This article about Polly Roberts, one of our Gallery's founding
members,
appeared in the Sacramento Bee on April 23, 2006
Artistic vision undimmed
Although legally blind, Auburn's Polly Roberts uses touch and talent to
weave
old-fashioned woolen treasures
By Niesha Lofing -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, April 23, 2006
Story appeared in South placer roseville section, Page N1
About the writer:
The Bee's Niesha Lofing can be reached at (916) 773-6846 or nlofing@sacbee.com
 |
Sitting at her
loom in her Auburn home, Polly Roberts painstakingly works on a project
that will come alive as a functional piece of art. Sacramento Bee/Lezlie Sterling |
Polly Roberts sits at her loom, patiently weaving the soft white thread back
and forth while she presses the pedals, the rhythmic motion resembling that
of a musician at a piano.
Unlike most weavers, however, Roberts' only guides are her nimble hands and
a tiny ring of vision that helps her distinguish light and dark.
Roberts is legally blind.
But for the 85-year-old Auburn resident, a lack of sight has not limited
her vision.
Roberts is one of the founding members of the Auburn Old Town Gallery,
where her vibrant and supple shawls, vests and baby blankets soften a corner
of the gallery.
"This is just a lovely way of staying out of trouble," Roberts humbly
and humorously says of her weaving.
Others are more effusive.
Elaine Rothwell, an etching artist and member of the cooperative art gallery,
said Roberts is legendary and an inspiration to her fellow artists.
"We have trouble keeping our hands off the things she makes because
they're so soft," Rothwell said. "She's devoted to what she's
working on. They are labors of love."
Roberts is the gallery's official greeter, a job well-suited for the outgoing
and cheerful weaver, said Gail Morgan, a glass artist and member of the
gallery.
"She's a little firecracker," Morgan said. "She
doesn't hesitate to speak up and voice her opinions strongly. But she's
also one
of the most giving people and loving people that we have in the gallery."
Roberts began weaving about 10 years ago, when her vision grew too poor
for her to read the gram scale she used to measure the clay for her pottery.
Roberts' love of all things art sprang from college courses she took in
Southern California, once all of her eight children were in school.
Though she had earned a degree in sociology in 1971, Roberts couldn't
stay away for long. She returned to the campus and became a ceramics major
and fiber arts minor.
"I stayed for eight years," she said, chuckling at her time
spent at the university. "I took all kinds of classes."
Weaving, a craft that she first learned during those days at the university,
has become a true love for Roberts.
Roberts attributes her success to her tactile hands.
"There are so many things I can't do, so the weaving is something
I can do, and I very much enjoy it," she said.
Roberts makes about 30 shawls a year and sells her wares in the Auburn
gallery.
Her work also has been on display at local weavers' conferences.
One
year, Roberts made an especially unusual entry to keep with a conference's
theme of "Our
past, our future."
"I took plastic bags, trash bags and the newspaper, and I wove it
into a coat," she said. "It was hotter than you know what.
"My
kids still tease me about that coat and say 'Mom, if we ever wanted to have
you
committed,
all we would need to do is pull out that
silly coat.'"
Unfortunately, weaving is becoming less popular with younger generations,
Roberts said.
"It's a dying art," she
said.
But waning popularity or not, Roberts said she will continue to enjoy
weaving as long as she can.
"This has become my creative outlet," she said. "I
think some people just have that urge."
Thread of Continuity Today the rhythms
of |
 |
Nimble and practiced
hands perform the delicate work of fitting layers of fabric. Sacramento Bee/Lezlie Sterling |
 |
Polly Roberts
hasn't let age - she's 85- or being legally blind stop her from smiling
or keep her from exercising her creativity at the loom. Sacramento Bee/Lezlie Sterling |
 |
Polly Roberts' vibrant creations are on display at the Auburn Old
Town Gallery. Sacramento Bee/Lezlie Sterling |