Headed Home...

Saori Residency - Day 8

One last adventure in Victoria before heading home…

This morning we caught the ferry and headed back into Victoria. We have fit some much into one week that it is hard to believe that it was just a week ago when we first met!

The view from the ferry between Salt Spring to Victoria. 

Once in Victoria, we had a chance to visit Lynn and her weaving studio. She shared many of her woven pieces with us and I got a chance to try some of them on.

I have been inspired to try some other clothing patterns once I get home and I think my squid will get some t-shirt ties like Lynn had put onto one of her squids. Thank you for the inspiration! 

Todays's quote of the day, "Abruptly, sophisticatedly, colorfully, and conspicuously there are some people who handle it effortlessly." -Misao Jo

As a gift, I brought Lynn a little painting that I did  inspired by her weaving last Sunday. 

Lynn was a great tour guide today. We went to a couple small shops that sold artwork made by local artists, Picot and Forge. At Picot, Britt had her Saori loom out in the shop and and some of her woven pieces for sale. 

We had lunch at a restaurant called Nourish which had fresh, gluten free foods. It was in a renovated old house with high ceilings, but it was the sticks covered with moss on the window sill that caught our attention…

Our woven clothing caught the attention of our waitress. Hopefully she will be a new Saori weaver at some point soon... 

Then we headed to the water. As Jacqui Bonwell had said at the Chakra Cleanse I attended back in the fall, "In times of transformation, go and sit by the water." It has been nice to visit the water in one way or another almost every day while here. Today we walked the Breakwater at Ogden Point. The view was beautiful. 

What a great way to end a fantastic week full of creativity and adventure! 

Feeling free, now I am headed home. Thank you for an amazing week. 

The West Coast Dream Squid

Saori Residency- Day 7

Quote of the day
"There are things you can't see without throwing away, but also you can get something as a result of discarding."

What a perfect quote for my last studio working day here in the island. Both Terri and I on the cusp of change and transformation. It has been nice to work alongside one another in the studio.

At the cottage, I have been working on the small loom to create a circle of weaving. I am happy to be learning so many new techniques while I am here.

Many of my pieces are about he passages of time and I am usually weaving about he passage of time, but with this piece, time is determining what will become. The circle piece will be only as long as I have time to make it…

The remainder of the Terri- warp will have to be woven by Terri. I kind of like that idea as well and I look forward to what it will become...

In the studio, it was time to take the fabric and sew it into something. Terri showed me how the patterns would work out by having me make them out of paper first. The fabric just did not want to be a west coast dream coat, so it became a west coast dream squid. The squid pattern takes a rectangle of cloth and by making a triangular fold and cutting arm holes creates a garment that Lynn told me, "Looks flattering on everyone." It also requires only a little bit of sewing and can be worn various ways. That's the garment for me.

The west coast fabric

The paper mock-ups

It decided it wanted to be a squid

The arm hole trick, thanks Lynn! 

As I worked on the squid, Terri worked on the weaving out of paper yarn. Finishing the edges with a hem stitch. the piece is beautiful and includes some parts where combing is done to create these open spaces into the fabric. Terri told me Eiji gave her this yarn and he does a lot of combing in his weavings as well, like the one hanging in the window in the background of the photo below.

the hem stitch

Terri's weaving in the foreground and Eiji's hanging in the window in the background.

"Little Terri" is still a work in progress, but I wanted to share how it looks when the cool cross comes off the loom. The pictures do not do the pictures do not do it justice, but here is Terri hanging around in her natural habitat.

We took a little afternoon field trip to visit Lorrie and her sheep. Some adorable little lambs had just been born and were very springy, friendly and absolutely adorable. It is nice to know that the woolen locks that I have been weaving into many of my pieces while I was here come from these happy and well-cared for sheep. I also bought some woolen locks from Lorrie to bring home and weave with.

