Superior

Superior is a town in Pinal County AZ  with a population of only

2837 according to the 2010 census.    It was founded in 1875.  

with the establishment of 2 copper mines, the Silver Queen and

the Silver King.  In 1910  both mines were owned by Colonel Boyce 

Thompson, and he renamed it  Magma Copper Company.  Some 

predicted that in 1982 when the towns largest mine shut down Superior

would become another Arizona ghost town.  However the Magma

Mine reopened in 1990 as the Resolution Copper Company.

A copper dome was found 7,000 feet underground that was 

projected to be the largest copper vein in the US and the fourth 

largest undeveloped copper deposit in the world.  

Christmas was in the air as we wandered about main street so

Don could gather a few geocaches.  The one found here was

called "A Hard Rock in Superior"  Geocaches often offer a clue to

help you locate the correct place.  The clue for this one was 

"Rest a Spell" so Don new he was in the right location although

he didn't sit on the bench but did find the Geocache!!!

This cache was appropriately named "A view of Apache Leap" which

you see in the distance.  Legend has it that this was where a mass

suicide of Apache Warriors (1870's) took place as the U.S. Cavalry

drove the Apaches to the edge of the cliff, where they chose to leap to their

deaths rather than surrender.

Some geocaches are just a log sheet in a very small container

attached via a magnet to the underside of a railing or sign, etc. And

Don found about 4 of these planted by our good friends

Curt and Coleen who's geocaching handle is Seek 84.  When

the finder locates the cache they sign the find with their name.

Don's is cadon.

Another kind of a geocache is located on an app on your phone 

called "Geocaching Adventure Lab".  Coordinates take you to

a location and then it asks you to enter the answer to a question.  The question

for this one was "what are the two dates on black marker".  If you enter

the answer correctly, it gives you driving directions to another cache "station".

For example when we got here it asked for the #s on the mailbox.

So you can see how it goes.   We were taken to different places

to answer questions,

including the World's Smallest Museum.  Thanks Coleen & Curt

for placing all these caches, which took us to many

interesting and fun places in historical Superior AZ.

Non-geocaching photo stops,  for me,  included the many murals around 

town like this one.

and my favorite was the Barmacy.

The video below will explain it all...

One of the close-ups featured Picket Post Mountain.

The mountain's unusual name stems from an early military camp 

established at the base of the mountain by 

General George Stoneman in 1870. The 

soldiers nicknamed the mountain “Picket Post” due to its usage 

as a sentinel point to guard their camp from attacks.

It has an elevation is 4377’  

There is an easy 8.6 mile loop trail around the base 

with only a 754’ elevation gain.  I've hiked it many times with the

Canyon Vistas Hiking Club.

 

To Fill a Void...

As you know from the prior 3 part post, this is

where the loom lived...

After it left home, each time Don walked into the room, he 

thought it looked so vacant and asked what I needed to fill the void...

We discussed some options and placed an order with Amazon.

Even with the holiday season upon us, it arrived 4 days early!!!

I anxiously removed the pieces and the assembly instructions...

assumed my position on the floor with all the numbered pieces

placed around me in numerical order.

Don brought in the necessary tools in addition to the small

Alan wrench that came with the many screws of assorted sizes.

Together we managed to get it assembled and

 

I think it filled the void nicely.  The part of the story you

may not be aware of is that I learned to sew on my mother's

New Home treadle machine when I was 9... 72 years ago.  I had a hard time

because I am left handed and always started that darn

treadle going in the wrong direction.  With a loom foot treadle

all you had to do was step on it.   Now I'll be able step on my foot peddle easily,

to operate my 26 year old New Home - Memory Craft Machine that

still sews like a dream (and looks good too).  And, it will be used more

now than when it was in it's case in the storage shed.   Thanks again Don.

 

End of an Era Part 3 (Misc Fun - One of a Kind Clothing - Video Production)

Even tho tapestry was my speciality I have woven all types of household items

and all types of fabric.   One of my favorite projects was the colorful 

upholstery for my dining room chairs.  

Years ago, while traveling in the Southwest we stopped by Charles Loloma’s 

studio on the Hopi Reservation.  Some of his unique and breathtaking jewelry

 is on display in the Smithsonian.  When he learned we were weavers, he encouraged

 us to try on some of his stunning jewelry.  I tried on a plain gold band that 

was inlaid with turquoise on the inside. He loved the idea that there 

was a surprise on the inside.  

