Textile Artist Tools of the Trade
Whenever I am getting ready to travel for a workshop, it is a major event. Believe it or not, all of this goes very nicely into the back of Rosie, my red Silverado. Most of the time, when I travel and teach, it is to craft schools. Craft schools are a haven where I can learn by teaching. The process I use is complex. There are many steps. It begins with design, then dyeing in multiple layers with various resists. After that, the cloth is trimmed, cut, sewn, and sometimes dyed again. Each process has many steps contained within it.
Most of the tools I use are things that can be found in any hardware store. Many of them are old. I even have some tools that my father used, items that I remember from my childhood. Holding these in my hands brings back memories of the faint smell of pipe tobacco, sawdust, and varnish. My father built a Sailfish in the basement on Davelin Road. We sailed on that boat for years up at Squam Lake.
Every tool I use has a story and a use. I am writiing about thjis now, because it has been over a year since I packed up and headed to John C Campbell Folk School. I was scheduled to go in January of 2021, but classes were cancelled. Craft schools are slowly reopening but it is a long road. I think it will be 2022 by the time Rosie makes it to Brasstown.
I have been learning some new skills on line and will be teaching them that way too. It is surprising to me how much of a sense of community is possible. I spent the day in my studio today stitching and preparing. I find that I focus best when my concentration is centered on each single piece of the process. I realize that as in my work, I can do only one thing at a time, but once they are all done, the entire tapestry is there.
Carol LeBaron
You can try a free stitch meditation if you want at www.carollebarondyes.com
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