Inspiration: Old Barns and Sheds

Another eagle sighting in Happy Valley.

More snowy days this week, but not enough to keep us home. A trip through Happy Valley gave us another eagle sighting. He was soaring over the fields and these old barns.

I've always been attracted to old buildings. As we say in our house, I never met a hovel I didn't like! When we travel I tend to take lots of photos of buildings. I like whole buildings, parts of buildings, and the way buildings fit together.  Often, buildings that are in ruins or show the wear of use and age are the most interesting and evocative.  Which leads me back to the barns.

Since I find them so inspiring I thought I'd collect some of the old barn and shed photos laying around the hard drive and post them here. Perhaps I'll use one, or parts of one for a tapestry? I'm looking for inspiration for my next piece since I'm closing in on the end of the green beans. While I'm waiting for the studio to warm up I'll post a few of the photos I like.

What inspires you?

The Happy Valley barns on a morning in summer.

Another barn in Happy Valley

The barns of Maggie, in Happy Valley

Hay storage shed in Floyd. So much texture here!

Near downtown Floyd

Old house, now used as a shed. The backroads of Floyd County

Nova Scotia Shed. Love the lobster trap and the red door!

Rogers red barn. It really was that color. Really!

Garage on the Isle of Lewis

Locked shed in the Scottish Highlands.

Catching Up

So, it's been a while. Ok, it's been months. But now I'm back, and I wanted to give an update on the bean tapestry. I finally got back into the studio this month so some progress has been made. Really, there's not that much more to go, maybe two inches or so. If the weather stays above freezing I just might get it done before New Years eve.

Coming down to the end - the eggplant and the background...

In other news... here's a brief tour of what else I've been up to since July. (Just so you don't think I've been sitting around twiddling my thumbs.) If you want the captions and some sketchy details, you can also view this on my Flickr page.




Of course there's been more day to day stuff than I can write, or that you'd probably want to read. If anything else of interest occurs to me I'll post again. Really!

Ta ta for now!
Liz

Baby, it's cold...inside!

Ok, I know it doesn't look like I've made much progress since last time. I did get the start of that top bean in the upper left corner started. Also, there was some un- and re-weaving done. And, I spent some time trimming up the loose ends on the back of the piece.

We had more snow this weekend - several inches - and it was just too darned cold out in the studio on Saturday to spend much time sitting still. Some days it warms right up in there and gets very cozy. But other times it just never really gets warm. Probably it would help if I finished insulating under the floor of the building and covered up the sub-floor with actual flooring. Maybe this summer. If I sell the spare loom.

Here are a few other photos for your amusement:

A corner of the studio, showing the Glimakra. I've been weaving those linen napkins forever, but had to quit a few months ago due to a bum knee. I start physical therapy next week, so hopefully I'll be throwing the shuttle again real soon now! Also, you can see the tapestry in the background there, part of the Stash, and my desk.

The last photo du jour was actually taken last week - before the current snowstorm upgraded us to "Winter Wonderland." Again. This is the view I get every time I drive to work at Strauch Fiber Equipement Company. We call it "Happy Valley." It really is lovely there.