Sunday, November 18, 2012

Ch ch ch changes.....

 I have been feeling some changes coming on for a few months now. It all started with the table loom I bought at the thrift store and the weaving class I signed up for. I have been feeling a little burnt out from all of the little barns and houses I've been making for the upcoming winter shows and I really needed a distraction. I am totally smitten with weaving now and I am slowly fitting it in with my clay work. The navy blue scarf above was my first class project. It sure looks a hell of a lot better than my first pottery assignment! The learning curve with weaving is much kinder to the ego :) I'm really happy with this scarf project. I had enough warp on the loom to make two of them so I have one for me and my mom will get one for Christmas, shhhh! don't tell her! and don't look too closely, there are some mistakes, but  if there were no mistakes, it wouldn't be hand made, would it now!?
 So now that I have learned all the technically correct ways of weaving and I have my first project cut off the loom, it's time to break some rules! I dressed my loom today all by myself with the help of my newest book, Learning to Weave. I sort of did it right, but I have a serious learning disability when it comes to math, so I had to draw pictures and sort of work it out in my own left handed math disabled way, just like I have done my entire life. But it went fine and I started this very beautiful piece today. I am so excited. It is reallllly nice, just like that! The yarn is alpaca and the denim is from a shirt that my good pal Laura gave me. It didn't fit, so I cut it up for weaving. I left the buttons on and wove it in. I'm just using a plain weave so that I can bust through it without thinking too hard about pattern. Plus, there was more math, never mind... I am sooo loving this. Can you tell I have a tiny fiber crush right now!? What if I started adding family fabrics and found objects in fiber just like my houses? hmmmm...


This yarn is for a project I already have in mind incorporating some turquoise raku beads. 
With the raku I did yesterday and the smoke fired houses, I am feeling some real changes and new directions for the new year, which is, YIKES! just over a month away!
I spent the past two years busting my ass, promoting my work, getting into some nice galleries and shows, getting some good press and quite honestly I am mentally worn out from it all. The recognition and affirmation of my work has been great and much appreciated. But it has also caused me to become competitive and more concerned with sales than just making art and I have to find a new path. I don't like the me that comes out when I get competitive, it is not a good fit. So, I think for the next year, no more show applications, I am happy to accept invites, if anyone wants to invite me. But I'm not going to pay much attention to the people that do get invited when I'm not one of them. No more searching for the latest hot gallery. I have several galleries that are very kind to me and send me checks monthly and I hope to continue my relationships with them. No more looking at what some other potter is making and wishing I made it, I make what I make with my own voice, not the voice of another artist, so be it. The house form wants to grow and I want to explore that, so the mass production of my "popular" seller may slow down quite a bit (maybe not, we'll see...).
I feel like a kid that is going through a growth spurt. Those of you with kids, remember how that is?
When I first found clay, I read everything I could get my hands on, magazines, books, websites. I took workshops and classes and taught myself through many trials and failures and enough successes to keep my hooked for the past ten years. I feel like that with weaving right now, I am reading everything I can find and I have so many ideas my head is spinning. But I also still love clay and I have a lot of new ideas for exploring the house form and for using clay with weaving projects. 
Now to find enough hours in the day and enough energy for all of it.
I'm still running, three weeks now, I have worked up to running 2:30 minutes and walking 90 sec. for 20 minutes. Feels great, but the cold weather is here and I am less than motivated to get out and run on a damp cold day. Gerry is mostly shooting ball games right now, so he is around a lot and hard to ignore, he's pretty cute, you know. and there is also cute daughter that will be home soon for holiday break. So, I'm wrapping up clay work for the year, yesterday was my last firing. My studio is all clean and ready for the Chatham Artist tour and after that, it's family time with maybe a little weaving. I had considered more clay time, but I want to sell what I have and then see where things stand. I can always take orders. 
Right now I am just seeking balance and joyful days with my family and friends. Hope all of you can do the same.
Peace, ya'll 
xo

21 comments:

Laura Farrow said...

funky!! love the buttons and the denim goes great with that toasty yarn. here's to embracing change! xo

Tracey Broome said...

Hated to cut up your shirt, but it's getting a beautiful second life! I was worried about the alpaca brown yarn being boring, but the denim suits it perfectly.
happy birthday to you!

Amy said...

alpaca! love hearing about the weaving. and what a beautiful blue first. you look like a professional already! alpacas bring to mind those beautiful animals, and well I'm bolivian and there are alpacas there in the andes mts. i love how you're doing what's best for you despite the pressures out there to do differently.

Tracey Broome said...

Hi Amy,I would love to visit those alpacas in Bolivia one day! I was supposed to go on a mission trip there years ago and then things got in the way.... Maybe one day... Yes, the heck with pressure, I've had enough :)

ang design said...

rockin trace cant believe thats your first go!!! what a natural :)) happy makin stuff sweet, enjoy!

Unknown said...

Hey There! I'm lovin' the new direction!! Nice finished scarf and the new one- well, it just oozes with your vibe, which means I love it!! Can't wait to see how it all creeps into your clay work~
Good for you to keep your head balanced re) competition...it's a mixed blessing (competition, that is) but balance is even better ;) Of course, I have light years before I get there myself, but that's another story!!

Dennis Allen said...

I can see the lure of the loom. Nice work.Do what makes you happy and have a nice Thanksgiving.

Tracey Broome said...

Hey Ang, yeah it does seem very natural and intuitive.
Kathy, not light years, you just have to put in the time. This new scarf feels very much like "me", thanks.
Thanks Dennis,happy Thanksgiving to you also!!

Anna M. Branner said...

This is why I've been excited to see where you take weaving. I am not good at thinking outside the box (more of a recipe weaver if you will) and I just know you are going to make some awesome one of a kind stuff!

Tracey Broome said...

Hey Anna, I never could color inside the lines! I think it's more of adapting to things I can't figure out and faking it, haha! Thanks for your support, you have been a great inspiration. Xo

Susan Wells said...

so beautiful Tracey!! and you left the buttons on. Nice. And that pastel yarn too! I can see why you'd be crazy itching to do more more more!

Tracey Broome said...

Susan, there are soooo many yarns out there, it's like candy! The buttons are cool aren't they?!

Lori Buff said...

I love how you're putting found objects that have meaning to you into your weaving as you have done with your clay. We totally know it's you.

Shannon said...

to boldy go.....that's a courageous thing to trust the creative force. Rock on, Tracey!

Tracey Broome said...

Hey Lori, it was totally random and involuntary, so it must be a part of my DNA, haha!
Shannon, it feels like the right path now so it's easy to boldly go!

Hollis Engley said...

Pretty damn cool, Tracey. The variations on the blue scarf might be enough to make me look for a blue glaze I can live with.

Tracey Broome said...

blue pottery?!?! absolutely, I am a huge fan of blue!
especially with brown, yum...

cookingwithgas said...

I love what is going on at your house! LOVE!

Tracey Broome said...

Me too Meredith!! I might need some sewing lessons one of these days though :)

Michèle Hastings said...

Beautiful... and to think this is just the beginning!
What is it about us lefties and math?

Susan Gallacher-Turner said...

I love your weaving! And I love yarn but I crochet with it, instead. I did fiber and mixed media for the last 10 years and now I'm getting into clay the way you're getting into weaving. Isn't it interesting how the artist path just keeps moving and growing?