eine Saite

Sarah Swett Rough Copy series detail, at La Conner Quilt & Fiber Art Museum, La Conner, WA.

I mean 'overwhelmed' in the best possible way. I've been trying to mentally catch up with everything I've experienced in the last week or so, and I don't know if it's even possible. Textile inspiration coming on strong, combined with nice weather and plenty of natural beauty.... I mean, is this for real?

Glines Canyon Spillway Overlook, Elwha River, Olympic National Park

All of these photos were taken in the last 8 days, so I'm feeling very rich. And insufficient. But I'll try to at least share some of the bounty here.

Last Monday was the Maiwa Loft. My weaving guild had a special behind-the-scenes visit with Charlotte Kwon, who gave us hours of her time and enthusiasm amidst the boundless wonder of the Maiwa collection. As the table filled with layers of textiles, we heard decades' worth of stories from India.

Contemporary Rabari head shawls, spun, woven, dyed, and embroidered by artisans from multiple tribal groups, in a traditional style.

Ikat silk saris from Orissa, dyed with indigo and pomegranate.

Every piece we saw is of the most exquisite quality, the pinnacle of multiple skills, each more mind-bending than the last. Charlotte has made a life's work of seeking out and promoting the best textile skills, in their traditional family context. Maiwa supports artisans in keeping their skill and knowledge honed and growing, not designing and ordering so much as commissioning the weavers and dyers to do what they do best. The magnificence of the work uplifts the makers, the viewers, and the market in general. There is so much optimism here!

Charlotte Kwon in the Maiwa Loft, talking textiles.

Handspun jamdani cotton from Bengal. If you wanted to know the meaning of the word "diaphanous", it is this cloth.

And then there was the Sarah Swett opening, at the La Conner Quilt and Textile (or Fiber Art) Museum. I'd been paying close attention to Sarah's recent work because she's doing this, and posting pictures like this. Backstrap loom. Plainweave. Be still my heart.

The La Conner show doesn't have that new work, but I definitely wanted to meet Sarah, and the entire Rough Copy series is hanging there, only an hour or two away. So a mere two days after Maiwa, I was in a room with these...

Detail of Rough Copy #8. Every letter is woven in.

Just to absorb the impact of typewritten text on scraps of paper as door-sized woven tapestries was mind-boggling. But then Sarah was also there, crackling with energy, explaining details in a guileless manner. I could listen to her all night.

Sarah talks us through weaving typeface, from the bottom of Rough Copy #13.

Other pieces showed the breadth of her work, reaching back into her archive of color and story. Being able to touch this book was a great experience - so supple and wooly!

Detail from the woven book Casting Off. All the tapestries are double sided, so the back mirrors the front as you turn the pages.

I may have to go back and visit the show, alone and quiet, so I can spend some more time looking up close. I definitely need more time to get my mind around all this wonder.

Exquisite detail from Rough Copy #6. It's a postcard, with cancelled stamps. Only four feet tall.

Meanwhile, it feels right to carry on with my cotton. Just doing this one thing, and working toward doing it better...

Work in progress with my backstrap - handspun cotton.

Did I mention not seeing Hmong batik in the indigo show in Seattle? Well, I'm getting my fix now in Luang Prabang. It was pure serendipity - making my jet lagged self take a walk down the peninsula, I decided to turn up from the Mekong at a certain spot amidst the monasteries. Not a road I knew, and not much on it, but suddenly I saw an abundance of truly fine Hmong pieces hanging outside a small shop. A young woman hurried from next door to greet me and invite me in, and I spent the next half hour (hour? time stopped for a while, I've no idea) surrounded by exquisite work and her stories.

Detail of batik and embroidery piece, which is bordered with linen.

Sho Ly has collected pieces and old fragments from her village near the border of Loas and Vietnam, and has on display traditional garments, blankets, and accessories like belts and "cravats": long, narrow, decorative pieces worn from the neck, like a tie but way more elaborate.

Cravats from the Yao people, with intricate cross stitch embellishment

Many of the old batik and embroidery fragments have been bordered with linen fabric, to make wall hangings or table runners. These are nicely done and the linen adds strength and stability to the more delicate pieces. Sho Ly's sister designed and made these, as well as the various well-constructed bags in the shop.

Pieced wall hangings, weighted with coins.

I kept up a continuous stream of questions, about the batik technique, the intricacy, and whether people are still working in the same way. She had her own recently made jacket on display, which shows how the batik looks when it is new. Her aunt did the batik work, and it's as intricate as some of the older pieces.

However, no one in her generation of her family has learned to do batik. Some people her age in the village are keeping it up, but it's less popular now. She said younger people are more interested in a highly textured type of embroidery, which she knows how to do. She had many samples of this, including a jacket and belt which she was happy to model.

Close up view of the work - the entire surface is embroidered.

I saw an example of the same work on a belt in the collection at Ock Pop Tok, where I'm doing conservation work.

Sho Ly told me that for this embroidery thread, they buy undyed silk in the market and dye the colors they want. So even the thread is locally produced. There is endless beauty and fascination in this shop, and I plan to visit often. If you find yourself in Luang Prabang, you should check out Hilltribe Heritage, near Wat Xieng Thong. Sho Ly will be happy to see you and tell you about everything here.