Randall Darwall

I mentioned Randall Darwall in an earlier post when I was discussing weaving as fine art. In my early days as a weaver (I was but a raw beginner) I took a one-day workshop with him. The workshop was offered by my weaving guild in Atlanta . We were supposed to bring some of our weavings for him to critique. Few of us dared. Certainly I did not. Nevertheless it was an unforgettable day in which he shared his life, his weavings, his techniques.

Darwall was the first weaver I'd ever heard to suggest that scarves could be art. He told us that he wove his, not necessarily just to be worn, but to be draped over a chair, on a wall, used on a table.

Since that day, whenever I am in a boutique that carries his scarves, I study them intently. Studying them is like studying a magnificent oil painting. I get glimmers and smatterings, but I never fully understand. All I really know is how beautiful his scarves are.

Yesterday I discovered a blogger who had taken notes at a week-long hands-on workshop offered by Darwall last year in New Zealand. Her notes can be found here on her blog.

Meg introduces her blog entries: " It was like Christmas. But better. We waited and waited for the whole year. And then it finally happened. For six exciting days, our two Santas greeted us at 8.30 AM every morning and we got stuck into the magical world of colors (and values and proportions, but more on these later)." Do go read the whole thing for yourself.

And for her responses to the Darwall scarf she purchased (and also a gorgeous photo of it), go to her post here.

And do look at some of her other posts. A good blog. I now have a link to it on my blog.

Related Posts: Art Piece 2: Weaving Continues