Next Phase

 

Yesterday I finished weaving the samples I'd planned for the Next Big Project.  Today I started pulling samples I've woven for previous classes on the same topic as well as some of the tools I will need to do the demonstrations.

There are still more things to add - more samples, more tools - but much of the floor space behind the Megado is already taken up.

In some ways I wish that my samples had more cohesion - more visual compatibility.  But I'm not sure it matters all that much.  Something for everyone.  And the samples will be seen individually, not all at once like in this photo.

So the samples in the foreground are to *be* wet finished.  The samples in the background are *already* finished.  Some of them have loom state samples to go with the finished samples - an important reference to help people understand what wet finishing actually accomplishes.

Tomorrow I will begin the 'fine' sorting.  What I have.  What I want to do when.  How long to allow to do the demonstrations.  Once I have the schedule worked out - as best I can - I can start to pack everything into bins.  Once I've done that, I can add the rest of the things I want to bring - my copy of Magic in the Water, the box of samples that I did for the GCW certificate.  The other tools to put with this stack.

Of course I will need one of those tools before the first week of October - the small press.

Once this topic is fine tuned with approval from the team, everything can be packed away and I'll begin the next topic.  That topic will be mostly process, but will also need a bunch of tools packed up.  

Balancing between packing up a big chunk of my studio and continuing to work in my studio will be the big challenge.

I have another project that will begin on Aug. 30 and for which I will still need my studio to function.  Once I have the final instructions for that, I will have a better idea of how much time to allot for it and which tools I'll need.  But the press will absolutely be needed.

How did I learn to do all this stuff?  By paying attention, just like I learned how to weave.  I paid attention to how teachers conveyed their material.  I paid attention when it worked well, and when it didn't.  Not to criticize, because not every teacher is 'good' for every student, but I wanted to avoid pitfalls I saw while emulating the things that worked - not just for me but other students.

I also took classes in video production, was a camera person, learned how to frame a shot, how to pan, how to zoom in - and when one might want to do those things.  I learned that you need to hold a shot for x amount of time so that the viewer could focus in on the content and absorb it.  It drives me crazy when I see amateur video footage that pans wildly, left, right, up, down, never settling on one spot long enough to actually see what is happening.  

When I did my own video work back in the early 2000s, I kept framing tight and viewpoint static.  My video clips were short and to the point.  Not a lot of talk, lots of doing the process in as clear a manner as possible.

I know I have a tendency to 'drone' a bit, which is why I like an audience.  It reminds me that they need to hear a voice modulate, emphasize things that I consider important.  A little humour helps lighten the mood, and I use a mild self-deprecating kind as much as possible.  Because if we can laugh at ourselves, we will be endlessly entertained.  And I'm not so proud that I can't act as a bad example. 

Doing this sorting took less time than I expected.  I have a lot of samples, but many of them are simply 'repeats' and not necessary for the taping.  So I put them away and kept the 'best' of the samples to share.  One thing about having lots to choose from?  Lots to choose from!

Today was a lot cooler and the weather forecast for around here seems to be slowly sliding into autumn.  I can't say I'm very upset about that, given the number of wildfires still burning in this province.  And I'm hoping for some concrete news about covid tomorrow.  There are rumours that the province will hold off on reducing any more covid mitigations - at least until numbers improve a lot more than they currently are.  Hopefully the trip will happen and we won't have to worry about it so much.  But we will plan on eating in our hotel room, not in restaurants.  And, as much as I would like to visit the Museum of Anthropology at UBC if there is time, I'm going to skip that for now.  I'm just going to keep being cautious until things are a lot more improved on the pandemic front before I plan on going anywhere there might be a lot of people.