A dusting of snow covers the ground this morning as we move into winter, following the most stunning autumn season on record.  Now the chill begins, reminding us of the changing seasons and cycles in nature.  We have a bird's eye view to it all from our office window and the loom room, where life and work proceed at pace throughout the year.  This week, I finished a submission of thirty black and white images for The Sun Magazine, ordered greeting cards of my own design, and continued photography, curation and writing for another submission I will do later this month.  As Fred began work on Rug 429, I shot photographs documenting the work in progress.      

Fred finished warping the loom this week after removing Rug 428 and finishing it with a Damascus edge.   It is in the style of a Navajo Chief's Blanket, but because it is made with nearly seven pounds of rug-weight, Navajo-Churro wool, it is much thicker..  Here is a shot of the middle of the rug.  The red wool is Sangre de Cristo and the blue is Viento.  Both are from Tierra Wools in Chama.  The natural charcoal grey and light oatmeal are from 3 Dog Farm in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque.  It is 45" x 60.25" and took him 90 hours to weave.

Rug 428 under construciton

Below is the finished product.  In some of the iterations, Fred used a pure white wool, but the oatmeal gives it an older or more western look.  

Rug 428
 

Still in progress, Rug 429 is a nod to architect Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie style.  During the early 20th century, design movements including the Secession movement in Vienna, and the craftsman movement in the United Kingdom and the United States burst forth and flourished.  Architects and designers created their own textiles, furnishings, windows and architectural motifs to populate their buildings.  All the wools in Rug 429 - natural charcoal and light grey, as well as the Sangre de Cristo (red), Ojito (light blue),  Viento (darker blue), Tierra Amarilla (gold), and Primavera (green) - are from Tierra Wools.   The natural black is from Cedar Mesa Ranch in Dolores, Colorado.       

Rug 429 in progress 1 Rug 429 in progress 2   

Rug 429 in progress 3

Here is a link to Fred's website f you would like to see more of Fred's work.  https://bigsageartisans.com/index.html

It was good to hear from so many of you last week, particularly given the fact that it was a holiday week, including Victoria, Terry T., Tim A., TTT, Marilyn R., Carolyn, Lawrence J., Pauli, Dave O., Connie, Brenda, Marilyn G., Jean & Sam, Ingrid, Steve, and Catherine.  A bit of holiday cheer abides in those comments!  I hope the week provides abundant inspiration and opportunities for learning.

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image©