one of them for sale during my first show (ever!) at the Stonington Gallery in Seattle, opening September 1st. The others I am hoping I will have completed by the Santa Fe Indian Market August 20-21st.
Jun 19, 2011 | Latest Art Projects, Ravens & Eagles, Tlingit Culture Accentuated |
Drafting up a traditional Chilkat robe based on an old one. This one I call the "Lovebirds Diving Whale."
I’m working on a couple of Chilkat robe designs. One I just completed as part of my “robe-within-a-robe” series for a collaborative project with another artist; the other robe design is this one above. This design is a “diving whale” with an Eagle and a Raven, the Lovebirds. This is a draft of the robe I am preparing to weave, yet I am having second thoughts about re-doing the design so that it goes along with my “robe within a robe” series. My Chilkat robe-within-a-robe series are designs where there is a smaller Chilkat robe within the main image of the Chilkat robe. I have almost completed my first Chilkat robe within this series; it is called “Jennie Weaves An Apprentice.” The deadline for the completion of this robe is mid-July – however, I have been predicting the completion of this “Jennie Weaves” robe for the past two years; so what makes me (or others for that matter) believe me when I say it’s gonna be done by mid-July, huh?
Jun 10, 2011 | Class Act, Tlingit Culture Accentuated |
Strips of sap-free cedar bark in the foreground - students braving an adventure of spinning Chilkat warp!
Sunday night, a few hours after the tail end of the 1st Annual Yakutat Tern Festival, 18 women began to learn the art of spinning Chilkat warp of yellow cedar bark and merino wool. Traditionally, we use mountain goat wool, however, mountain goat wool is a rare find these days and merino wool is the closest fiber to match that of the mountain goat. The class began at 6pm and was only supposed to be 2 hours, but we didn’t get out of the classroom until 11:30pm that night when Evelyn finally broke the spell and said: “Gee, I’ve got to go home now…” Suddenly, all of us realized it was way past our bedtime! That’s what happens when we’re having too much fun!
A class of 18 students making their first attempts at spinning Chilkat warp - L to R: Carol Pate, MaryAnn Porter, Angel Harry, Evelyn Dierick, Carolyn Donohue, Eva Sensmeier, Victoria Demmert, Lois Dworshak, Yvonne Baker, ,Anne Pollnow, Shirley Cain, Joy Klushkan, (Maka Monture & Alison Bremner obscured), Judy Ramos, Penney James, and Gloria Benson
Some of the students are weavers of Ravenstail learned from Cheryl Samuels who revived the art of Ravenstail weaving back in the late 80’s. Ravenstail warp is not spun with cedar bark; Chilkat warp is. Someday, these students want to learn the art of Chilkat weaving, and with the eagerness of learning how to spin their own warp, I can tell these women will be persistent about learning Chilkat weaving.
Thin strips of yellow cedar bark ready to spin with the wool - silky when wet, rough when dry
L to R: Joy Klushkan, Maka Monture, Alison Bremner, Judy Ramos
The youngest student in the class, Angel Harry, organizes her strips of cedar bark and her wool roving to prepare for the next step - the actual spinning on her thigh!
Many thanks to MaryAnn Porter who helped organize this event and brought the class members together, to Carol Pate for the use of her Home Economics classroom and to all the students who braved the adventure of spinning Chilkat warp!
Jun 8, 2011 | Latest Art Projects, Tlingit Culture Accentuated |
Nice heavy-duty pressure cooker
Cedar bark basket weavers need not cook the sap out of the bark as part of their preparation of their materials. Those who are Chilkat weavers need to cook the sap out of the cedar bark before spinning the bark and wool to make their Chilkat warp. In the olden days, a large pot full of water filled with cedar bark strips was placed on a fire outside. The water boiled for an hour or two, then dumped and clean water added and brought to a boil. This procedure continued for a week until there was not a whole lot of sap mixed with the water. This is a long procedure; I did it this way for several years until (the late) Agnes Bellinger, daughter to my weaving teacher (the late) Jennie Thlunaut, taught me how to do it the modern method:
1) With a paper towel, rub the interior and the lid of a large pressure cooker with vegetable oil; 2) Fill the pressure cooker with 2/3 water; 3) Add just enough cedar bark strips to fit into the pot comfortably – do not stuff the pot full; 4) Cover, bring pot to a boil – let boil at 10 pounds pressure for at least one hour, at the most two hours; 5) Release steam; 6) Open lid, let cool down up to an hour; 7) Find a place outdoors where you do not mind sap water being dumped. Do Not dump sap water on your lawn, in a flower bed or where trees (other than cedar) are growing. NEVER dump sap water down your drains or in the toilet. Follow these procedures…
Strips of cedar bark awaiting to be lifted out of their sappy water
With a stick, lift out cedar bark strips from the sap water and place on news paper. (Note: if you use paper towels, there will be a tendency for the paper towel to stick to the bark).
