Studio in York Maine
Greetings and welcome to my website!
This is where you will find a wide variety of information about my art work, my community teaching, artist in residency programs, travels, awards and what’s the latest news from my studio.
Be sure to check out my calendar to see events, exhibitions and opportunities to participate in community art projects.
Explore my website to see art in the gallery.
detail of "Mother Daughter Tryptich"
Check out my two other blogs ~ “Woven Voices Messages from the Heart” , a blog about my global community art project started in 2007 and “Macomber Looms and Me” a blog about looms built right here in York Maine.
Artist in residence Children's Hospital
Be sure to sign my visitor book. I appreciate your feedback and comments. Thanks!
September 18, 2010 – 2:51 pm
by Sarah
Printing the Adinkra inspired papers
In late April I had the wonderful opportunity to return as Artist in Residence to The Great Oak Middle School in Oxford CT. For five days I worked with 6th, 7th and 8th graders to design, print, weave and bind small books. Our goal was to create two printed sheets of paper inspired by Adinkra images of West Africa that would be cut into strips and woven together to make the cover for a book. Prior to my coming to school, Karen Giannamore, the art teacher worked hard with the classes to help them generate wonderful stories based on a choice of writing prompts. These stories were printed on paper to be inserted as the text for these handmade covers.
More printing!
Printed papers for book covers
When I arrived on Monday, we jumped right into designing the stamps, and printing two sheets of paper per student. I just love the bright colors and the bold designs that the students came up with. After everyone had printed two sheets, we then cut them into strips to that they could be woven together to make the book covers.
Weaving the printed strips together
The printed and woven strips were then laminated to make a durable cover for the books. We then sewed the previously written and printed stories inside these gorgeous covers. Each student also illustrated their story and added reader’s questions as well as notes about the author. These books will now be shipped to a school for the deaf in Wamunyu, Kenya through a program called Kenya Connect.
We understand that the students in Kenya are learning to read and write in English so these handmade books will add over 120 new books to their school library!
Illustrating the text.
Helping a partner to sew in the text pages.
The laminated book covers waiting for the pages of text to be sewn inside.
May 7, 2012 (2 weeks ago) – 4:19 pm
by Sarah
The Bancroft School Mandala
After school volunteers help to assemble the Mandala
This week I was artist in residence at the Bancroft School in Worcester, MA. I worked with Lower and Upper School students to create a stunning Community Mandala. There was time with each group to have a conversation about the history and cultural connections with Mandalas. During one of these discussion, one student asked me how many Mandalas I had made. I could not answer, but it is in the hundreds.
Recently I have been thinking about making my own Mandalas. After the one that I made for the Izzy’s installation, I have been so inspired by the practice of making these mesmerizing symmetrical pieces. Each time I work with students and talk about how the Buddhist Monks make sand Mandalas over and over again as a spiritual practice, I think about what I might learn from this practice.
Today it is snowing, and most likely tomorrow we will be snowed in. It just might be the perfect day to start my own Mandala practice.
Detail of the Bancroft School Mandala
February 29, 2012 – 3:59 pm
by Sarah
This Sunday in church the theme for the music, children’s story and the homily was about returning or rather circling about. The metaphor of goats versus sheep was used. Sheep travel as a flock or herd and usually stick together; while goats tend to be a bit more chaotic, independent and circular in their movements.
The message was very clear, there is a wisdom to going in circles, to returning again and again to the familiar, and to the repetition of lessons. As a weaver, I love repetition, pattern and yes circles! As an independent self employed artist, I guess I really am a goat.
This week, I am returning to work on my master’s thesis. This project was dropped after Weston’s death. Now I am ready to return, to circle back, with a transformed point of view. There have been many doors closed in the past three months. Now I am ready to open one and step over the threshold.
"From the perspective of a pine tree"
Now here’s the thing, I embrace the concept that traveling in circles, of repeating lessons brings wisdom. But I do not believe that each time I return to the beginning that I am the same person. Each time I return, I am new, I am different. So I believe that in truth I travel in a spiral.
This piece “From the perspective of a pine tree” addresses this notion. Along the right edge of the piece, there are several large fish all traveling upward. There are two smaller fish swimming in the opposite direction. There are two spirals. I won’t go into a long analysis of what I was thinking, but I suspect it is obvious. Be it a goat or a fish, we have a choice. Swim with the crowd or head out on your own. Celebrate the spiraling path that is at the core of learning and living in this world.
November 30, 2011 – 11:39 am
by Sarah
Prayer flag flying at Two Medicine Lake, Glacier Park, Montana
November has swept into my heart and my home. Leaves are falling. Rain is falling. The temperature is not falling however. It has been unseasonably warm for the past week, which is rather odd considering that we had a 6″ of snow fall about 2 weeks ago.
