Tapestry beginnings

I have taken upon myself to learn tapestry, I think the skill will be useful for my next art exploration. This thought is coming to me with a bit of reservation. I like the idea of creating the cloth as I add the design rather than just "attaching" it to the already manufactured cloth, and I also know this will also be a way to add texture to what I create. My reservation comes from the fact that it is SLOW, it can really take a long time and I want to make things with some size to them. In the past I have dabbled in tapestry a couple of times, but did not have the skills to make it look good, so now it is time to learn. I feel you should learn the technique - the rules before you can break them and I am certain to break them. I don't have a desire to "paint" pretty pictures by doing tapestry, but I do think it may be a good way to build my abstract ideas.

I have a book called "The Tapestry Handbook" by Carol K Russell that I will follow as well as I can follow any written instructions. Books like these always want to teach techniques by having the "student" make a sampler. I have no desire to make a sampler and follow along in the book in the order prescribed. I think that will just frustrate me, plodding along making something I don't want. So I have come up with the idea of using a very small "no frills" loom. I can take each technique and create a tiny work and then cut it off and throw it away if I hate it -- with a sampler I would be stuck looking at something I hate the whole time. I can also redo a lesson or skip one at my own pace.



The loom I have chosen is a Good Wood Loom, as you can see it is more of a toy than a loom, but I think it will work for what I have in mind. I want to be able to carry it around and use it when I have bits of free time, like lunch, or breaks at work, maybe even riding the bus if I want to deal with the questions. The loom measures 5" x 7" and creates a weaving approximately 4" x 5.5".