Arlington 2017: The Wheel

January was a good time of the year to have a project. You never knew from day to day what the temperature might be outside. You might as well stay inside and weave.

i was up early...

Arlington 2017 has made progress. One of the tricky parts I had to think about was the wheel. How would I give the impression of this circular wheel and spokes (actually there are two, but one is enough) without worrying about weaving the perfect circle. I rarely have the patience.

the very beginning...the white spots are sunspots, which I need

nothing will be perfectly circular so squares and jogs are important to move the eye...

Then there are the values, very tricky as I make my way to this area. The caisson (in my mind I call it the wagon) is black, the jackets on the soldiers are dark blue and the wheel?...I decided to go with browns. This has been a big challenge.

But so far, so good.

Stay tuned.

Arlington 2017

A new tapestry has me going back to my traditional roots, leaving distortion weave behind. I'm enjoying the change and the opportunity to problem solve.

Hagen pipe loom, warped 26" wide, 10 epi

A  client contacted me with the idea of honoring her father's internment last year at Arlington Cemetery. She sent me photos she had taken and we identified three areas that seemed most important. Drawings and a watercolor followed.

photo resource, color swatches and beginning of watercolor

final sketch, half the scale

This is the perfect way for me to start the new year. It's a very proscriptive idea; I know what I need to do. The colors are a limited palette focused on grey blues and greens, most I have dyed this past summer, and the size is perfect for me, 12 x 22 inches.

What an opportunity!

My biggest challenge is naturally, the values. I need to manipulate the shades of the road, uniforms, and hearse to make the idea clear.

sunspots took over in the frigid temps when I started

Porkchop discovers a prime sunspot

And I will keep you all informed on the challenges as they arise...should be an interesting journey.

Here's where I stopped today...