Patricia Temples Photography

Woven Photography

I learned about a new way to present photographs at an art exhibition at the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community in Harrisonburg, Va a few years ago. It is woven photography. The artist that was in that show had 3D woven photographs, in which he wove small wire into the piece so that he could make a vessel that could be shaped and could stand alone. He had a very interesting piece in that show. I contacted him and he most generously gave me all kinds of information about how it is done. I learned along the way that there is no harm in sharing that information, because each photographer who uses this technique would use their own images, their own weaving patterns, and their own ideas of how to modify one image in two ways to weave them together. I have learned a lot of things since I first started doing this. Some images work better than others, there are several weaving patterns someone could use, and weaving as a left-hander makes my weavings unique to me. Here are some examples of the work I’ve done, and I hope you can see a progression in my choices of photos along the way.

Let me explain what I actually do. I print two of the same image, with or without modifications in one of the images. I also print on the back of each image a cutting template, one with 1/4″ wide horizontal cutting lines and one with 1/4″ vertical lines, then I cut the images apart. On the horizontal cut, I leave a bit uncut at the top of the image to hold the pieces together. The vertical pieces are cut one at a time, and woven into the horizontally cut image.

This was the first image I created when I started in 2018. I wove together two black and white images with a simple tabby pattern. I put it in an art show in Bath County that year and it sold, so I only have this photo now. You can see the simple in and out pattern of the weaving, alternating the starting point on each row.

A year later I made this piece, using a twill weave. In that pattern you start with one under, then two over, two under, continuing throughout the row. The next row begins with two under, two over, two under, and so forth. I used one black and white image and one color image on this corrugated metal barn photo. You can see the twill pattern quite easily because of the color differences. Because I am left-handed, the “stripes” run in a left-to-right diagonal pattern.

This was made using two 5×7 photos, one darker than the other, but both in color. Again, you can see the diagonal movement because of the twill weave. These stripes look larger because the image is smaller. I called this one Quilted Landscape because I think the stripes in the green area look like a quilt lying on the ground. This one sold about a month after I finished it.

I chose to do this image again, this time without as much difference in the saturation of color. I called the new one Storm Coming In, and it will be in the Bath County Arts Association Show this summer. I do not have a good photograph of this one because of reflections on the glass.

My next attempt was with a photograph of a bright orange maple tree in Shenandoah National Park. I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. Before I completed it I showed it to a couple of friends and they both wanted to purchase it, so I will be making a second one of this image soon. It is not framed yet, and the photograph was taken with my phone as it lay on a counter. Sorry. I’ll try to put a better photo up after I get it completed. My goal will be to make changes somehow so the second one is not exactly like the first. We’ll see what I come up with. Enjoy!!

It’s Getting a Bit Crazy

I have written in previous posts about my art collaborations with two friends, one a watercolorist, the other a colored pencil artist.  That isn’t a totally accurate description of my friends’ talents:  they both use a variety of media in their work.  I am the photographer, and that’s about all I do.  Oh, well. We have completed a seventh collaborative art piece, and this one was the most challenging yet.  As we progressed on the work, we all had doubts about whether it would be a successful piece of art when we finished.  That doubt lingered until it all came together. Yesterday we matted and framed it and showed it to our artists’ group.  It was a hit!  It will be in a show at Woodberry Forest School in Orange VA, September 5 through November 3.  If you live nearby or within an easy drive, try to come to our reception on September 5th, 5-7 pm.  There will be a lot of great art, great food, wine and wonderful artists to make the evening enjoyable.

So….what is our collaboration?  We made a crazy quilt.  Not out of fabric, but out of paper.  Let me tell you first about crazy quilts.

The history is a bit confusing.  One source says they became popular in the late 1880s in the US, but another says that they originated during Colonial Times.  I will give you my take on what I’ve read.  I believe that the Colonists, who came from Europe with limited supplies, started using patchwork as a way to repair old and torn garments so that they could continue to be worn.  They probably didn’t start out as beautiful, but more functional in nature.  As fabric became readily available, the artistry and design components followed for quilting in general.  In the late 1880s the CRAZY quilt emerged among the wealthier classes as a way for them to show off expensive fabrics and their extensive embroidery skills.  Oddly shaped pieces of silks, velvets and satins were sewn together and embellished with a large variety of embroidery styles.  As the popularity of quilting increased, quilters began to establish themes to commemorate an important event, or they used fabrics that were of sentimental significance in their lives. Crazy quilts were not created for warmth or function, but for decorative use.  I have three of these quilts in my possession, all pieced and embroidered by my great-grandmother, with satin on the opposite side that my grandmother quilted.  These quilts were presented to all female members of my family.  Oddly enough, crazy quilts were rarely “quilted” per se.  The embroidery was embellishment enough.

But, I digress.  I was talking about an art collaboration, wasn’t I?  Yes, we made a crazy quilt.   None of us were sure we could pull it off.  I will show you first what our finished piece looks like in black and white.  Notice the placement of the light and dark pieces.  I see movement and texture. Do you?

Black and White Study

This is our finished art quilt.  The colors we chose are warm golds and reds, some grey and black, and sepia tones.  See if you can determine which square addresses each segment of a community.  Then see if you can name all of the things within the square that support it. This collaboration is large.  The finished size is 24″ x 24″ framed.  You need to see it up close and personal!

The Finished Product

A quote from the book Crazy Patchwork, 1884, says this:  “No species of fancy-work yet invented has ever given more scope for the exercise of artistic ability and real originality:  hence, the secret of its popularity.”

I would say that the Crazy Quilt has once again provided an avenue for creativity, artistic ability and originality.  Leslie Barham, Frances Lacy and I hope you feel the same way.

More Collaboration

Earlier I wrote about my opportunity to collaborate on some art pieces with two friends, one who is a colored pencil artist and the other a watercolorist.  We have just completed two more pieces, which I believe are even more spectacular than our first three.  For these, we cut photos apart.  Each of us took some of the pieces to work on, but they had to fit back together just so to complete the larger composition.  I am a photographer, and it was a challenge to determine how to create new pieces from the sections I had to modify.  Take a look.  See if you can determine which pieces belong to which artistic medium.  Good luck!

Thirty-six different signs of life adorn this creation.