going tribal

For a while now, I've been really into textiles and the process of creating, dying and wearing them. At CCA in California, I took an amazing  textiles course that introduced me to the world of weaving, natural fibers, natural dyes, spinning, knitting and endless techniques and processes dealing with textiles. 

Now that I'm at St. Edward's in Austin, I still find myself inspired by all the things I learned last year in California. I'm currently taking an intro painting class which I have a love-hate relationship with. Below, I listed some reasons...

Here's why I love it:

• Wally, my professor, is laid-back, encourages me to solve problems on my own (but if I need his help, he's always there) and his office is FULL of amazingness. Animal antlers/skulls, vintage posters, and art work by his friends from college just about make his office the most inspiring place on campus. 
• I'm super excited about my upcoming project (which I have amazing ideas for.. keep reading..)
• The conversations in class are awesome
• We get to jam to grizzly bear, beach house, old 60's rock and anything else we're in the mood for
• This is my first official painting class.... so learning something new about paint every tuesday and thursday is pretty rad

Now, hate to be a downer, but here's what I don't love about it:

• Class is at 9 a.m. Yeah, no fun.
• Still lifes... ARE SO BORING. 
• Drawing is also held in the painting studio, so we have to move our isles back and forth  after class (this is annoying because sometimes its hard to find where you were the previous class-- which throws off your whole painting!) 
• Class is only two hours long! Not enough time!!

Okay, so on to my upcoming project/ idea..

Speaking of textiles... I've always really been into tribal prints (which are a big trend right now in fashion and home decor) but lately, I'm interested in their origin and the meaning behind them (I'm in the process of doing some research.) 

So, my idea: 

I bought a humongous canvas for this project (which I'm excited about, larger pieces always have more of an impact in my opinion) I'm thinking about painting the pattern onto the canvas and then incorporating weaving yarn into/over certain portions of the pattern.. So, basically, a "weavpainting"  Get it? 

Here are some of the prints I looove: 

By Artist Marla Mallett

Elle Decor

I don't love the colors in this piece but I love the design

I'll keep you posted on the process of this project.. Hopefully my vision can be translated into reality.