I want again to thank Dennis Dodds and Leigh Marsh for permitting me to use the images from Dennis' TM Rug Morning presentation on Turkmen weaving as the basis for this salon.
My thanks also to Dennis for joining our conversation at points and for providing additional illuminating comment.
I did not provide a theme but hoped that the pieces might themselves raise questions from various quarters and that happened to some extent.
A hopeful conversation started up about Turkmen "prayer rugs" and "engsis" that I likely aborted unnecessarily.
In truth, though, the discussion in this salon shows how little our conversations here are dependent on the material put up in a given salon. A full 66 posts in this salon permeate from a question that Yon Bard asked about the use of cotton in one small bag face. The use of silk got picked up along the way, and finally, the question of the effect of tent smoke on white/ivory wool and cotton was examined.
Although I think people do like to see the pieces presented in TM Rug Mornings, the character of the discussion in this instance raises for me the question of whether the "show and tell" presentation of even very strong material provides the best basis for salon discussion.
It might be better to put up a single piece and to try to start a good fight.
It would certainly be easier.
My thanks to all for their participation here.
Regards,
R. John Howe