Equinox.
Spring is “officially” here & the days will now steadily become longer & warmer. Where did the beginning of 2013 go? In fact, where did the last two years go? I feel like I have opened a door & walked in from a long dream. It will take time to readjust.
Trimming warp & weft ends, tying off & sewing warp ends, sewing slits…
(my finches accept all donations of weaving trimmings for some intense nest building activity… linen is a favorite).
Next came surviving a period of intense anger at my sewing machine when—even after taking it in for service twice earlier this year to make sure it was running well for this day—it died as I was preparing to sew the Velcro onto the cotton twill tape. I am so proud of myself for not running outside with it & pitching it into the wash. But I still had to sew the Velcro on completely by hand. Followed by sewing it to the top header. Don’t forget to add in all the previous sewing of warp ends & slits. And the title tag. And putting a twin warp on the Shannock for the Glen Canyon tapestries. My fingers have finally stopped peeling from the friction blisters healing.
The most amazing thing that happened during all of the finishing drama & trauma were the snowstorms that dusted the desert… yes, that was plural, as in two. In ONE day. Not normal desert weather & something I’ve never seen in 16 years of living here. But quite beautiful.
And at last, after a thorough vacuuming, & a lovely open studio (thank you again, to all who attended!), my condor finally got to shake her tail feathers for the camera at Photographic Works. She is so big that she had to be photographed in thirds, not only because there wasn’t wall or table space large enough, but because of the image distortion that would occur. The crew at PW is the bomb! A big thank you to owner Mary Findysz, & also to Mitch, Steve (left, in the photo below), Carol, & Shelley. A special thank you to J.P. (right, in photo below) for his photographic skills, & to Susan for her Photoshop magic, which was crucial for seamlessly stitching the three images together to make one whole condor. It was amazing & exciting to see her hanging vertically as she is meant to, even if she wasn’t entirely visible. I’ll be publishing the final image here on my blog, soon.
Quite the social butterfly, it was then time for her to head to the WACC (Western Archeological and Conservation Center) headquarters, which is an entity of our National Park Service, for storage prep. My sincere & heartfelt thanks to Kim Beckwith, Registrar, who arranged the rolling by obtaining permission from Grand Canyon National Park, & also to Dana Senge, Objects Conservator (far right, in last photo), & the crew of WACC women who helped me get her rolled up properly.
Now she is all tucked in—safe, sound, & insect proof until she flies to the North Rim later this year. She’ll be nesting here in the studio, keeping an eye on the current weaving activities.
Next in line, please!