Rule of Thumb: Always take the bark out of the water before dumping the sap water.
Lifting cedar bark out of the sap water
Find a place to dump the sap water. Do Not dump sap water on your lawn, in a flower bed or where trees (other than cedar) are growing. NEVER dump sap water down your drains or in the toilet.
Dumping sap water
8) With a paper towel or rag, immediately wipe all the sap residue from the interior of your pressure cooker including the lid – then wash with pressure cooker with soap and water
Your cedar bark should be free of most of its sap, ready to be split into fine silky strips for spinning with wool to create Chilkat warp.
9) Store your bark in paper bags; never plastic bags nor plastic containers unless you know for sure that your bark is completely dry.
Happy sappy-free bark!
Mar 9, 2011 | Honoring Others, Showing Off, Tlingit Culture Accentuated, Uncategorized |
A painting of Eileen Wagner weaving a cedar bark hat
A couple of weeks ago, Della Cheney contacted all of us who have attended the Sunday afternoon gathering of artists at Fireweed Place. She said that the group was invited to display any of their work in a show down at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center. When she asked Fausto and I to help set up the exhibit last Thursday night, I figured we’d have a few things to show – little did I know we would fill up an entire room! And little did I know that I had anything to show until Della asked me to show some of my paintings and prints. Ha-eh!?
Cedar bark hat in display unit by Eileen Wagner, cedar bark baskets by Della Cheney, Chilkat leggings on loom by Fausto Paulo
We were also invited to demonstrate whatever projects we may have on our looms and hat forms, so about 9 of us showed up, set up tables down the middle of the exhibit room and demonstrated the weaving of cedar bark hatbands, baskets and hats, Ravenstail pouches, leggings and bags, and the weaving of a Chilkat robe.
Juneau Arts & Humanities Director, Nancy DeChurney talks with Della Cheney about this evening's Gallery Walk exhibit
There is a feeling of cooperation and inspiration as we all work individually on our own projects sitting side-by-side with a kind of quiet companionship, the stuff that is made of long-term relationships that will most likely last a lifetime whether we are conscious about our efforts or not.
Patrice DeAsis weaves a cedar bark hat while coils of cedar bark soak awaiting to be stripped
Debra O'Gara and Kendra Makaily enjoy Ricky Tagaban's Ravenstail weaving made of plastic garbage bag strips. In the display case are Percy Kunz's first Ravenstail weavings
The beginnings of a small Chilkat robe by Nora Dauenhauer, a pair of Chilkat leggings and Chilkat by Patrice DeAsis, "Totemic Theory" acrylic on canvas by Clarissa Rizal, a pair of moccasins by Percy Kunz, and button blanket bib by Mary Ebona Miller
Percy Kunz weaving a small cedar bark basket - her pair of sealskin and moosehide mittens are in the foreground - Fausto Paulo's cross-stitched Chilkat tunic is in the background
Della Cheney explains her robe design to Melinda Cavanaugh - Fausto Paulo to the left concentrates on his latest Ravenstail weaving
With assistance from his mother Lorraine DeAsis, Joshua prepares cedar bark strands for weaving by running the bands through the "stripper"
Armondo DeAsis and his brother Antonio, are weaving another round of cedar bark headbands
Folk Festival president Greg McLaughlin with wife, Lis Saya and inventor, John Ingalls hang out enjoying all who attended the exhibit
Irene Lampe and her son, Richard, are excited about "digging in" to the wonderful refreshments
Thank you to all who came out on this cold, slightly-blustery evening and joined us for a round of pleasant artistic company and a bite to eat.
