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The play of blues is really rich. I needed to see what the yellows and golds would do to the overall effect so I did some of the outer feathers. I'm not sure if I've chosen too deep a yellow and I also wonder about the gold, but I'll leave it in the fabric until I have worked more colour into the body of the bird. The balance created by working the body with more blues and turquoises will allow me to judge the appropriateness of the choice of yellows.
I have no colour reference as I work, so my eye is the guide. I like to execute a project intuitively. I don't have the same challenges as a painter of realism. I can take my interpretation in any direction, particularly with this subject which by the mere fact that it is a mythical bird is open to an infinite number of renderings.
I had put a roll of red silk thread in the colour palette that I chose at the start and I am tempted at every change of thread to introduce this bright contrasting colour, but my original vision was to stay with the blues and golds, a royal combination. I am trying to discipline myself to stay with this first thought. I want to keep the vision sober;
... but at the end I may put in a little element of surprise.
I continued working on this challenging project today. Minus 12 degrees Celsius early morning, a chilly walk to the gate and back (finally the technician was coming in to fix the motor on the heating system in the house - good timing!)
I had the whole day ahead of me to work. Once the technician had left, nothing but quiet, open-ended time, and the pleasure of watching the colours jump off the fabric.
I'm working with Piper's silks. I have chosen a palette of jewel colours, but I visualize primarily the Stewart blues for the plumage on the body and yellows and the Kreinick 002J gold thread for the tail feathers. I'll experiment with the turquoise and teal greens. I'd like to create an iridescent effect along with an illusion of feathery lightness. I wonder how close I'll get to what I have in my mind's eye.
I have been in another lull. It has been hard to get back to work in my studio. The cold weather is now here and we had some last minute things to take care around the house, not the least of which is finding the right tree in the garden to string up the Christmas lights. But today, with some of these things now taken care of and because it is so cold outside, what greater joy is there but to choose a new and exciting project to focus on and stay warm indoors.
The Japanese Embroidery Centre in Dunwoody, Georgia, puts out a catalogue of designs. It is a treasure trove of inspiration. The Phoenix is a design I have been thinking about for some years. Today, I transferred it on to écru linen and tonight began working. The colour scheme will be rich blues and gold threads. I'll photograph the threads tomorrow and show the progress. I'm excited about this project which should carry me through the Christmas planning and create that much needed oasis of quiet amidst the frenzy the holiday season creates.
I admit to this project not being my best. It stretched over too long a time and I am not as happy with my colour selections. The flowers translated well, but the details didn't.
It is however full of lightness and reminds of these last flowers of the summer in the garden. These anenomes survived some rain storms and chilly evenings, so their lightness and fragility belies their sturdiness.
I think I may try again and concentrate on the full flowers which were a joy to work.
As you walk through the gates of the Château d'Angers, already the atmosphere of a bygone era hits you. There is an exquisite calm within the strong and imposing walls of this castle. Music was wafting from the chapel in the grounds, a rehearsal for the concert that would take place that evening. It was late September, but it felt like a midsummer's day and the coolness of the chapel was a welcome respite from the heat of the midday sun.
We wandered through the gardens, beautifully manicured and then entered the gallery which houses the Tapestries of the Apocalypse. This gallery, redesigned in 1996, with its grey blue walls, provides an apt setting for these magnificent hangings. It provides a quietly dark room where the tapestry panels are highlighted by the strategically arranged indirect lighting. Details of each panel are discreetly displayed and in numeric sequence in order to follow the story unfolding. It is a pictoral rendition of the Gospel according to St. John, transcribing his visions and hallucinations, the battle between good and evil, the struggle between God and the Devil where the whole question of humanity is placed in jeopardy. The story, as depicted in the tapestries, ends with the victory of Christ and his church over the evil temptations of the world.
The works are breathtaking. It's worth remembering too that they were executed at a time where society was just barely emerging from medieval times. The work addresses in filigrane the harshness of the times (1373-1382), war, poverty, famine, and the consequences of same on society. It also by its luminosity offers up an antidote, a faith in Christ and the existence of a better life beyond the terrestrial world.
The tapestries are brilliantly conceived, peppered with a myriad of symbols, angels (messengers of God), animals both real and fantastic, each one having its own significance, musical instruments of the time, people of all stations in life, representative of the era, and the different colours, each with its message: white for purity, red for war, black for misfortune and famine, and the colour 'pale', the classic symbol of Death.
Bible, Revelation 6:8: "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him...."
I walked through the gallery and marvelled at the intricacy of the design, the originality of the techniques since there were several variations on the usual weaving practices creating almost a three-dimensional aspect to what would normally be two. 'Guimpage' (effect of hair), 'battage' ( fine differences in colour), and 'perfilage' ( uneven edge to a shape) being the terms used for such unusual techniques creating their unique effects.
If I was a believer, this magnificent masterpiece of story telling would not just be impressive by its execution, its vibrancy and its compelling narrative, but I would be moved to a state of wonder and continued faith. But even without a real spiritual link to the message, I could not but admit to an overwhelming sense of connection to the work the Tapestries represent, the committment and patience required to complete such an endeavour and the stunning result which, by all measures, is of a great purity.
I have no colour reference as I work, so my eye is the guide. I like to execute a project intuitively. I don't have the same challenges as a painter of realism. I can take my interpretation in any direction, particularly with this subject which by the mere fact that it is a mythical bird is open to an infinite number of renderings.
