Creative Lighting

Last night our minister spoke about all the different effects that light has on our lives, from the physical effects of light (vitamin D, photosynthesis, sunburns, etc.) to the spiritual effects. As I mused on this later last night, it started another train of thought concerning the effects of light on my artistic fiber endeavors.

I think most of us have learned to look at colors under natural lighting and sunlight if possible. I know photos of my yarns and finished projects are always better when taken outside in the sunlight. Fortunately I live in Florida's sunshine city, Fort Pierce, and we generally have the sun shining at some time almost every day. Colors can look very different under different lights and it always helps to look at variegated yarns in natural sunlight, especially when you want to pair them up with solid colors. Unfortunately light can also have an adverse effects on colors over the course of time and bleach them out to a pale shadow of their former glory.

I also love the differences in color perception caused by texture under strong lighting. Sometimes, when playing with my dye kettle, its fun to see the differences in color when you dye different fibers and yarn textures in the same pot full of dye. A silk ribbon dyed in Periwinkle will look quite different from the bulky wool yarn from the same pot.

Another effect of light is seen in the slight variations of color you get when hand dyeing. Those of us who dye know that one of the beautiful effects from the process is that a solid color is not really a solid color. I love the slight variations in color that give character to my yarns. This effect can change greatly depending upon the available lighting. Last fall I had dyed 3 skeins of yarn in Spruce for a shawl. The lighting in my house showed some little variation in the color. Later in the month, while in rehab for my knee replacement, the color variation hardly showed up at all in the flourescent lights of the hospital room.

I also love the play of light that I get when I spin Angelina into my fibers. I recently used my drum carder to blend turquoise wool with small amounts of Silver Sparkle Hologram Angelina and black and white mohair and alpaca. Then I spun up all the batts to make a lovely yarn for use on a triangle loom. The finished shawl was a treat for myself. It is beautiful under normal indoor lighting. When you take it outdoors into the sunshine it becomes spectacular with little bits of colored fire sparking off the Angelina. I am adding photos of the shawl and have tried to get the pictures to show the effects of the Angelina but the camera's eye just cannot do the same job as the human eye. P.S. The model in the photo is an acquaintance from our LYS.

Spinning in Public

I recently spent a whole week demonstrating spinning at our county fair. This is my second year to do this. It's a great experience. People love to watch. For most people its the first time they've seen a spinning wheel in use. A lot of parents use it as a learning experience for their children. Unfortunately many people don't really know what you are doing. Some people think you are weaving and call your wheel a loom. It's important not to embarrass them and just use the correct terms for what you are doing with out noticeably correcting them.

The hardest part of demonstrating is finding a way of letting people be involved in your spinning without messing up the work-in-progress. I think I have finally found an easy way for the children to be involved. I let them put their foot next to mine on the treadle while I pump it up and down. For other requests I now bring two wheels with me. I mainly use my Ashford Joy for my current work-in-progress. I also brought along my Kromski Prelude which was my first wheel. I had a lot of fun with using this wheel at the fair for a special magical purpose. One of the questions I am usually asked is if I can spin gold. This year I prepared some special batts before the fair. Each of these batts had two layers of fawn colored alpaca with a layer of gold angelina in the center. When I spin from these batts it almost looks like I am spinning gold. I also used this wheel for the two or three adults who really wanted to try spinning.

This year we also had a gathering of spinners on the first Sunday of the fair. There were eight of us. Fortunately there was enough room for us to all sit in a large circle with extra chairs for bystanders to sit and watch and learn. Both the observers and the spinners had a wonderful time and this will now be an annual event.

The End of an Era

I was downtown yesterday afternoon when the space shuttle Discovery was launched for the last time. Even though we had partially cloudy skies, we were able to see the vapor trail and the last burn of the expendable booster tank before it dropped off. It was a very beautiful moment. Everyone in the nearby shops had walked out into the street and cheered as we all watched and shared this historical event.

My grown children and the newest generation probably won't quite understand the impact all of this has had on my generation. The space program began during my lifetime and the world was changed forever.

Why is this a post in a fiber artist's blog?

As I said before, the world changed forever in almost unimaginable ways that affected all areas of life. Spinning may be one of the oldest art forms but it has been greatly affected by the space age. Many of the new fibers that we use were able to be developed because of the technology developed during the space race. And they are beautiful! The softness and silkiness of Latte (a beautiful fiber made from milk protein), the loveliness of yarns made with bamboo and seaweed. There are many more fibers waiting to come into being. I still prefer natural fibers like wool and cotton and alpaca, but I like to blend these with the glitter of Angelina (a polyester metallic).

What's the Anal Artist?

Several friends were discussing the habits and artistry of the fiber artist a few days ago. We came to the conclusion that many of us are pretty anal in the organization, preparation and facilitation of our fiber creations. At first the thought of an anal artist almost seemed like a contradiction of terms when you think of the usual artistic stereotype. But then I decided that fiber artists just do not fit the stereotype. I also think most fiber artists are very passionate about their art and are more actively involved in their creations from beginning to end. (How many painters do you know who actually create their own paints and canvases?)

