September 10, 2012

A New Textile: "Egyptian Birds", A Diptych?



Egyptian Birds, hand dyed wool on linen; two panels, each 9 x 9 in.


After writing a blog post about Egyptian Predynastic art, which you can see here, I thought I'd make a textile homage to the stone palettes of the period, which have such beautiful and graceful shapes. They are simple works, so to keep the textile simple I decided to use the technique of cutting the loops of wool to create a low relief effect. I've used this technique twice before––see one example at the end of this post––but not for a few years; it's good to be reminded of it. I hadn't originally planned on a two-panel work, but after finishing Purple Fowl, it seemed that it could use a companion, so I worked up some studies and settled on what became Turquoise Falcon. The problem is, I'm not satisfied with it; the shape doesn't please me, even though I liked the study.


Purple Fowl, hand dyed wool on linen, 9 x 9 in.


I enjoy the full curves of the form, narrowing to in a thin shape. 


Purple Fowl, detail


In this detail, you can see how the cut loops look against the complete ones.


Turquoise Falcon, hand dyed wool on linen, 9 x 9 in.


This piece doesn't have the grace of the other for me; it looks too much like a map of Africa. Of course you can chime in with your opinions, as they're always welcome, but I think that the diptych Egyptian Birds is no more, and that only Purple Fowl remains. 


Ovals (for Robert Mangold), hand dyed wool on linen, three panels, each 16 x 7 in.




6 comments:

  1. I agree with you about Purple Fowl being the successful one here. It is so sensual that I wish I could touch it instead of just being able to see it. But that's where imagination comes in.

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    1. Thanks for the corroborating comment, Julie. Everything is less in an online photo, but at least it enables that imagination to come into play.

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  2. Peaceful 'eyecandy' to open this morning; the gentle curves within each shape, the calming color of the wool. The play with texture is sublime simplicity. Thank you for starting my day so pleasantly.

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    1. You are very welcome, Sue; I'm pleased to have given you such a pleasant reaction.

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  3. Well I don't know, what if you just worked on the falcon a bit more? It seems that it's back is a bit too angular. Simplify, simplify.

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    1. it's too late for that, deborah, because of technical issues. I agree it's not simple enough.

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