Transparencies

 A Weaving Transparencies Workshop by Cheryl

http://www.chgweb.com/workshops.html

Making linen transparencies for a gallery show

Show poster and mailer

This series of flower transparencies, are for a gallery show at the Litha Moon Gallery www.lithamoongallery.com
in Greensboro, Georgia.

The linen warp is a fine singles linen sett at 15 epi., and the flower inlays are tapestry wools.  Each line of the inlay is added as the background fabric of linen is woven selvedge to selvedge with a shuttle. The first pictures show the lilies in progress, with all the bobbins of inlay wool, and the diagram underneath, showing through the sheer linen. The cartoon, or drawing, is pinned underneath, and moved as the weaving advances.

These photos show the weaving still on the loom.  Once finished, they will be hemmed and framed, and can be hung with the light coming through the linen.  As the daylight changes, so will the colors and vibrancy of the flowers-at times they will be bright and colorful, and at times shadows and shapes on a sheer background.

Compared to some of the other weaving I do, this is the slowest and most time consuming, but the time spent goes very fast, and I enjoy watching the pictures develop so much.  Planning the colors and making a black and white drawing come to life, is very similar to the free form embroidery that I learned as a child.

The finished work

Butterflies

This transparency was woven with a linen background and tapestry wool
 for the in-laid picture using a full size cartoon.  It hangs in the window of my weaving studio.
The pictures here do not do it justice, you have to see it in person to appreciate the colors and detail.

I took the same butterflies and inlaid them on a fine silk noil yarn for scarves.  They have a lightness and sheerness that adds to the ethereal feeling of butterflies in flight.  The pink scarf is a cotton inlay, and the blue one has a beautiful shiny rayon yarn.