I incorporated that thought process in some of the vests I wove.

I pieced some silk fabric as the “surprise”  lining for this handwoven cotton vest. 

The vest was created by using a technique I developed for weaving tapestry

technique for clothing.   You'll see a few more below.

This piece of fabric was woven like a tapestry in a side to side direction and 

then the fabric was given a 1/4 turn before I cut out the pattern pieces. 

The “surprise” lining was created by simple rows of stitching that replicated

the design areas on the outside of the fabric.  I used a strand of  the 

black yarn used to weave the black areas of the fabric to create the lines.

My process  for using tapestry techniques for clothing was planned out 

on my design paper before I wove it so that all the seam lines 

would allow the visual design to carry around the body and over the shoulders,

making it interesting for the viewer whether you were coming or going!!!  

This poncho involves the same tapestry weaving technique for clothing

using a green variegated yarn and a turquoise variegated yarn

of a similar size to weave the fabric.  After it was washed

and dried and constructed into the garment, I 

did some surface design stamping and stenciling with blue

fabric dyes  to embellish the fabric.  My favorite part,

the dragonfly on the shoulder.

The silk threads in this vest were painted with fabric dyes, before threading

the loom, which created the random color combinations.  This is called

"warp painting".  The threads were 

spaced very close together on the loom (about 24 threads per inch) 

and woven with a navy silk thread so only the warp (threads on the loom) 

showed in the finished piece. It's called a "warp faced fabric", when mainly the

warp shows.  Tapestry on the other hand is a "weft faced structure" where

the yarn you weave with (weft) is the dominant thread.

 I used some of the left over fabric dye

to tie-dye some silk fabric for the “surprise” inside this vest.

I wove the  fabric for this jacket with a very fine wool yarn (which

created a "balanced" structure, one where you see both the warp and the weft

in equal amounts.

The tapestry panels were made of hand dyed silk yarn which I used to 

create a tapestry bolero years before...  (which no longer fit).  

So I cut up the back and front and and applied the pieces to the front

of the jacket and then  

purchased the most scrumptious  perfect piece of silk lining material 

(no I didn't weave the lining, but I could have),  and added a little bling with

a few dangling beads!!!

I met a woman who spoke to our weaver's guild in Sacramento and
told us how she had developed a variety of natural colored cotton.  Levi

wanted to use natural cotton colors (as opposed to dyed colors)

in a new line of colored jeans.  So she figured it out by doing some

fancy cross pollination!!!  I bought 3 cones of yarn.  The interesting thing about

the cotton was you could hardly tell the difference in the the 3 shades until you

wove the fabric and then washed, dried and ironed it... which made the colors bloom!

You can see the 3 colors here, neutral, soft apricot and soft  avacado green.

I wove a fabric that had a subtle lace like pattern in it
and once again got out my fabric dyes and stencils 

and embellished the fabric along the front lapels and

sleeves, hemline, and all over the back.

I was also the founder of Victorian Video Productions.  The major objective
 of the company was to preserve many textile hand craft techniques 
of the past, and to provide quality instructional material in the format 
of how-to-videos.  These videos taught the viewer step by step  
“how to do” the process and were not a simple overview 
of the process. 

 

Each DVD includes a written instruction sheet that lists 

supplies and materials needed, along with patterns for the project 

featured on the cover.  The business was similar to being a book publisher.  

We contracted with an expert, in a specific field, to write a script for  each

 instructional program we wanted to produce. 

 They were  paid for  their travel & lodging 

and received royalties  based on sales. 

 In addition to producing, directing & editing this series, I was

the workshop instructor on 4 of these videos.

 In 1998 when Don and I retired, we sold Victorian Video Productions and 

its' entire craft video series to Yarn Barn of Lawrence KS. 

Many of which are still available today on DVD.  

Just for the fun of it, I produced this outdoor identification video

for kids, which we filmed in AK.   We were honored to have 

received so many awards and outstanding reviews.

THE END IS IN SIGHT...

The loom is ready to go, all the other materials,

yarns and books are packaged and waiting.

On Dec 2, 2020 prior to Debra's arrival we moved all of

the items outside onto the patio.

I took this personal moment to give my last loom a hug good-bye.

 (I've had 6 different ones over the last 50 years...all sizes and shapes,

and generally 2 or 3 at a time.)

