It's finally time for a fibre post!
These two tapestries were woven on crude picture frame looms. I took the backs and glass out and made notches at 4 ends per inch for Break Free, and 8 ends per inch for Happy Bubbles, along the tops and bottoms of each frame. I then wound the warp around and slid each thread through a consecutive notch for a continuous warp. Then I did a few rows of twining before beginning each tapestry.
This is 'Break Free', a concept I developed for the Flatland Fibre "Off the Wall" show. It was accepted and is currently on display until the end of June at the Saskatchewan Craft Council gallery on Broadway in Saskatoon. This photograph is taken head on. the frame is rectangular, but the tapestry was woven as a trapezoid to accentuate the sense of perspective. The post at the far right was woven into the tapestry. The one in the middle was woven without closing the slits that naturally form along each vertical edge with the consistant color change, however instead of stopping the yellow background, and turning around at each edge of the post, I brought the thread behind the post and continued weaving all the way across the background, which pushed the post outwards from the tapestry just slightly. You can see the shadow that falls to the left of the post here.
The post to the left was woven as a completely separate, rectangular tapestry on the back of the frame, using up some of the excess warp behind the main tapestry. I wove it with linen, silk wool, and moss-colored sythetic fibre, with bound threads snaking up and down to simulate cracks/texture. Then when I cut the tapestries off the frame I created the post by stitching the sides together at the back around a piece of cardboard tubing. I then created a top and bottom for the post by gluing coils of thick jute cord onto ovals of carboard. The frame is a rectangle of 1/2 inch board stretched with burlap. I crafted picture wire into barbed wire by stripping it down by half in each section between the posts, and then wrapping little pices of wire around with tweezers to make the barbs. It's difficult to see in photos, but you can really see it on the actual tapestry. Here's a detail of the three-dimentional post and wire:
This tapestry is called 'Happy Bubbles'. It was my submission to the touring exhibition "Playing With Dimensions", but was not accepted. I'll try again next year! 
I wanted to experiment with weaving shaped borders, and designed a cartoon that was mostly rectangular, but had circles escaping the lower border of the main tapestry (the lighter blue, yellow, and pink ones at the bottom left). Then I wove five separate 'bubbles' (top to bottom: bright green with stripes, turquoise, orange with center stripe, red checks, and royal blue), woven as circles and then mounted on circles of board, and suspended on posts at varying heights above the main tapestry. Below are a couple details:
I squeaked my signature in there! 
Okay well those are the two most recent projects! Thanks for your patience! I am so releieved to finally have High speed internet! Hopefully I will have less trouble making regular posts now.
Hearts off the charts!
JQ
