Reflections on Waterline
The image that most inspired the eventual design: Big Blue River at the Rocky Ford Access Point, ~2 miles from my home
I’ve written several blog posts about this project. You can find them here, here, and here. The last time I wrote about it, I had just begun. Since then, I have experienced a gamut of emotions; trials and tribulations! I won’t go into all of that here; instead I want to focus on the opportunities this one project has opened up for me.
This weaving marks a number of “firsts” for me.
It was the first time I incorporated transparency into a tapestry. The first time I worked in such close collaboration with others. And the first time I wove a tapestry solely with Weavers Bazaar fine weight yarn.
Transparency
Well, at least I hope it comes off that way. I’m referring to my “ghost trees” on each edge. This was the most challenging aspect of my design and I spent a loooooonnnng time sampling various combinations before settling on the colors to begin. It was also the most important aspect. My river, the Big Blue, is difficult to access. It’s privately owned and to walk down to the bank in most places would be considered trespassing. There are, however, some nice public access areas with trails a short distance from the river that gave me glimpses … through the tree branches.
Collaboration
You’ll be hearing more on this aspect of Waterline; it was the core of the project. I’d only worked on one other collaboration and that was Counterpoints, where the collaboration was just between 2 people and the finished design stood alone as complete. In “Waterline”, colors and designs needed to mesh as each tapestry’s “line” flowed not just from one to the next, but also as a whole when all 15 tapestries were connected.
Weavers Bazaar colors
Working with a New Yarn
Both because of the popularity of Weavers Bazaar yarn among tapestry weavers, and that nearly half of us live in the UK where the yarn is available, many were using Weavers Bazaar yarn. I had purchased my first shipment of this yarn earlier in the spring, but had not had the opportunity to do much more than a couple of color blending samples. I liked what I had done with the yarn previously and being able to match color names to the majority of others would eliminate a lot of uncertainty going forward.
Initially, I had bought the rainbow pack which is a huge selection of their yarns of various weights of random colors. It gave me something to work with but I would need specific colors for this project. Two hues in particular: blue and green. And they have a huge - and wonderful - selection of both. Given my river and the feeling I wanted to evoke, I decided to focus on the teals. I could write a whole blog post on this yarn and how much I’ve enjoyed working with it- but for another time. For now, suffice it to say the teal blue in gradations going from dark to very pale was perfect for the color blending and mood I had in mind. Other colors I used were Savoy, Sunburst 8, and the darker Apples (greens). My trees are Midnight Green, and Taupe.
Colors selected, I also needed to work out the number of strands I could use. I started with 5 and 12/9 cotton seine twine at 8EPI and did several samples before Joan pointed out on our first one-on-one call that it looked a little thin and I might try adding more strands to see what I thought. She made it clear she wasn’t suggesting I start over; just give it a try in my spare studio time. But, of course, curiosity got the best of me so I lost no time in trying it out and ended up with 7 strands instead of 5. Perfect- and all the more possibilities in refining the blends.
Working with Metallics
We were given 3 samples of gold/silver threads as a guideline for choosing our waterline. I realized I had a huge selection of metallics from my early tapestry days so I gathered all the gold and silvers I could find (and since have found more!). In the end, I went with the three that Joan sent so as to match with my neighbors, Anita Bruce (UK) and Veronique van Zeeland (Netherlands).
I admit that I was a little intimidated with working with such slippery threads. I even wrote a couple weeks ago that I didn’t see metallics in my future - but - ya know, it really wasn’t that bad. A little unruly to wind multiple strands, but adding the wool in tamed it somewhat. So, who knows. I certainly have a supply to work from!
The project will culminate in an exhibition at Farfield Mills in Cumbria, UK from October 5- December 31. It is the hope it will continue to be exhibited in other venues and countries as well.
The Legacy of Waterline will live on. An exhibition catalog is being planned in the form of a physical book with possibly a fold out of the entire piece. It will be a publication that not only documents the works but also tells the story of the process. Anyone interested in the publication, contact Irene Evison at Nearly Wild Weaving.
My “Waterline” finished with turn-backs tucked under, 18” (46cm) wide by 16.25” (41cm) tall
This whole experience of working with others has been so inspiring and enriching.
Have you participated in a collaborative project?
Do tell!