Tablet Weaving loom

I made a loom today :)
I have been planning on making a loom I can use specifically for tablet weaving (aka card weaving), but hadn't gotten around to it. But when I suddenly had a free hour this morning, I ran over to Hardel's Lumber and bought my stuff!

It took about an hour to put together, and its pretty simple. And pretty! The red is the natural color of this wood, padouk.
To make it, I had the shop cut me a piece three feet long, then had them take off four pieces from one end: two @ 1.5 inches wide and two @ 2 inches wide. The 2 inch wide pieces became the uprights the warp is stretched across. They are attached with screws to the base. The 1.5 inch wide pieces are laying flat at the ends, with the wingnuts and bolts, and are the tensioning devices.
I am sure I will discover some "should-haves" as I work on it, but the simplicity should work in my favor.
The work that is on right now is a piece I started in a class with Linda Hendrickson. It is destined to become a leash for my pug dog named Zaboo.
Here is a close up of the end so you can see the gorgeous color of the wood!

Total cost: $27, of which about half was the cost for the wood. A piece of nice strong maple or oak would have been less spendy. But pretty!

And just because I took some pictures!

Here is my loom set up and working, with a pug in the background, of course.

And here is a bit of the overshot weaving I am working on. 

I forgot to post one of favorite things I made last year in my metals/printmaking program.  It is technically a bead, but it is large than the palm of my hand. 

This is a piece inspired by a spindle whorl and inspired by images and ideas associated with weaving from many cultures. The top is a stylized spider and the bottom is the plate I used to make the owl print in the last post. You can almost see the engraved owl in this bottom picture. The center post is not attached to the bead sides, allowing it to spin in my hands as I contemplate things.

So.
Apparently I am neglecting this blog. So be it.
I will try to post a picture from time to time. If you have a question, feel free to email. :)

Mid quarter production check in for my Visual Studies program during Spring Quarter of 2012. Samples and trial weaving and unfinished pieces.

What has been happening? School.

And I moved. 

But mostly school. And weaving. I have been combining the two as well, getting credits in school for independent studies in weaving. I love that I get to study things I am actually interested in and get credit for it. What an idea!

Here are some pictures from my Fall/Winter 2010 printmaking & metals program:

 

intaglio print of an owl

Brass sleying hooks. The assignment was to make an art tool, so I played with the idea of "tool to make art" vs "tool as art".

Reduction woodcut of meadowlark

During Spring quarter of 2011, I was able to pursue independent studies in weaving. Specifically, I studied backstrap weaving, rigid heddle weaving, and tablet weaving. And I did a huge amount of work studying the history of weaving, especially what we know about its origins.

from my rigid heddle loom

a tablet woven band

During the Fall & Winter quarters of 2011, I took a program called Equatorial Studies, which focused on our ideas about the equatorial regions- peoples, creatures, energy issues, cultures and all sorts of interesting things. I was able to continue my weaving studies a bit during this time too, looking at cultural practices and techniques from a couple places in the tropics. I didn't do any production.

BUT- this spring quarter or 2012, I am working in an SOS (Student Originated Studies) Program in Visual Arts and I am focusing again on weaving, especially Overshot. I will have some completed projects to share. Some day. 

And that is my whole past couple years, minus the grueling moving and painting stories. (Just a hint of the grueling: Hand painting an entire house with rollers takes FOREVER!)

Bye!