The end product of this discussion was the general consensus that "The Anal Artist" would be a fiberful title for for the blog or business of a fiber artist. And so "The Anal Artist" was conceived and is in the birthing room.

Best wishes to the rest of you anal artists out there!

Art or Not Art: Yarns by Design

I get so frustrated by people who think all Art is strictly painting or sculpture. Art is the combination of a creative state of mind and the passion behind whatever medium is being used. In my case it is fiber. An example of this is everything involved in designing a yarn. I quite often start with an overall concept or story or inspiration, sometimes based on the genius of another artist. Most recently I've used whatever is the monthly theme for the latest Phatfiber box. The June 2010 box has "A Midsummer Night's Dream" theme. I love fairies and decided to use the fairies from the Shakespeare play as my inspiration. Next I saw this lovely fluffy wool with little nubby bits that reminded me of cobwebs. Cobweb is the name of one of the fairies in the play. What else should I throw into the mix? How about some black mohair for a halo effect and some Aurora Angelina for that irridescent luminous magic that belongs to fairies. The next thing to be added is some white alpaca for that oh-so-soft and luxurious feel. I can just see all of this blended together and spun into a lace weight yarn for an airy cobwebby lacy shawl. How can this not be art?
Next thing is to take some of this Cobweb blend of fibers and add some lustrous light blue silk and some of my pale blue meriboo (a combination of merino wool and bamboo) fibers to get the feel of a Luna moth. Voila! The magic of another fairy in the play: Moth! I can see this being spun into a nice sportweight yarn and used for a baby blanket or layette. Again, how can this not be art? It is certainly magical and involves a lot of creative thought processes and a passion for fiber, spinning, and everything else leading to the yarn and eventually a finished garment.

Fiber Frenzy

Fiber + Fiber = Fun. Yesterday was the Treasure Coast Art Association's First Annual Fiber Show. I think we outdid ourselves. Celeste brought her Angora rabbit to show how to pluck their fur for spinning. Mr. Bunny loved it and fell asleep in her lap while being plucked. If rabbits could purr!
She also brought her Majacraft wheel and her rug loom. I will definitely have to try making one of those fleece rugs. I showed everyone how to design a yarn using my drum carder. The batts were totally gorgeous made with a dark blue and emerald green superwash, gold angelina, and a beautiful silk hankie from Gale's Art. I also felted a soap and dyed some fiber and some yarn using Kool Aid. Nffra was painting her breathtaking denim art clothes, Bonnie was there to show her skills in hand painted canvas dropcloths and Jeanne started painting one of her gorgeous silk scarves. We had refreshments and a silent auction. Quite a number of people showed up throughout the afternoon including several of the Knit Sisters from Vero Beach.

Government Spending and Trains

There are many items of government spending that I totally disagree with, but today I lauded the news of money going to develop our rail system. That is until I read the full article. Most of the money to be spent in Florida is for a high speed route from Orlando to Tampa., two cities that are only 90 minutes apart. There are so many other options that would be more usable.

Don't get me wrong, I am all for rail travel. I love it. I do not enjoy air travel in today's world and I think if most people were honest with themselves, they would also admit how little they enjoy air travel. The only good thing about it is speed. The seats are cramped and uncomfortable, security can be a huge hassle, and you spend almost as much time arranging to get on and off the airplane as you spend in the air. You can't move around much and you certainly don't have any scenery to enjoy. With a train you can move around, enjoy the almost hassle free travel, and even have a wonderful meal in the onboard restaurant. The seats are more spacious on a train and even have footrests.

I just feel there would be many better ways to use that rail development money in Florida. In the first place I wish they would reinstate the New Orleans to Jacksonville portion of the Sunset Limited. I would love to once again be able to take the train from West Palm to Houston and beyond. I also wish that they would develop a passenger line all the way down the east coast. It would be so nice to get on the train Fort Pierce and do day trips to Miami or go to the races in Daytona. If we had service along the east coast I would probably get to visit the relatives up north (including my daughter) more often. Service from Orlando to the rest of the east coast (not just Tampa on the west coast) would be a boon to the travel industry. There are probably thousands of people in the Treasure Coast area alone who would go to all the tourist attractions in Orlando and Tampa if they did not have to drive, pay toll roads and pay exorbitant amounts to park in Orlando. As it is we rarely go because the two hour drive each way makes for a very long day, or we have to stay overnight and pay for hotel rooms. We would probably also have more visitors to the Treasure Coast from Tampa and Orlando. The east coast of Florida has many outstanding features for the visitor. There are beautiful beaches, wonderful restaurants, many fantastic galleries and stores, and NASA of course.

I do want to say thank you to the govvernment for investing in Florida's train system. Hopefully this is just a starting point for expanding sevice throughout the rest of the statel