On the most basic level my work is about action, and textiles as vessels for and purveyors of meaning. I use textile techniques because cloth is so central to human culture and so immediately, physically experienced in our daily lives. The way that fabric can be directly understood as action stored in threads makes it an especially pregnant medium, so that an act like offering a wool blanket directly references the political economy implicated by laboring and investing materials to the simple end of providing warmth. And inviting gallery visitors to experience this type of production introduces the merging of labor and liesure that is possible when commercial interests are absent. This is a small taste of the "truly free" economy I advocate for.

Bloggy news below...

Everything for the Vancouver show is coming together and I fly up there this weekend! Also CCA friend Jessica Rosen has invited Iris and me to do a very special show in her new space, the "orange alley project" off of 26th st. right by the apartment! It's a custom mojo juju joy-joy tent shop!
Opening December 6th, details to come...

Just putting out the word requesting volunteer helpers for the Vancouver Art Gallery show... these are people to help museum visitors use my looms and work with the cloth, and set the looms up to weave more! Send me an e-mail to get on the list I'll submit to the museum, and we'll schedule a training session the week of November 3rd.

Still having troubles getting this updated as often working towards Canada (opening November 8th)
a show at Tartine here in SF on November 12th, and Healdsburg performance art festival on November 16th!

Little attention to the website lately...last minute loom operations and writings for the big upcoming Vancouver show...
Also tie-dyeing the multi-layered dance kimonos for the narrative expressive weaving dance to take place at the opening!
and can you believe this box of yarns for the weaving place!? Thank you to Zontee at Lion Brand Yarns! It is really great!!

So it has been pretty busy in the public textile business... presenting to college classes, playing live weaving gigs on Treasure island, talking to community centers and Waldorf schools in San Jose, sourcing die-cutters right here in the Mission...the next level of cardboard weaving tools is here! I just need to photograph the steps for my instructions and we will have a cheap loom on the site! And here's the free mp3 download from our weaving performance!

I have decided to open an on-line shop on this site, to support the projects an get some of this cloth out there! I'll give it its own link from this page and it will have looms, cloth and media work... Oh and I will be at the Treasure Island Noise Pop Festival the Weekend of the 20th playing this amplified loom I am soldering together tonight!!

We will also be making a horsehair canvas for Erin Allen to paint on.

Taking a minute on the paypal-enhanced loom page...trying to figure out the tiered pricing structure. and make the looms. Keep watching this space!

Wow, I am re-posting the by-country visitor pie-chart because I am so keen on it!

Aiming for majority international visitors by 2009! And hoping to get to visit some of these places in person some day!

Especially Canada!

And thanks to Doug for an important piece of advice for the notecard loom project. See the podcast here and the (slightly) revised steps here.

Tomorrow night is the opening for the next 18 reasons show, regarding neighbors, curated by my CCA friend Rachelle Cohen (in town from NY) and featuring her, Anna Adair, Michael Goodier, and Danny Keith. My audio piece "Weaving One Brown Stripe in a Poncho on the Third Floor from the Second Floor," is featured as a free download here, but if you go to the show you can see the poncho I was making during the recording. And Michael's movie, Danny's painting, Rachelle's, many works on paper, and Anna's cool cloth rings are all really great!

Finished the Blooming leaf at Dolores, and here's a really important photo from a bit ago...

Wow! The new pattern I am weaving is really, really amazing!

It's on the flickr...plus too many park photos.

On that note I will bring the loom to the park to finish it on Saturday, from around 2-5 pm (Dolores Park, of course!)

Come over to learn how to weave colonial overshot patterns!

Until then, I'll still be at the park, but I'll only have my cardboard looms!

Curiosity Shoppe Craft Release was great fun! I think the notecard loom project is really successful!

Well definitely thank you Derek and Lauren for sharing the great space in the Shoppe,

and Tina and Craft, generally, and especially everyone who came and made looms and wove with them!!

And it happens again, tomorrow from noon-5 if you missed it, so I am going to relax,

and get ready to do it all over again. And I updated the phone number because

I am thinking International now.

 

Tomorrow is the big blow-out at the Curiosity Shoppe from noon to 5! I hope you come and make

a little notecard loom with me like the one featured on this site. All materials will be provided, plus snacks! On Valencia street.

Iris got her luggage, but is still too too far from SF. And work is underway for a new

set of scarves, and a big "Weaving Place" installation which will be up in Vancouver.

Here's the start of the scarves, future documentation follows:

Yes I am listening to NPR, As It Happens, or something.

Okay Nate's poncho is finished, washed and tie-dyed (!!) and I wrote the cardboard loom instructions real nice,

and soon I'll have the whole package together to send out for $20! (sliding scale?)

Iris is still in that sex pistols shirt, it seems...wish you were here babe.

look I shaved my moustache as, you know, an ongoing textile work.