Debra's husband Steve and his cousin loaded the items

in their truck to take it to it's new home in, can you believe 

this.... in Tucson AZ.

CONCLUSION;  

How did this all happen?  Well, my Dad was a coach and he told me I could do anything 

I wanted to if I had the fortitude to give it my best shot,  and 

I believed him.  And a supportive spouse encouraging you every step of the way

made it easy to try.    However, I must admit throughout this era whenever 

I said “That gives me an idea”,  with his eyes rolling skyward,

Don smiled and said “OMG not another one!!!

THE END

End of an Era - Part 2 (Workshops & Exhibitions)

For about 35 years of this Era, I spent lots of time "on the road"

teaching workshops at many regional, national  and international textile/hand-weaving 

conferences throughout the US and Canada.

 My workshop students often asked “How do you get from your photo to

 the design.  There are many answers to that question.  However, in this case 

I took many slides of the 2 dogs playing with a ball. 

After 20 minutes of romping the Siberian Husky puppy sat &  said to 

the old Dalmatian, “This is my ball from now on”.

Since I had taken slides, I just projected the slide onto my design 

paper which was placed on the wall and drew the major color 

areas within the bodies of each dog.  And I even added a couple of spots on the 

Dalmatian just for the fun of it.  

After all, how often do you get to change your spots???

I am grateful to IBM for the education they gave me when I worked

 for them as an Education Development Analyst…

 that meant that I learned how to teach product knowledge, 

sales and marketing to the sales staff and taught the IBM teachers

how to teach    Perhaps the most challenging thing for the creative 

   artist to deal with is how to sell their work.  Thanks to"Big Blue"

I learned how which I believe contributed greatly to my success.  

Not only that, IBM’s motto is “Think” and my Think Sign is always 

close by when when the creative juices start to flow.

For example when the Sacramento Bee was having a design competition,
 I called for an entry form.  After all, I designed my own work!!!
  The editor was fascinated with what I did and 
decided to feature my work on the cover of the California Life Section.  
He asked me to bring a couple of tapestries to a photo shoot. I arrived at 
a predetermined location with tapestries  in hand. 
How’s that for  the luck of the draw… perfect colors for their “set”.  

I also exhibited my work along the way at various galleries and was also invited to
 participate in a number of invitational shows in many cities, including Atlanta GA,  
Anchorage AK, Ann Arbor, MI  and an invitational juried exhibition 
in New York City NY. 

Three of my pieces (shown above) were also featured in the 
National Invitational Tapestry Showcase
 at the Haggin Museum (Stockton CA).

I must sadmit I was overwhelmed when I entered and saw "Harvey" 

on the wall of this prestigious museum gallery.

One thing continued to lead to another and for a few years I also

 served as a contributing editor to Knit 'n Style Magazine,  and wrote 

numerous articles for a variety of weaving & craft magazines throughout 

my weaving career.

In 1986 I was invited by the New Zealand & Australian Crafts Councils

 to spend 6 weeks teaching workshops on Tapestry Weaving & Design.  

This trip also included a number of seminars for various crafts

 groups on “Pricing and Selling your Work”.  

After I returned home I wove this 3’ x 4’  Black Swan tapestry 

as a gift for the woman who hosted me while on the 

North Island of New Zealand. She enjoyed taking me to see the 

black swans that hung out near her home on the shores of Lake Rotorua.  

And I enjoyed it too!!!

And last but not least, there is a biennial tapestry exhibition sponsored

by the Handweavers Guild of America that is called "Small Expressions"

And let me tell you, "small" doesn't mean less expensive or quicker

to weave.   For example, the woven tapestries in each 

of my pieces, shown here  are only 8 1/2" x 11".

 It took me about 23-25 hours to weave each one. Then

they were mounted in a shadow box style frame.  The overall

size is 11" x 14 & 1/2" .   These hang in our home in AZ.

I did have the opportunity to judge the entries (which means select the pieces)

 for Small Expressions when it was held in Washington D.C.   Artwork entries

were submitted to me on slides.  The maximum size allowed was  11" x 15", 

and included all types of textile art.  To judge them fairly, I positioned 

my slide projector close to the screen so I could view each piece in

the scale in which it was created.  Unbelievable detail and one of

the most challenging things I was ever asked to do.

It was an honor and fun.

Stay tuned for Part 3...