Old Friend

Back when my hair was long and dark,

and I wove a lot of nudes

and was really into color blending

and never wove a tapestry without at least one frog, 

I made this tapestry:
Love Among The Iris
44" x 74"
Hand Spun Wool Warp and Weft
​Natural Dyes
​1998

A glimpse of the back

Weaving in all the ends was a relatively new practice for me 20 years ago,
but though other things have changed
(I keep the hatching to a minimum, and the frogs have deserted me) ,
a clean back feels as vital and thrilling now as it did then.

So, too, do the glorious hues of indigo, cochineal, madder, weld and walnut
 I wish my ipad camera could convey how luscious these yellows are,
but then natural dyes are forever, while digital cameras, nonexistent in 1998,
are probably just flash-in-the-pan intermediate technology....

Old Dogs, too, seem ever to be new.

Scarface, aged 16

---

This work has been rolled up in the bottom of my cedar chest for several years now,
but the tapestry that was on this wall last week ("Please, Can You Pass My Knitting,"),
has just been hung in its new home, far away,
and it seemed a good time to wallow in nostalgia.

Except that I don't  feel particularly nostalgic.

For though I think my technique may improved in the last two decades,
or at least changed,
I am freshly delighted with the power of a big old richly hued textile,
 to affect the mood of a place.

And
having some long, slow, wooly work
to take one's gaze away from the screen,
​gets more important every day.