Fevered Flow

In looking at ways to continue to bring out the dimensional aspects of tapestry, I wove this little piece called 'Fevered Flow.'  When it is stretched out on the loom the edges are straight and even but once cut off they move responding to the tension under which they are woven.

 In the detail you will see what happens. The only anchor is the orange thread that runs throughout and holds them to the border area. The Flow areas undulate with spirit!

 I put on a long warp so I expect to do a few more of these small pieces and further explore the possibilites of tension and dimension. This one is 9.5" x 10" (24 x 25cm)

Wave Re/Action

     The long open slits in the 'Terra' diptych inspired me to make a piece with even longer slits to see what would happen. I liked how the Terra piece had so much surface interest with open slits and overlaps.

      I wanted to keep the narrow areas free to move as they wanted some with twists and some just loose and falling in front of one another.  This is not what traditional tapestry is supposed to do but I am interested in this as a textile as well as a tapestry. By weaving the slitted area on an angle there would be tension built into those areas to start them moving out of the 2D plane. They will be free to overlap each other. The history of tapestry has long been about telling a story in a narrative form but tapestry for me is more about the construction and the ALL the artistic possibilities. I like to play with the dimensions that are possible when it is no longer linked to the 'flatness' of traditional tapestry.

     It was important to finish the back areas cleanly so that the little tails of the yarn ends would not peek thru. To give stability to the whole piece it was necessary to have a pretty solid upper and lower area.  I do like including geometric areas with more organic areas for contrast.

     When it was finished I felt it lacked a spark. It was too blue for my taste so I decided to add a surface design in the form of added threads and textile beads.
 
    I have had this HABU Yarn for a long time and liked the texture it gives with the short ends. When it is woven the ends are trapped in the warp so they will not show. By keeping them free and on the surface the special quality can be seen so this was a good opportunity to use it.

I also had found some small woven seedlike elements from a visit to the International Market in Santa Fe. They are djellaba beads that come from Morocco. I have added many of them to the surface as well.

Here is a view of the finished piece.  It went into a show as soon as I completed it but I may still add some more when it returns.  It is called Wave Re/Action and is 51" H x 36" W ( 130 x 92cm ).

I welcome any comments as this is a new area for me.