Saturday, July 4, 2009

What's looming at the Chamber?

Astronomer weaves work into hobby

T.S. Last EDC General Manager

Daniel Klinglesmith III is best known around Socorro as an astronomer. So it may come as a surprise to people, other than his close friends and co-workers at the Magdalena Ridge Observatory, that he spends his spare time behind a weaver's loom creating captivating tapestries.

"It's a hobby," says Klinglesmith, who's this month's featured artist at the Socorro County Chamber of Commerce Office. "It became a passion with me. I really enjoy it."

Klinglesmith and his wife, Gerry, moved to Socorro in 1996.

"We liked the town and decided to come out here and retire. It didn't stick," Klinglesmith says.

Klinglesmith retired from the Goddard Space Flight Center in Silver Spring, Md., where he worked as a research astrophysicist for NASA. When he moved to Socorro, he naturally got involved with the Astronomy Club at New Mexico Tech. That led to an association with the physics department. That led to coming out of retirement to work up at Magdalena Ridge, where he spends days, sometimes weeks, at a time.

To help pass the time, a friend gave Klinglesmith a loom to take with him to the ridge, and it's there, nearer to the stars, where his sometimes celestial designs are created.

"I'm an astronomer, so every once in a while stars show up," he says.

Some of his smaller rugs are depictions of star formations. It took two long runners to encompass all the signs of the zodiac, in an effort to capture the whole nighttime sky.

Some of Klinglesmith's original designs contain staircases leading up to the heavens, which he says is an attempt to show perspective and depth.

"It's difficult for me to draw abstract shapes. I'm much more geometrical," he says. "A lot of math and science comes out in my work."

The geometric designs of traditional Navajo rugs were an immediate appeal to Klinglesmith, whose first foray into weaving came in 1989, at Ghost Ranch, a retreat and education center in Abiquiu, while on a summer sabbatical. Upon his return to Maryland, Klinglesmith entered a piece in the Montgomery County Fair, a Navajo-style rug he made while learning the craft in Abiqui. To his tremendous surprise, it won Best in Show.

"It's fair to say that Native American weaving style is what got me started doing this," he says. "The fact that I won a prize got me excited."

Klinglesmith always refers to his rugs as "Navajo style" rugs, never trying to suggest that they are in any way authentic. He says he deviated toward his own creations after realizing that no one would buy a Navajo rug from a guy named Klinglesmith. But they are woven on an upright loom, like the Navajo use, following traditional techniques. The "Hopi style" belts are made using a back strap loom.

Klinglesmith has become so accomplished at weaving in the traditional style that he has taught weaving classes and has another one coming up in August through the Socorro County Fiber Arts Guild.

A visit to the Chamber offices during regular business hours this month gives an indication of what can be accomplished through weaving. As Klinglesmith's work shows, the sky's the limit.

tslast@dchieftain.com

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