January 31, 2012

A New Textile: "Empty Center: Turquoise/Red"

 Empty Center: Turquoise/Red, hand dyed wool on linen, 9 x 9 inches.


This is the second in my series of Empty Center textiles; you can see the first below, and here. The shapes at the edges give this work a very different feeling from the first: where the rectangle and truncated circle seemed to be calling to each other across a vast expanse, the red and turquoise curves seem to me to be embracing the center, or holding it within bounds.




As with the last piece, I dyed the wool for the center using very dilute amounts of the colors at the edges, then hooked it in a random pattern, different from the regularity of the colored shapes. The transformation from small sketch to finished piece brought an unexpected kind of mood and energy in these two works. It's fun to be surprised by your own work.







Note: I'll be away for a few days; see you next week!


4 comments:

  1. So much vibrancy from the tension b/w negative space and the saturated edges. Like it very much.

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  2. Far from being empty... the center is a positive space that activates the solid bits of encroaching color... it's all about the regularity——the rhythmic elements of the field. The hooking technique, which here is both form and function, becomes something like small ripples on an open sea. Yes, I think 'vibrancy' as Julie said, is a good word for it.

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