Flamingo at Rest

Here is my tapestry flamingo checking out the backyard.

This is an experimental piece  woven in tiny squares of color so the image up close is pixelated.   It gets clearer as you step back from the tapestry. It's a couple feet high and about 10 to 11 inches wide woven with yarns entirely from my stash.

I was hoping for an impressionist look...like the Monet painting.  That  turned out to be much more difficult that I thought it would. With tapestry there is a high level of commitment to the color woven into the tapestry since changing the colors later is not as easy to do as with oils. With paint its easy to simply paint over the color which was not quite right with a new one. With this tapestry I discovered it would not be until perhaps 2-3 inches later that I would discover a certain color was not quite the right one...

Since its woven in tiny squares of color; four round trips around three warp ends...I can carefully remove a color that is not quite right and replace with another.   So now I am in the tweaking stage; improving on the color selection in both the background and the image.

A bit more tweaking is in order...   but no more for today...my flamingo needs a rest.

Dyeing Opposites

I have had a cold lately and haven't been up for doing many things.   I felt inspired to dye today so I quickly lept into action.

I needed some yarn for a tapestry I am creating which focuses on opposites and the ability of opposites to attract, polarize and also neutralize if and when they come together.   So I selected two fun opposites on the color wheel; a bright yellow green and a wonderful plum red violet and dyed three graduated mixtures of the two.

Here are the results drying in the back yard.  The fog just rolled in so it may be some time before they dry. The very light color at the far left is the yarn color I dyed.   It may look grey but its a bit more tan than the photo would imply.

The colors seem perfect for what I have in mind.  Hopefully, they will look as good when dry.

My Studio is Bright

 My studio is quite colorful with two tapestries brightening the room.  I just took off Ocean's Revenge and it is resting on my loom awaiting finishing.  It's companion piece Ode to the Ocean is finished and on the wall.

I must apologize for the photos and my recent silence, I just got a new computer which was fried in a recent series of power surges and it seems everything takes  ten times longer and is ten times more difficult to do with this new one.  I haven't had the time nor the patience to handle the process of getting an exhibit quality photo.   So these will do for now.

These two tapestries each convey a poem in stylized letters; one in reaction to the Gulf oil spill last year and a second about the inevitability of the ocean's impact on our coastal shores.  The first is 20 inches wide and 80 inches long.  The second is shorter but will be close to the other in length once the long coiled fringe is complete.  The yarns are mostly a self dyed cotton/silk blend.  

Both were quite enjoyable to weave.  The first my focus was on flawless execution and ensuring the blue oil oozed down through the middle of the piece.  With the second I became freer using more clashing colors,  a broader palette and will finish with a really fun fringe.

I have two opportunities later this year to exhibit these pieces. I think they will exhibit well together.