Exhibition of SAORI banners

As part of a SAORI explorers community on Yahoo, I have had several opportunities to provide a weaving for exhibition. The most recent event occurred in August 2010 in Worcester, MA where 66 banners were created to cover two bridges in Elm Park. The banners were displayed August 25-29 in the Park. To read about the event see Nat and Mihoko's page on the display. You can also see the individual banners here and even buy notecards of the display here. I am banner number 29.

We were provided the widths and lengths of the banner but the colors were left up to us. I decided that I would weave mine in two widths and then join the two by tying the fringes. Alas, this did not really work. To make the pieces look pulled together, I had to keep track of the lengths and colors that I wove on the one loom to use for the second loom. The free form style was lost a little by having to track the lengths of colors and then there was always the fear of running out of a color before I had woven all of the second piece.

The fringes were too loose to tie together so I ended up sewing the two pieces together which created a ridge down the center. To me this added a 3-d look which I will use in future pieces.

free form weaving

Some of us in the weaving world, don't follow patterns or the traditional style of weaving, such as select your warp and weft colors. We prefer to weave from the heart/mind choosing colors as we weave rather than a pre-designed set. I have been known to pick whatever colors I like for the warp, put it on the loom and then once I decide to start weaving, select the colors for the weft.

This style of weaving first surfaced in Japan many years ago. The style of weaving is officially known as SAORI. Mihoko and Nat, Worcester, MA have a great explanation of what SAORI is and who can use the term. ( http://saoriworcester.com/what.htm )