The Many Values of Black

I have started to weave my Study in Black. I am hoping to convey the emptiness of space through the use of the color black as well as its beauty and wonder through the recurrence of universal shapes and forms.

This photo illustrates the different values of black. Value is perhaps not exactly the right word...perhaps notes of black or scales of black would be more appropriate. I am still creating my palette of blacks for this piece. I have all the yarns purchased, balled and organized. Now I am working them into a scale of blacks by their appearance under a bright light.

The yarns were chosen for their absence of color - for their 'darkness'. I have avoided black yarns which pushed to purple, red or green. So no dyeing by me for this project. The resulting yarns vary most by content, texture and sheen. In the end the yarns will be lined up from the lightest to the darkest - in 'value' order. Thus, I will be weaving as normal picking up the right amount of contrast from the yarns to yield the right look.

I have chosen the lighter black for the frame to provide a feeling of stability as well as comfort to those viewers, and potential purchasers who feel art should be framed if on the wall. My husband also is happy since he will not need to create a frame for this piece... although he did just buy this really cool Mitre saw along with a ten inch 80 point blade.

I am reserving a variety of the darker blacks to convey the darkness and mystery of space. And somehow the feeling of potential and possibilities of space needs to come across through the selection of blacks.

From a weaving standpoint, I must admit this is the boring part. Just straight across with no yarn changes. The only issue is whether the tapestry is level. Things will get much more interesting once I hit the curves. You can see some of them where I dotted the dark warp with white paint.

More later...