Unity/Variety: The Weaving Project
Bellevue Arts Museum
Bellevue, Washington
June 29-September 22, 2013
UPDATE: Extended until December 1st
WOW!!! Extended again until February 2nd!!
It's coming together.
Almost 700 CDs. Each a unique weaving by kids, family, and friends.
About the piece:
Unity and Variety are two principles of composition in art, and they are two driving principles of community as well. The weavings are as individual as the people who made them, beautiful and unique. And I see their beauty increased when they are joined in the larger piece, part of the larger community. We may only see the colors and textures of the weavings, but the CDs contain data and information, much like the hidden, inner story of the individuals around us.
The CDs and yarn are thrifted materials (Value Village, others) that found new, upcycled life in our artwork.
I'll also have a smaller piece of 64 weavings that I made: "I Contain Multitudes". My title is based on a quote from Walt Whitman: "Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself. I am large. I contain multitudes."
If you're in Bellevue, come see our work. Add your weaving too.
Wow - they look amazing! Well done for securing such a lovely display space for them. I'm off to hunt for spare CDs right now!
ReplyDeleteThese look great! It looks like something I could do with my students next year. Do you know when you will be doing workshops?
ReplyDeleteMarci! I just realized I hadn't responded to your comment. Sorry about that! I'm doing workshops at BAM on Saturday, August 3 and August 10. But I'll also be at the museum on Friday, July 26 from 2-5, July 27 from 9-12, and July 28 from 3-6. I'd love to see you if you can come!
DeleteI love this. Do you have any YouTube tutorials on how to warp and weave around the CDs?
DeleteThis is awesome Stephanie!!! Congratulations to you and to your students. I love how visitors can participate in the exhibit by weaving their own CD.
ReplyDeleteTotally awesome! What a wonderful way to involve so many people and give your kids the experience of an exhibit. Super cool!!! Cynthia S.
ReplyDeletewow! this is awesome! i love the collaborative aspect of it:) the whole piece is quite stunning! congrats on the museum install:)
ReplyDeletewow! this is fantastic. i love the collaborative aspect of the project:) the whole group is quite stunning. congrats on the museum install!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Having their work is a big deal to my students...and me too! :D
DeleteWOW!! Gorgeous! Is there a tutorial for weaving on one CD?
ReplyDeleteFound the tutorial, thanks!
ReplyDeleteI hope you have fun making them! :D
DeleteThis is such a wonderful project! I love community based projects and this one is spectacular! Congratulations. Do you have any directions on how to make the individual weavings?
ReplyDeleteHi Patty- I thought I'd responded to your request, but maybe I didn't! Sorry about that!
DeleteYou can find a tutorial on my blog- look for the label CD weaving, and scroll to the tutorial post. Hope that helps, if it's not too late!
Beautiful! I recently found a tutorial on this over at Pinterest & am planning to do it as a "take-and-make" craft with my kids at Storytime...I'm excited to see your project - how beautiful it turned out!
ReplyDeleteGreat project! I'm thinking about doing it with a class of 4th graders. About how long would you guess it takes for a kid to make one? I started one myself and was surprised at how long it was taking me, but maybe I used too many warp threads, or the yarn was thinner than it should have been. Would love to know if you have an idea of how long it would take in the classroom. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGreat project! I'm thinking about doing it with a class of 4th graders. About how long do you think it would take for a kid to make one? I started one and was surprised at how long it was taking me, but maybe I used too many warp threads, or the yarn that I used should have been a bit thicker. Would love to know if you have an idea of how long the project would take in the classroom. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi! Here are three ways to control the time:
Delete1) Prep the warp threads before class. (Maybe a parent helper or two??)
2) Use thicker yarns. But be careful that the warp threads are not easily split with the needle. That defeats the purpose.
3) Limit the number of warp threads. But they need to be tight- too loose and too few = harder to weave.
If you start with prepared CDs, I would allow two 45-minute periods to work on them. Some teachers get the kids started, but then let them work on them as they want to as a free-choice activity. 4th grade is a really great age to work with! They should do really well with these. Let me know how it goes if you decide to make them. :D
This project is brilliant! I have been using this idea with my clients (women in recovery) in group art therapy sessions and in open art studio. The results are stunning. We have the start of a wonderful collaborative piece that will hang in our building and be used to represent our agency at events in the community. We will continue to have clients make these "woven mandalas" as they enter our program. Each woman will be able to contribute to the whole and leave her legacy to our treatment center.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to introduce this project to the Ohio art therapy community at our Symposium in the fall of 2014, and I want to give proper credit. Please tell me how you would prefer I do this. Should I provide a link to your blog? Your Pinterest post? Let me know...
Finally, what have you found is the best way to hang or display these as a collaborative piece? Suggestions are welcome!
Congratulations on the success of your exhibit. It's wonderful!
Thank you so much for your kind words. I'm so happy to hear how you are using this project.
DeleteI appreciate your desire to give me credit. I think sharing a link to my blog would be great.
I used clear plastic twist ties, cut in half, to attach the CDs to each other in long columns. They were attached to the wall with "L" nails- one at the top, and them randomly as needed, and then one at the bottom. The "L" is put in the center hole of the CD and then hammered in so the L secures the CD. Hope that helps- let me know if you need some close up photos of how they are hung up.
Again, thanks for the work you are doing, and for letting me be a small part of it! :D
Thank you! It's my pleasure! I will share the link to your blog when I present the project at the Symposium. And I'll check out the "L" nails (these are new to me!). Where do you get the clear plastic twist ties?
DeleteI bought the clear twist ties on line- I google "twist ties" for a source. I ordered a box of them for $12- the shipping was $12 too! I ordered 5" ones and cut them in half. I'll see if I can find my receipt for them. The museum supplied the L nails- I'll see if I can find out what the real name is! :D
DeleteThank you! Before I saw your post about the twist ties, I found some online at Uline, so no need to look for the info. I was planning to look for L nails at Lowes or Home Depot. My project is getting lots of positive response! Thanks again for inspiring us!
DeleteHi! I just got the info from the museum about the "L" nails- and they bought them at a hardware store- so Home Depot or Lowes should have them. And I think Uline is where I bought the twist ties. (I look forward to seeing your project as it unfolds! :D
DeleteSo inspiring! Art truly connects us all. A universal language, a universal bond.
ReplyDeleteSo inspiring to read your story! Art truly connects us all! A universal language. A universal bond.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous work! Really inspirational. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for your continued support of this project!
ReplyDelete