A Glimpse into the Past

Infrared Photographic Image taken from slides on a light table.

I could just as easily have called this post “Living in the Past” because I’ve certainly re-visited a lot of memories.

I’ve been cleaning out our store room this past month and finding lots of unwanted objects along with some real gems. Uncovering some bits of my past I’d long forgotten, actually! Of course, all the snapshots that crop up concerning our two kids are a wealth in their own right, but what I was also excited to find was:

My old negatives

This was huge for me. I had given up hope that they were still in my possession. When Steve and I moved from Germany back to the states, an entire crate was lost in the process. Two weavings were lost in that crate among other items. But I was pretty sure I would have hand-carried my negatives so I knew they had to be around somewhere. 

Between my husband and I, there was a lot of “photography stuff” that got boxed up when we broke down the darkroom and converted it back to a storage room. Now that I’ve found them I’m not sure what I’ll do with them. Probably of more immediate value were the slides.

A LOT of slides

I was exhibiting (photography) back then and, of course, the standard way to submit was to physically send slides. So, happily, all of what I considered to be my best photographs were preserved in that way.

This is an image that holds a special place in my heart. Infrared photograph. It won awards back in the day.

My beloved collie, Ruffian, was the subject of a lot of my infrared images.

I did find some images from my BFA student show that showed some weaving. But it was hard to piece together. In my mind, I did a couple of tryptichs, but I only see individual pieces plus a few other small weavings. A few of these I still have but this one was a total surprise to me that I’m still struggling to remember! Maybe I just haven’t found the “good slides” and that’s still to come. These look like very randomly shot details- and not very carefully done at that.

I’m guessing they were about 12 inches by 12 inches (each piece) - there was no image of all three hanging together. These, too, have been lost along my travels. This is apparently all that remains. They were woven with cotton warp and weft - if I do remember correctly, I believe the weft was the same as the warp. The color was added after with dyes. Procion.

Polaroids!

I went through a very long snapshot polaroid phase, too. The only one I care to share here would be (again poorly taken) an image of a weaving done during the time I spent in Ann Arbor, MI - in the early 80’s. Just snapshots and not very well done, I might add. Just for the record.

This one was about 36” x 36”- woven in the Rya technique in black and white and painted after. (I know this because I also found an image of it in black and white.)

I also found some photographs I’d like to remember, so will include those here, too. Might be inspiration for future weavings?

And then there were the Mystery Slides: No need to share those. Of special note one whole case from August of 1981 involving two dogs and paper streamers hanging from the ceiling…where was I and why do I have absolutely no recollection? Granted, I have never had a great memory- but honestly, you’d think there would be some kind of jog. Was I dog-sitting? Crazy.