Winter Interest

I took a walk this morning and it was 2 degrees.

There haven't been many times when I've lifted my head up to see beyond the sidewalk this winter, but yet there were tapestries growing in the winter garden.
Tenacious ones.

I asked a friend this past fall whether I should cut down some of the plants I had in the garden. They had bloomed, we had entered fall, naively unaware what winter had in store for us. She replied, "I leave them for winter interest." Any invitation to be lazy seems good to me and so they stayed. Seeing them today I'm grateful.

And then there was a face.

Tapestries grow in winter, they're not put off by the negative temperatures. This woman dressed for the weather.

I prefer a scarf, but perhaps she feels a warming trend coming.

Lift your head up on your next walk, you never know what winter interest may be around the corner.
And keep weaving.

Spring in WI

Acceptance is a wonderful thing.

     For artists, acceptance into a show is a special kind of wonderful, so imagine designing a tapestry for the American Tapestry Alliance "UNTITLED/UNJURIED small format show in 2014. All entries are accepted in this celebration of tapestry to be shown in Providence, Rhode Island this summer. You can experiment and for me it's a time to have fun.

     The below zero temps in Wisconsin this winter are a trial for the best of positive attitudes. In the midst of the deep freeze I remembered a photo I posted on Facebook and Jan Austin's comment, "nice spring colors".

     I decided to use my hat, push the colors toward summer and combine it with a taste of endless winter.

     Spring in Wisconsin was born.

     I did very little planning for the design, a quick sketch on recycled paper and a few marks on the warp.

     It was stress free weaving that grew from the bottom to the top in clear sections, face to hat to snow. I even considered putting in a snowdrop, the first thing to bloom around here in the spring, but it just doesn't seem possible at the moment.

 

Spring in Wisconsin, 7 x 8 inches

     I have one warm thought though, I know I'm part of the show.