Back in the studio, it was time to complete the squid… Here are the results…

the front

the back

another way to wear it…

I will end today's post with a quote I saw in the Salt Spring Island Studio Tour Guidebook….

"If I had known about the richness of this island, I definitely would have planned to stay longer." -a happy visitor

Kannryoku is Sprouting Up

Saori Residency- Day 6

A sculpture by a local artist in the sculpture garden we stumbled upon this afternoon. 

Kannryoku- On my first day on Salt Spring Island, Terri told me about the message Misao had written for her…

It does not have a direct translation into English, but may mean something along the lines of "from the heart" but it is more of a feeling that is being expressed rather than something that you can say in words….

Thanks to Marie we have learned that kannryoku means, "a sense of ability to feel something". Misoa has created this word and says, "Kannryoku expands with spontaneity and stimulation." 

This experience as the Saori Salt Spring Artist in Residence has been full of spontaneous planning and lots of stimulation for learning new things. The calendar quote of the day today is, "Wait for sprouting up, if mess around, it will be destroyed." Kannryoku is certainly sprouting up! 

Today I worked on "Little Terri" while Terri worked on a weaving using this cool washable paper yarn from Japan that she had been given. The yarn is like a super story raffia. After warping it, it sprung off the warping board into quite a tangle. Terri was able to tame the tangle and thread the loom. The fabric  looks great so far. I wonder how it will wash up? I wonder what it will become…

The morning sunlight lights up the door tot he studio, inviting us in. 

Look at this yarn as it pops off the warping board.

Hmmmmm...

No problem.

An interesting piece of fabric

In the meantime, working on "little Terri" the first wrap bracelet that I added to the weaving created an interesting shape into the fabric…

Adding the items Terri gave me into the fabric...

I learned a new technique today called the cool cross. Marilee had shared her piece at the Kai and I knew I needed to learn that trick. I decided that learning something new from Terri would be a perfect thing to include into the piece about her. Thanks for teaching me this Terri. 

This will make the piece three dimensional when it comes off the loom. 

Terri with "little Terri" or what has now become Terricloth! HaHaHa

We went exploring the island a little bit today to see some of the work, studios and galleries of local artist. We also made it to the water. 

wearing my newly woven mobius scarf

We had dinner at the Treehouse Cafe. There is a tree growing right through the middle of the restaurant! They also have delicious food. 

Back in the cottage, I moved the little loom in so that I could continue to work on the Terricloth. I will share more with you tomorrow. 

Wednesday Already!

Saori Residency- Day 5

"An attitude of gratitude brings opportunities"
Sometimes the quotes dangling from tea bags are so right!

In the studio Terri and I were weaving in the morning. Here's Terri's favorite part…

Today's quote of the day, "Creation is mental/spiritual pleasure. Acknowledge the difference between copying and learning.  Lynn came to visit today. She brought some of her jackets to share with me. I am looking forward to making my fabric into some kind of jacket, vest, squid, tunic…we shall see… It will be good for me to learn some of this while I am here. Thanks for the inspiration Lynn!

Once my fabric was complete, I had to wash it first before sewing it into anything…

We had a relaxing lunch break. Once we were done eating, I had fed the birds. They eat right from your hands!

Back in the studio, I began to plan the warp for "little Terri". I am going to weave Terri's piece on the small piccolo loom.

After a productive work day in the studio, we went to Idol Beach to hunt for starfish. They are big, meaty and colorful. We found some great ones on the shore at low tide…

Terri's husband Alan is a photographer and I got to see this team in action today. Terri brought her weaving to the beach and Alan photographed it in various spots. I snuck in, got my shadow in the light (sorry Alan!) and took a few shots too. The rocks there were worn away with fantastic patterns left in them. They looked like lace.

Alan and Terri's shadows in my picture as the weaving is photographed on an arbutus tree. 

The rocks

I look forward to working more on "little Terri" tomorrow as well as sewing my fabric into some kind of clothing…possible my west coast dream coat or a version of it...