April, Come She Will, verse 2

Here are a couple of the photos I have been working from for the "April" tapestry maquette, though much of the design comes just from my imagination. The photo above is of my guitar, which will not be slavishly copied in the design, but used just as inspiration. While I had my guitar in photo form, though, I did the version below, which is now my phone screen image! It makes a great wallpaper image, and it makes me happy when I open my phone.

 

The photo below is of the flowering crab tree in my back yard. It is a beautiful mess of a tree! Somewhat like life itself. And a good deal like the month of April, which is always a beautiful mess of a month here in Colorado.

There is very little else in the tapestry; a woman playing a guitar, crab apple blossoms, and, oh yes, the blackbird. I have a lot of crow photos and a few blackbird ones, but I confess that I mostly looked at bird books for the bird. Everything is simplified down to the most basic forms, like I would LIKE life, and the messy month of April, to be.

The maquette is now done. The loom is warped and the heading woven. The cartoon is also drawn up to actual size. I have baskets of (hopefully) appropriate colors arranged by subject on the floor around the loom; a 'guitar' basket, a 'background' basket, a 'blossom' basket, and a basket for the figure. I am ready to sit down and begin. As soon as my company leaves, I will be at the loom.

... and I will be happy to be there!