Working small....it's intimate and mind opening

Small Tapestry Weaving

Small drawings, paintings, weavings and so forth. I find when I'm working at a small scale I can test out ideas rapidly. It's fluid....what is that exactly.....changing readily; shifting; not fixed, stable, or rigid. 
Not rigid. I like that. Drawing and painting small can go very fast if you wish but these small tapestries they don't go so fast. Tapestry never really does. So is it still fluid? Yes, it can be. How to stay loose and fluid when weaving tapestry? Hmm, maybe weave free form without a cartoon and let the textures and colors lead the way. Have a concept but keep it simple. I'm always asking myself these sorts of questions when it comes to tapestry weaving. It is so different from painting. That damn gird that I have a love/hate relationship with. Maybe let the grid dominate....but back to the idea of working small helps open my mind...it does with painting but does it really with tapestry? I'm still thinking about that one. It is intimate, very much so when you have to get so very close to a 2 or 3 inch wide tapestry. I like that it's a small almost precious object and that the viewer has to really get close to it physically.

The weaving starts at the bottom always and you work your way up. Art is not linear...or is it? If you have to begin at this point and end at this one. Questions...always questions.
It is better to ask some questions than to know all the answers __ James Thurber

DL Rigter weaving tapestry with a fine sett.