How about another weaving project? – Columbus Cultural Arts Center

Thursday, February 16, 2012 Posted in Columbus Ohio Photographer,Personal

After finishing my scarf, I found it hard to contemplate leaving my weaving class with only one project under my belt.  Plus, I still had two classes left of the eight I originally signed up for, so I HAD to choose another project.  And because it will take me at least two and maybe three classes before I get to the actual weaving of my second project, I’ll sign up for another eight weeks.  Which, if you’re counting, means I’ll probably get in a third project as well.

So, this time, I’ll be weaving a rag rug for in front of my kitchen door.  It’s always been difficult for me to find rugs that I really like and that don’t cost a fortune, so making one, while not being cheap exactly, will certainly be original and definitely to my liking.  The warp (the vertical thread) will simply be black carpet thread, but I’ve chosen two very fun fabrics for the “meat” of the rug.

The red is my kitchen table; the green polka dot will be the “background” of the rug (the blue in the picture below) and the yellow stripe will be the “overlaid” diamond pattern (the white in the picture below).  From the Favorite Rag Rugs book, here is the pattern I’ll be weaving for my rug:

I have to give great thanks to Leslie, the teacher’s helper, who spent a lot of time helping me load the warp onto my loom today.  Because I didn’t do a proper job of tying the count of my threads, we had to painstakingly sort through 340 threads in order to get them on the loom, a process that would’ve been much quicker and a whole lot easier if I’d tied up correctly.  So, thanks and sorry to Leslie!

 

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Wexner Medical Center at The Ohio State University

Saturday, February 11, 2012 Posted in Announcements,Columbus Ohio Photographer

Yesterday, I got to run with the big dogs.  The big news dogs, that is.  I was asked to shoot The Ohio State University’s announcement of the newly renamed Wexner Medical Center, and every news outlet in Central Ohio – and even The New York Times – was there doing the same thing.  There were the big video cameras from the TV stations and lots of still photographers, including from The Dispatch and the University’s own staff.  It was interesting contrasting my style to that of the other still photographers, some being seasoned veterans whose names or faces I recognized.  I have to say, they seemed tired.  Maybe it’s because they shoot things like this so often that it’s no big deal anymore.  On the other hand, I was extremely excited to be there.  This was a Big Deal for me, and I loved every minute of it.

One thing I’ve learned from the Foundation Workshop and from listening to successful photojournalists discussing their award-winning photos, is to find out where all the other photographers are going to be and then STAND SOMEWHERE ELSE.  So that’s precisely what I did.  While all the news cameras and still photographers were lined up in the back of the room so they’d get the typical shot of whomever was speaking, I stood in the front and shot into the crowd for reaction, which produced particularly poignant pictures of the Wexners’ reactions to the kind words being spoken about them in regard to their amazing generosity toward the University and the community as a whole.

And when it came time for the press conference with television interviews, I crammed my way between the reporters and their cameramen to grab unique views that told the story of our town’s most prominent man being interviewed, as opposed to a portrait that seeks to block out the riff raff.  I left that to the other photographers.

I know I’ve said it before, but I love my job and am constantly grateful for the unique opportunities I’m afforded.

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It’s a scarf! – Weaving at Columbus Cultural Arts Center

Thursday, February 9, 2012 Posted in Columbus Ohio Photographer,Personal

Well, I’ve gone and woven me a scarf.  The world’s longest scarf.  Seriously.  With every weaving project, there is extra length/width built in to account for “drawing in” and shrinkage and some allowance for practicing the weave, but when I took the scarf off the loom and put it around my neck, it dragged on the floor on both sides by a foot or more.  Hey, when I weave, I weave.

I knew last week that I had only a yard or so left to weave and it went quickly today and then it was time to weave a few lines of junk and cut the scarf off the loom.  As the teacher has emphasized throughout, it’s always scary when scissors are near your project.  I had cut about 3/4 of the scarf off the loom when the teacher exclaimed, “oh no!”  I about had a heart attack until I realized that comment was directed at someone else.  I can laugh about it now.

Then, on to unwinding the scarf from the apron.  And unwinding.  And unwinding.

One of my classmates wrapped me up, so I headed into the restroom for a quick self-portrait.

The final few steps are choosing/applying a fringe technique and washing, and then *poof* – it’s a scarf!

The weaving blogging isn’t done, however.  Before I left today, I wrapped a warp for my next project, a rag rug for in front of the kitchen door.  Stay tuned.

 

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