Alphabet Soup hits Santa Fe

I was able to go and visit the Alphabet Soup tapestry show at the Santa Fe Public Library, Southside branch this morning. Although I wrote a blog post about this Alphabet Soup show HERE, I had not actually seen it in person until today. It is a joint venture between two weaving guilds in northern New Mexico, the Las Aranas Weavers and Spinners Guild and Las Tejadoras Fiber Arts Guild. They wove small tapestries with letters of the alphabet (really you should go look at that prior post as the photos of the group and some of the close-ups are great!).

I had not been to the Southside library before. The added benefit was that I came away with a library card and some Spanish language DVDs. All in a days work, I say.
Please keep in mind that these images are snapshots only. These are beautiful tapestries and these snapshots can only give you a general idea of what they look like. If you can possibly go and see the show, please do!

The spread of the small alphabet tapestries

Here are some closer shots of the panels.

I posted many pictures of the small tapestries in the earlier blog post. But here is one spider I really loved today.

"T is for tarantula", detail, Mary Colton

I was so pleased to see the other stunning pieces displayed in addition to the alphabet tapestries.

My World, Evelyn Campbell (top left) and Mary Colton (right). Memories of Mitla, Ann Shafer (bottom right)

Vision Quest, Sharon van de Velde; When the Ocean and Desert were One, (top) Elizabeth Buckley; Desert Memory, (bottom) Elizabeth Buckley; Red, Black, and Gold (Fractured Square Series), Donna Loraine Contractor; Broken Steps, Alex Lear; Once There Was a River II, Mary Colton

New Mexico Waits for Rain, (top) Janice Thomson Peters; Sagrado Familia Capilla Near Black Mesa, (bottom) Evelyn Campbell

Balloons, Cindy Dworzak; Navajo, Klagetoh Style, Lavonne Slusher; Morning Patio, Mary Cost; Edges and Ledges, Donna Loraine Contractor; School of Thought, Heather Gallegos-Rex; Revelation, Letty Roller

And a few closer looks.

Once There Was a River II, Mary Colton

I love this piece by Letitia Roller. I have seen it other places and I feel like it needs a large grand wall for display. It is simply gorgeous and unfortunately is partly hidden behind a shelf in the library.

Revelation, Letty Roller

Revelation, detail

As a tapestry weaver, I frequently find myself looking at the technique in a tapestry. I have always used Donna Loraine Contractor as an example of someone who uses dovetail joins very effectively. I had to really study this piece because I was convinced at first they were sewn slits. But I think they are expertly done dovetails. Pretty amazing.

Edges and Ledges, Donna Loraine Contractor

Edges and Ledges, detail

And I love Mary Cost's work. Here is a piece I hadn't seen before.

Morning Patio, Mary Cost

Morning Patio, detail

And someone near and dear to my heart partly because she was working on the concept for this piece in James Koehler's studio while I was struggling with my own tapestry demons, Evelyn Campbell.

Sagrado Familia Capilla Near Black Mesa, Evelyn Campbell

And since this is Balloon Fiesta week in Albuquerque, go see Cindy Dworzak's Balloons. It is so much fun!

Balloons, Cindy Dworzak

See my prior post about the Alphabet Soup tapestries with some great photos taken by Dan Klinglesmith on my blog at: http://rebeccamezoff.blogspot.com/2013/06/alphabet-soup.html.
And if you go and see the show, leave a comment below to tell me what you think! I will have to go and have another look before it comes down.

UPDATE 10/14/13: The Alphabet Soup show will be at the Southside Library in Santa Fe at 6599 Jaguar Drive through October 30th. It will hang at the Fuller Lodge Art Center in Los Alamos, NM January 31 to March 15th, 2014.