A New Textile: "Two Ovals and a Rectangle"

Two Ovals and a Rectangle, hand dyed wool on linen, 18 1/4 x 12 in.

This work is the second in which I've sewn two pieces together to make a whole composition; you can see the other, Two Squares and a Circle, here. I like the idea of two parts interacting, here two ovals, one upright and centered and the other balancing on the top edge. 

Constantin Brancusi, Sleeping Muse, 1910; bronze, 6 3/4 x 9 1/2 x 6 in.

image courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art

Of course the idea for the yellow oval shape comes from this famous sculpture by Brancusi, a sloping oval resting gently on its side. I think my oval is in a much more precarious position than this beautifully simplified head. 

Two Ovals and a Rectangle detail

In this detail you can see the results of hooking the wool parallel to the edges in the rectangle: diagonals appear which run to the corners. I also follow the curves of the ovals, from outline in toward the center. 

Two Ovals and a Rectangle detail

This is the point of attachment of the two parts. I'd originally planned to have the yellow oval sitting close to the center of the violet rectangle, but then thought "why not live dangerously!" and put it where it seemed that it might tip over the edge: balance and imbalance, symmetry and asymmetry  play together.