Tapestry Workshop

The second day ...

 After patiently waiting for help (everyone was needing Maximo's help!) he finally showed me the next step which was to do a kind of know stitch over two warps but with a slight variation in that you did two  and the next two but one of the two was one before (if that makes sense??)

 Once I finished that it was on to the next blocks.

 He described this one as "two in front and four behind" which after some time of doing and undoing I finally got what he meant (I must be REALLY dumb!)

 Another block was doing little bobbles or french knots.

 He would slip the yarn through passing two or three warps then slip the yarn around and through to make a little knot, not pulling too tight....

  and then going back around the left of the warp to secure the knot.

 I think this one was "two and two" so you wrap around two but go back one.

 Each technique need the yarn to then be passed back through the open shed (I have to keep referring to a list of tapestry terminology to use the correct terms)

 I kept taking photos and willing my dumb brain to process the techniques ...I phoned Dane at TLC to have a chat with her as I was getting more and more frustrated with myself. 

 ..but in the end decided to go for a walk, clear my head and get some fresh air.

 I discovered a pathway with a sign pointing to The Labyrinth

 So I followed the path..

 admiring all the bush and trees around me.

.until I came to a sloping clearing where the labyrinth 

As I walked around the labyrinth I felt a strange sense of unwinding

Like to go in, I needed to go out..as the path wasn't a straightforward spiral.

 

It's hard to tell from the angle of the photo but it kind of double-backed on itself so to go in, you had to go out (if that makes sense!) Out of interest, I researched labyrinths and this one of the things that intrigued me.This is just a portion of what I found written here about the Labyrinth

A labyrinth is a complex and circuitous path that leads from a beginning point to a center.
In the Middle Ages, walking a cathedral labyrinth was a substitute for going on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Not everyone could make the long and arduous journey to the Holy Land, so walking a labyrinth in a church was a devotional activity. Today meandering labyrinths are often used as walking meditations, to focus the mind and put the walker in tune with the greater reality metaphorically represented by the labyrinth. The winding pattern also represents the circulation of vital energies within our bodies, and that pattern suggests the convolutions of the brain and the intestines--two poles of our body corresponding to our consciousness and its physical vehicle. To traverse the labyrinth is to bring into one wholeness all parts of our being. Walking the labyrinth is thus a type of Yoga.

...which took me one a journey of discovery...

as I am and have been drawn to spirals (korus) and the fundamental principles of them. How appropriate that TLC uses the SPIRAL as a method of learning in it's programme!

Such a good visual description of what I think goes on in my head. I feel like my mind is a maze and I'm going round in circles!

As I returned to the workshop, I continued to be calmed and inspired by the beauty around me...

It was so tranquil and peaceful.

“You never know what's around the corner. It could be everything. Or it could be nothing. You keep putting one foot in front of the other, and then one day you look back and you've climbed a mountain.” 

I am drawn to trees and the textural patterns of their bark 

I love the fibrous nature and texture of this tree. I've always been tactile (learn primarily through the sense of touch) From a very early age I recall wanting to touch  things, like peoples clothing for example if they were wearing something silky or furry Apparently tactile learners are closely related to kinesthetic learners which I guess explains why I like to move when I'm being creative.

 I returned to the workshop with renewed enthusiasm and energy. i planned to take lots of photos from here on in in effort to help me understand the techniques better.

Maximo described this one as two and two and the yarn was carried back through the open shed on completion.

Whereas this he said was "two and four" or four and two, as the yarn went behind four to the right and around two  in front. It looks similar to the one above but it in actual actually it's quiet different.

The pattern above on the right is made using a series of small knots similar to a french knot but then the yarn is taken back around the warp closest to the knot and slipped through the shed for two or three warps. Again, the yarn is carried back through the open shed on completion. 

The contrasting yarn got "wrapped" around the warp in a diagonal ascension.

Somehow I muddled my way though, not really knowing if i was doing wrong or right but not wanting to look stupid! A double soumak completed the block and Maximo said he would help me with the next technique in the morning.

Naoko who I travelled to Hamilton with, was much further ahead than me as were most of the others.I was trying to not let it bother me - but it was, and the more I tried to understand each weaving process the less I could comprehend

Sadly, on Wednesday - it all got too much (the workshop, the waiting to be helped and just my mental state of mind- I couldn't stop crying) so I ended up leaving and going to stay with my daughter who lives in Hamilton in the afternoon.