New Work – If I Woke at Dawn

I’ve just completed If I Woke at Dawn, part of my ongoing series The River.This piece began as an open ended experiment.  I gave myself the month of January to just fool around without a concrete goal and see what would happen, and this is the result.

I started by needlefelting the river and shore imagery in the center, and built it out with more silks and wools.  I added hand stitching, then layered and quilted it.  This part became an hand beading project, to help quell my cabin fever in this seemingly endless wintry vortex.
I was pleased with it, but it was a bit of an awkward size and seemed incomplete.  I used the search for a solution as an impetus to play with collagraphy and make prints that further suggested river imagery. I assembled the prints into a separate composition, which I also layered and quilted.  The stitched and embellished centerpiece was then attached atop it, where it appears to float.  The finished size is 39”h x 43”w,
The overall theme and color scheme started as a bit of a joke—I am a night owl  and generally miss the sunrise, so this is my hypothetical version of the dawn. But after a bit I recalled that as a child I would sometimes rise early and sit outside to watch the river, so those hazy memories became a part of this work as well.

You can track this piece back as a work in progress by clicking on “If I Woke at Dawn” in the right sidebar, or click here.

And as always, thanks for reading and commenting.