I have had two bird tapestries on the go for months now. Those of you who took Summer of Tapestry 2023* will recognize them and will also raise your eyebrows at the fact that they are not yet finished even though the live version of the class wrapped last month.
The five tapestries in different yarns from a variety of looms.
Yesterday on Change the Shed I cut off five four small tapestries from a variety of looms. I had planned on five, but the last one was not done. I wove on it some at the end of the broadcast, and you know what? Then I sat down and finished the thing and cut it off too.
This particular weaving is frenetic and WAY too busy for my taste. But it has been so fun to weave and it does fit well in the sketch tapestry spirit that the Summer of Tapestry class follows. It was woven for the process. I took photos of birds that came to my backyard feeder last spring and then I matched their colors and wove a bit about each bird. I enjoyed the time thinking about each of the birds and attempting to match their colors. The joy is in the process. On the 9-20-23 Change the Shed episode I did note that this concept appeals to me and I might try this piece again at a larger scale with more “blank space” between the bird shapes.
“It’s for the birds!” Tapestry by Rebecca Mezoff for the Summer of Tapestry 2023 online class. This is an example of sketch tapestry practice. It was so much fun to weave!
Here is the video clip of me cutting this tapestry off on September 21. Let’s pretend it was part of the Sept 20th Change the Shed, shall we? (If you get the blog via email you can watch the video HERE.)
Spring in Northern Colorado feeder birds
The birds pictured are some of the ones I saw at my feeder last spring. The tapestry simply used the colors of the birds in weaveable shapes.
The whole purpose of the Summer of Tapestry class is to encourage people to experiment and have fun with tapestry weaving. This tapestry is a perfect example of that for me. The finished work isn’t particularly engaging and in fact I find it quite confusing, but the weaving of it was so much fun because it related directly to something I enjoy a lot, watching the birds in my backyard.**
I hope you’ve been doing some tapestry weaving this year that is just for fun. I’d love to hear what you’ve been working on in the comments!
*Fall and winter are great weaving times. If summer was too busy for you, I’d love to have you join the class now! There won’t be live Q&As, but you can watch the recordings from the first ones and I’m always here to answer questions and talk about what you’re weaving! Summer of Tapestry 2023.
**I will admit that I’ve never seen a mountain bluebird in my backyard but I wanted that blue swatch in my tapestry! I see them frequently when hiking in meadows at about the elevation where I live.