Mar 8, 2011 | Honoring Others, Latest Art Projects, Tlingit Culture Accentuated |
Archie Cavanaugh with grandson, Joseph, and Clarissa who is proudly displaying Archie's latest two CD's "Love Birds" and "Alaska Jazz"
Tlingit Singer/Songwriter/Jazz musician, Archie Cavanaugh launched his latest CD titled “Alaska Jazz.” The past two days, I’ve been Chilkat weaving to “Alaska Jazz” along with Archie’s second CD “Love Birds”. The wonderful, upbeat, jazzy, loving energy of these two albums are the perfect sounds for me to Chilkat weave; I kid you not! I can go long stretches of time weaving happily away to cuts like “Sparklin Eyes”, “Amy” and “Love’s The Way” just to name a few. I mean like, I had to move my Van Morrison over for the past few days. I just want to hear Archie. The problem is that Archie has only three albums, and so the repetition is starting to get to me. What to do about it? Encourage Archie, help Archie, assist Archie, in any way, shape or form, to put together another album! In fact, go to his website and buy all three of his albums. This guy has got to catch up to the numbers of albums Van Morrison has put out, that’s all there is to it!
Check out Archie’s album cuts on his website at: www.archiecavanaugh.com
Feb 28, 2011 | Class Act, Tlingit Culture Accentuated |
Nora Dauenhauer files away her weaving notes in her attache' case of;Chilkat weft yarns
For the past year, Della Cheney has been hosting a group of artists every Sunday afternoon at the Fireweed Place here in Juneau, Alaska. Like Della, most of the artists are Ravenstail weavers, cedar bark and/or spruce root basket weavers, although some of them include additional talents like beadworking, and leather work making moccasins and mittens. When Chilkat weavers joined the basket and Ravenstail weavers last Sunday, Fireweed Place’s activity room was packed. There was a lot of fun and excitement. Time flew!
Yoko Kugo explains to Della Cheney the research she is conducting about whether or not there are effects of climate change on the cedar trees.
There are no specified “teachers” in the group, as we are all learning from one another and teaching one another. There are those of us who know how to weave cedar bark hats, yet are learning how to make moccasins; those that know how to weave Ravenstail and are learning how to weave cedar; those teaching Chilkat who are learning Ravenstail. The combination of learning and teaching goes on and on.
Lorraine DeAsis reinforces her children's knowledge of weaving cedar bark headbands and hats by weaving right along side all four. L to R: Patrice, Joshua, Lorraine, Armondo & Antonio
Leandrea Makaily works diligently on her Chilkat headband
Mary Ebona Miller is weaving three Ravenstail projects on her loom
Shgen George is spinning Chilkat warp on her thigh
Kendra Makaily is learning cross-stitching from Debra O'Gara
Lily Hudson is refreshing Nora's memory about weaving her "bear claw" pattern
A bowl of cedar bark soaks while Patrice DeAsis weaves a cedar bark hat
Eileen is one of Della’s basket weaving students; she has learned enough to pass on her knowledge to others in the group. Although I started my cedar bark hat with Della almost two years ago in a class in Teslin, Yukon Territory, Eileen is helping me complete the very edge of the hat. Both Della and Eileen are wonderful teachers. I’m enjoying the comraderie of these women and all those who are attending the Sunday gatherings.
Eileen Wagner shows Dorothy Owen the 6-strand finishing row of her cedar bark hat
Of course, there are some of us who bring food to share. Eileen is one of those follks. She has been co-hosting this gathering of weavers every Sunday with Della Cheney providing some sort of a hot dish of salmon with rice, snacks and vanilla wafers. She takes really good care of us “kids!” We wanna come back every Sunday for more of everything!
Feb 27, 2011 | Class Act, Latest Art Projects, To See or Not to See |
Brother Rick lights candles for Tim's 53rd birthday - the composition of this photo fell into the "3rds" category
A point-and-shoot kind of gal, I’m stepping into a whole nuther ball of wax taking this online course through the University of Alaska Southeast, and I tell ya, it is so much fun. Sure I have to learn to read my new camera manual, sure I have to read instructions on how-to techniques that I never learned before in Photoshop, sure I’m frustrated with all the gizmos, icons and settings that I gotta figure out in this digital world; these are things that I have resisted doing most of my life. I don’t want to read manuals and instructions; I just want to get out there and shoot. Who’s got time to mess around with instructions!? Gee, believe it or not, I do. I want to learn; i want to expand my horizons, and have fun!
Two Brothers and Mom; this composition also falls into the "3rds" category - this was a powerfully emotional moment for all of us
What is this composition called “3rds?” In my simple definition, it is a composition where the imagery is divided in thirds, which could include diagonal, vertical, horizontal, or curved “lines.” In our on-line class, we can only submit one image per assignment. It is sometimes difficult which one to submit. So I am posting some of the images I chose for the assignment but did not submit along with the one I did submit.
