“…young girls are coming to the canyon…

and in the morning I can see them walking…” Twelve Thirty, The Mamas & The Papas

Well, I am not that young anymore, but I am a girl & I am going to the canyon, the Grand Canyon. Dennis & I are headed to the South Rim for a quick getaway for a couple of days, just enough to imbue ourselves with a bit of Canyon energy to set the tone for the year ahead. The photo above is of the Echo cliffs, which are just north of the turn off to the Canyon’s South Rim, but they are typical of the cliff faces of the mesas, terraces, & plateaus that define canyon country along Highway 89 & will give you just an inkling of what awaits to enrapture your mind as you peer into the astonishing depths of the grandest canyon of them all. The Canyon is magic & it has been far too long since I last experienced it. I need to gaze upon its opulence, its colors, its vistas… I need to feel alive.

I’ve received my next “assignment” from Silvia Heyden; we will be delving into explorations of color with composition while still being limited to weaving only with her “weaverly motifs”. By now, my first assignment, which included sketches, value studies, & saguaro oscuro, should be enjoying her scrutiny. I cannot wait to receive her comments on my first efforts under her tutelage!

When I first started weaving saguaro oscuro I had decided to use an 8/3 linen warp, instead of my normal cotton seine to see how I felt about it… as I said then I had decided to do “experiments” like that to help me think about materials that might be the most suitable for when I begin weaving the condor tapestry for the Grand Canyon residency. At first I found it a bit rough & hairy, but then I grew to really enjoy its texture, which seemed for some reason to feel more natural than the seine. Once the tapestry was cut off, I was quite amazed to discover that the actual “body” of the tapestry felt completely different with the linen warp… it was heavier, less pliable, more substantial. It had presence. Sewing the hems was much easier, they turned under & remained in place much better while I was finishing them as opposed to the hems of my cotton seine warp tapestries which needed to be steam pressed into place. I had lately been thinking that I no longer wanted to steam & block my tapestries as it seemed to take the “life” out of them in some way. I think I may be on the verge of a love affair with linen…

In light of these discoveries, I’ve decided to again warp with 8/3 linen at 8 epi for my next Heyden assignment, & I am in the process of warping my new-to-me big Shannock for the first time. It is time to get to know one another & find out about its quirks. I won’t be maxing out its entire 6 foot width, only about 2 feet for this maiden voyage. I am winding the warp on my warping board & tying them on in groups with lark’s head knots on the top beam. To keep the warp from becoming a tangled mess, I’ve wound the ends into butterflies until I’m ready to tie onto the bottom beam.

I will also be modifying the shedding system, something I experimented successfully with on my 2 foot Shannock. While I love the Shannock looms, I have always felt that the shedding system did not live up to the looms’ highly engineered design & construction; instead, to me it seemed a bit crude. I found it very irritating to have to stop to thread each warp through the fixed heddles as I was warping, it seemed to interrupt the flow of the process.

After much consideration regarding this dilemma, I came up with a shedding system that was inspired by the one on my Mirrix loom. The test drive was during the weaving of my first assignment from Silvia & it passed with flying colors.

I attached 4 screw eyes to two wooden dowels that were cut to the same length as the original wooden heddle bars, & inserted metal rods through the screw eyes to make the shed bar assemblies.

I then used sturdy Velcro wire wraps to attach steel D-rings to the center of the wooden dowels. The D-rings hook on to the S-hooks that are fixed to the rope attached to the  treadles after it threads through the pulley mechanism.

I was able to warp freely without having to stop. I then used Mirrix Texsolv heddles to attach the warps to the metal rods-- alternating attaching every other warp end to top & bottom dowels.

My two main concerns were that either the Texsolv heddles would break or the Velcro wire wrap would come undone, but neither of those things happened even though I like to weave with pretty high tension. Since the heddle bars on the 6 foot Shannock are just about the same length as what was on the 2 foot Shannock, I believe this system will work for it as well!

Now, I’ve got a suitcase to pack…

Comments

[susan]

I found you through searching for info on Sylvia Heyden. Beautiful tapestries. I am quite envious that you got to go to a workshop with her. I am a novice tapestry weaver in Virginia and so far have been weaving renditions of my drawings and paintings. I found Sylvia Heyden's book and my ideas are transformed based on that book. Thanks for sharing.
Susan ringadal.blogspot.com

[tommye scanlin]

Brilliant adaptation for the Shannock heddles, Lyn! Thanks for posting this. I'm going to give this a try on my new/old Shannock next time I warp it up.

[Rebecca Mezoff]

You are a bright bright woman. Nice shedding system. Enjoy the Grand. It is necessary.

[Kathy S]

The canyon should be beautiful! Especially if you can see it with a dusting of snow on it. I'm sure it will fill you up with lovely images to weave!