Prayer flag at The World Friendship Center, Hiroshima, Japan
Woven Voices prayer flags are flying all over the globe. This image of a flag at Two Medicine Lake has to be one of my favorites. We have sent flags to fly in France, Guatemala, New Zealand, Africa, New York/Occupy Wall Street, Japan and Italy. So far over 1200 flags of peace, love and hope fly world wide. I will be offering directions to those who want to do this project on their own. Contact me for these directions.
Gil and his prayer flag in St Remy de Provence, France
I have been busy teaching in schools again this month. Here is a fabulous Mandala Community Weaving done by the students at Woodland School in Weston, MA.
Mandala Community Weaving, Woodland School, Weston, MA
I am so proud of the hard work this whole school community put into this project.
All smiles for this amazing global Mandala Community Weaving!
That’s all the news for this rainy day!
November 10, 2011 – 4:51 pm
by Sarah
I know from experience that the wider my heart gets stretched the more deeply I feel every breath, witness the smallest details and am able to be present. This summer events in my life stretched my heart wider, deeper and taller than I thought possible. On August 18th my dear brother Weston, my traveling soul mate on our trans-Atlantic crossing, was tragically killed. Please go to my Woven Voices blog to learn and read more.
Wes in his ever present welder's hat
Along with the enormity of this event, I have been weaving hundreds of prayer flags and sending them out across the lands and waters to fly in homes, gardens, schools and churches. Thank you again to all my Kickstarter backers who have supported this project. We have woven over 600 prayer flags just this summer!
Wes would be among the first to say “Life goes on.” And on.
Another milestone is that “Each One: The Button Project, a 9/11 Memorial has been purchased and has a permanent home! On September 6th, the city councilors of Portsmouth NH voted to use gifted funds to purchase the art work in honor and recognition of Mayor Sirrell, Portsmouth mayor from 1997-2005.
"Each One: The Button Project, a 9/11 Memorial" at City Hall Portsmouth, NH
This posting will be brief, because truthfully I am often at a loss for words.
As the healing and transformation continue, I trust that my words will return. Meanwhile I make art, weave and draw in an attempt to navigate this new landscape. My expanded heart is my north star.
September 30, 2011 – 2:04 pm
by Sarah
It is June after 
all…something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue…..cheers for all the June brides! I was not a June bride, but it is my birthday this month and blue is my favorite color!
The something new is that last Friday I launched a Kickstarter project. If you’ve never heard of Kickstarter…check it out! It is an on line funding site for some really really cool projects.
I launched a Grand Finale for Woven Voices. There is a really short video to introduce the project. I hope you will check it out…and I hope you will make a pledge. Every pledge gets a reward! And every pledge helps to meet the all-or-nothing goal!
The something old for this post is I am finally getting around to posting images of a commission that I completed last year. In July of 2010 I installed at Temple Israel a 4ft by 7ft hand dyed/woven weaving called “Tree of Life”.
"Tree of Life" Temple Israel, Portsmouth, NH
Here’s what I wrote about the piece:
“The Tree of Life is an ancient symbol present in many cultures and spiritual traditions. This version seeks to honor life and to illustrate the continuum of the past, present and the future.”
“The lessons and wisdom of the past are represented by the deep roots of the tree. The joy of this present moment is represented by the strong and solid trunk. The hopes of the future are represented by the upwardly extending branches. The leaves represent our individual spirits. The golden vine that weaves up the tree is the Divine love that connects all human beings.”
"Tree of Life" detail
"Tree of Life" detail
June 7, 2011 – 1:53 pm
by Sarah
Yup. It is clearly Spring here in Maine. Actually late Spring. But what the heck…it has been raining for about 12 straight days. And we finally have sun. So everything is bursting, growing, exploding and green. Just want to share a few images from a residency that I did last month down in Connecticut.
Great Oaks School
This Mandala Community Weaving is the largest one that I have done to date. It has 500 clothes pin people on it, and is about 4 feet across. I am not sure how much it weights, but it is heavy! It has a special cross structure in the back to support the weight of the clothes pins. Isn’t it amazing?
Great Oaks Mandala detail
May 26, 2011 – 8:33 pm
by Sarah
It is SO beautiful outside right now, I could almost cry. The angle of the sun as it highlights each tender green blade of new grass makes my heart vibrate with joy. The peas are up about an inch. The daffodils and hyacinth are still blooming. The leaves are not quite fully out, which makes the view through the woods like a lace scrim. Glory is visible in every direction.
friends and family supporters of the Woven Voices project
Yesterday I went to Market Square in Portsmouth, NH to read messages for the “Woven Voices: Messages from the Heart” project. It was an interesting experience, even though I have been doing this for three years. Read more about it on the project blog.
Here in my studio I am working on several things. I feel sort of like my gardens with life exploding in every corner. And because I have so much still to share from my Atlantic passage…here is a journal entry. Peace, Sarah
Atlantic passage journal entry
May 12, 2011 – 7:37 pm
by Sarah
