Posts Tagged ‘White Lies’

Semantic Textiles and Tapestry Crochet

Sunday, July 21st, 2024

An exhibit that opens July 26th at Bailey Contemporary Arts in Pompano Beach, Florida, features textiles that incorporate words into the fabrics. I’m happy to say that my Yes No and White Lies bead tapestry crochet baskets and He Said / She Said, Too are included.

Yes No,  8 1/2? x 7 1/2?, bead tapestry crochet, 2019.

Yes No is read from top to bottom:

Three rounds of Yes and three rounds of No.
Twelve Yes and Twelve No on every row.
Twenty-four up and down all around.
Twenty-four diamonds in a row.
Twelve merged hearts below.
How many times is Yes a No?”

You may interpret the message as you wish, but my intention is that the victim is saying, “No”, but the perpetrator is saying,” Yes”.

White Lies, 8.5” x 8”, bead tapestry crochet, 2019.

What inspired White Lies? We live in a complex world where very little is black and white. The truth hurts but is ultimately less painful than an embellished white lie. Let there be light. Let there be truth. Let there be no more white lies!

He Said / She Said, Too, 17 1/4″ x 17 1/4″ framed size, tapestry crochet, linen, 2000.

He Said She Said, Too, is based on my observation that history, for the most part, has been written by men from their point of view. What women say is often labeled as heretical. The same situation is often perceived very differently from a man’s or a woman’s point of view. This is the second of 2 pieces that explore the same topic.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to see the exhibit in person – but I hope that you can! If so, please post comments and pictures!

White Lies Basket Revealed

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2022

I shared the inspiration and technique used to bead tapestry crochet “White Lies” with juror, Judy Zugish, and other HGA Convergence attendees at the recent “Dogwood to Kudzu” basketry exhibit. Just click the picture or the caption to hear more about it. Thanks so much for making this video, Kennita!

Convergence 2022

Sunday, July 24th, 2022

The Handweavers Guild of America ‘s Convergence last week in Knoxville, Tennessee, was educational, relatively safe, and so much fun! Don’t be fooled by their name, though, because this organization embraces a lot more than just weaving, including spinning, dyeing, felting, sewing, bobbin lace, sprang, and crochet!

On Friday morning I taught how to load size 8 seed beads onto Aunt Lydia’s size 3 crochet cotton thread with a spinner, how to design a motif, how to carry a color, the bead tapestry crochet stitch, and how to crochet a basket with a beaded motif. For more about this class, take a look at my previous blog with a link to a video.

Cara Ann Gunderson designed a cute beagle on TC paper, then transferred it to square-ruled paper to bead tapestry crochet it onto her basket.
Penny Morgan beginning the sides of her basket.
During class everyone was able to complete the base and start the bead tapestry crochet motif on the sides.
Like everyone else, Sarah Gottfried began her basket during class . . .
. . . but finished it afterwards on the same day!

I visited exhibits after class. There were so many in the Convention Center and downtown that I had to return several times over the course of the conference to take them all in.

My Yes No bead tapestry crocheted basket was included in the Instructor’s Exhibit.
White Lies was awarded third place in the 2020 Dogwood to Kudzu basketry exhibit. It was shown this year because the conference was cancelled in 2022, actually, it was postponed.

What else did I do? Well, I attended talks and fashion shows, learned how to do sprang with Carol James, toured Arrowmont, the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, Great Smoky Mountains National Park Collections Preservation Center, and crossed the state line to visit the Center for Craft, the Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center, SewCo, and Local Cloth in Asheville, NC.

The best part, though, was meeting so many talented and excited fiber enthusiasts in classrooms, ballrooms, lecture halls, elevators, and on the tour buses. Time well spent.

A Happy Surprise!

Thursday, September 10th, 2020

The Handweavers Guild of America’s Convergence 2020 has been postponed to 2022, including the exhibitions. So, what a happy surprise when a letter arrived informing me that my White Lies bead tapestry crochet basket had won the third place award in the Dogwood to Kudzu basketry exhibit!

A member of The Handweavers Guild of America wove the exquisite Third Place ribbon!

Very interesting, especially since the same basket had been rejected from Convergence’s Small Expressions exhibit; different judges and different criteria and different odds. It just goes to show that rejection of your work should not be taken personally, because the very same piece can achieve greatness in another venue!

White Lies, bead tapestry crochet, glass beads and cotton thread, 8 1/2″ x 8″, 2019.

This basket was inspired by the news, social media, and situations closer to home.

Let there be light.
Let there be truth.
Let there be no more white lies!