Clasping Rainbows

At this time of year I am thinking about 2014, about the shows I’ll apply to and the work I’ll submit with my applications. Most shows want images from the last two years, so I don’t HAVE to take new photos this year for most shows, but I still want to get some new ones.

To retain my status as a Roycroft Artisan, I do have to submit new photos annually, and to have actual work juried, too. Last year I didn’t give enough consideration to the work I’d submit for hands-on jurying, and I don’t want to make that mistake again.

So I’ve been thinking about what I will submit…all of which needs to have been created within the past year, and which must show that I continue to grow in my skills. I’ve decided that I want to submit a clasped weft piece, and that I wanted to do a take-off of my rainbow shawls, something that was reminiscent of them, but in a scarf and using clasped weft.

I prepared a warp for three black rayon chenille scarves.

For the first scarf, I used the same technique as I had for those last clasped weft scarves, throwing two picks of black between every clasped weft pick. I used 10 colors, with 7-9″ of each color.

It turned out well, but I thought I wanted more color, so I wove the second with every pick being clasped weft and the picks ‘connecting’ to form graph-like shapes.

This one turned out well, too, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to repeat it for the third scarf, so I did a morph of the two. I did clasped weft every pick, but used more of a ‘line’ technique for the adjacent picks instead of the ‘graph-like’ technique. I also did a double rainbow, with about 4.25″ of each color up to purple in the middle and then reversing the colors.

I like this one, too.

Here’s the thing…for wearing, I like the middle one best — the colors show up the most. For looking at for jurying, I like the last one best – EXCEPT there’s a problem with it. The pale green I used in the first half ran out about 3/4 of the way through that section of the second half. DAMN!! I unwove those 3+ inches and used the closest color I had, but it’s not identical. I think that will be noticeable enough to the RALA jury that I shouldn’t submit it; I should weave another one with this pattern. DOUBLE DAMN!!

I also am inspired to try a black & white scarf, weaving in what I’ll call a cityscape scene. The buildings won’t be able to have any windows in them (they’ll be solid black or solid white) but I think it will look good. I never know until I sit at my loom & try. Watch with me as this clasped weft adventure proceeds.