"February" tapestry

Here is the completed tapestry, "February," blocked, slits sewn, and now digitally photographed. I will still need to take slides of it, and, since it is small (18x18") I will also mount it on a fabric covered stretcher frame, which my dear handyman husband is at this moment in his workshop making for me.

As you can see, there is not much in the way of 'colorfulness' about it. The bird and my signature have red in them, but a red that is a very close value to what surrounds it, so still not any real color spots. I guess this dearth of color just said "February!" to me this year.

This tapestry began as I sat waiting for a friend in a local bookstore parking lot, at the beginning of the month of February. I was early and the bookstore was not yet open. I didn't have a book or a magazine or even my trusty Moleskin along, but my digital camera was in my purse. This robin landed in the tree in front of my car, so I snapped his picture. The day was grey, and so was my mood, I think, but the robin reminded me that spring would eventually come, though it seemed impossible to me at that moment. My loom was empty, but it had a bit of loose warp left on it - enough for a small piece. This photo kept speaking to me, until I worked with it a bit digitally and decided it would be a fun challenge to weave; all those lines! So... that is where the tapestry, "February," came from.

From it, I have learned that I like the smaller size... better than actual 'small format' pieces and better right now than the large tapestries I usually do. I like finishing in a few months, rather than most of a year. I also have learned that I really miss color when I do a piece like this. I have done other tapestries with little color; they kind of 'cleanse my palette' and renew my love of color. But I would not like to work this way often. The color on my yarn shelves is wooing me... Must. Weave. Color.

p.s. By the way, there is no actual black yarn in this piece. I do not use black yarn, but, as I do with paint, blend two very darks together to read as black. My favorite black is a dark green with a dark purple, but in this blue piece, I used two dark blues, or a dark blue plus a dark brown.