South Franklin Street, Juneau, Alaska - last night - another 3rds composition
"Jennie Weaves An Apprentice" Chilkat robe that I am presently weaving. This was the "3rds" composition that I submitted for my class assignment.
I have rarely seen photo images of Chilkat robes and weavings captured with this type of composition; this is why I submitted this for my “3rds” assignment. I realized that most photo images of Chilkat weavings are straight on shots of the entire robe or close-ups. From now on, I will begin including these kinds of compositions when taking photos of my work. It just makes things more interesting for the viewer, as well as more challenging for the photographer!
On a walk out Auke Bay Recreation area, we saw this pair of underwear, soaked and just hanging out - this was an image that I almost submitted for the "doesn't belong" class assignment
Eagle River Beach skies are always spectacular no matter what time of day, month or year - these hearts (one that is obvious and the other forming) were directly above us - this composition fit under the "doesn't belong" class assignment too. Like how often do you see hearts in the sky, huh? I didn't submit this one because I didn't want my classmates to naturally assume that I Photoshoped that heart in the sky - I swear to God, I did not. And I have a witness that i didn't because there were two of us sitting directly underneath!
A banana washed ashore on Auke Bay beach! This is the image I submitted to my online class for the "doesn't belong" assignment. Why? Because it was dang obvious that this banana just did not belong. If the beach were white, hot sands, the sun were blazing and there were coconut trees with lots of tropical foliage, then I could understand. But, when I saw this banana on the beach, I thought, man what is a nice, ripe banana doing in a place like this!?
The next few images are compositions that I submitted for the various assignments in our online photography class where I did not have other images that I shot for these categories.
This composition fell under the class assignment category "RUBI - a photo that is Relevant, Unusual, Beautiful & Important" - Really? This Photo? Why?
Grand-daughter Violet is a doll; just look at that expression as she checks out the one that is most relevant and considered beautiful (by American standards), while the “foreigners” watch in anticipation and shock saying to themselves “She could have chosen any of us as her baby doll…but how is it she chose THAT one when the girl is only three years old!?” Of course this is my RUBI choice, check it out: A Barbie doll is something we can all RELATE to, my Violet is BEAUTIFUL, the company is UNUSUAL, and it is very IMPORTANT to scrutinize the quality of each doll if you’re paying big money!
The underground train in either Vancouver, B.C. or Seattle - I forget which one; this image I submitted for the class assignment entitled "best represents my concept of photography." I generally use photography for documenting my art progress and work, events, travels, people, places and things - I consider myself a "drive-by-shooter." This image represents my "quick-on-the-draw" method while documenting my travel.
The sound and anticipated taste of fresh, untainted wild water! Nothing like it. We are fortunate to be one of the few places on earth with pure wild water. Nugget Falls, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau - This photo fell under the assignment of "a photo that appeals to a sense other than sight (touch, hearing, taste or smell)...
My imagination got away with me when I turned around and saw an extended arm reaching out of the fireplace! - This image I chose for the assignment of "disturbing."
Clothespin photo by my son, Kahlil Hudson. The class assignment was to find a photograph (taken by someone else) that was one of the most powerful and riveting images I'd ever seen and explain why the picture was so meaningful.
She never lined her drawers with scented liner sheets, incense or sachets of fragrant dried flowers. Mom loved the smell of fresh air in her clothing. A clothesline in winter didn’t stop her from hanging out the laundry; by golly, they were freeze-dried if it took capturing that fresh, natural scent! How many of us make the time to hang our laundry outside on even the sunny days to capture the wind, sun and predicted rain? When Mom first came to Colorado for a visit the first time years ago in 1993, I had discovered how she was always eager to do the laundry and hang it out to dry (probably because it was always sunny in the town we lived). I didn’t know this about my mother because we didn’t have a clothesline when we were growing up (because we didn’t have any land to make a clothesline post). When I first laid eyes on this photograph, I cried. It brought up the firm reality that I will never see my mother hang my (or her) laundry again, as I no longer live in Colorado and she has become too fragile to reach for a clothesline. This image also reminds me of a time not so long ago in our own home town of Juneau where we weren’t constantly rushing about and actually took time to “smell the roses…” When’s the last time you saw clothing swinging in the breeze?
