January 1 is my time-line for started a New Year project. This scene, photographed at Shagbark Nature Park in early winter, 2025, was my new year’s choice.
The perspective, distant treeline of both deciduous and evergreen species, mid-ground of grasses and the foreground bull thistles amidst mounds of shorter weedy grasses (where the park’s deer create walking trails, build their sleeping nests during the warm and dry summer months, and no doubt flolick about) presented a place where the viewer might envision an experience of their own.
For the first compositional layer I have used wool: blocking in the darker compositional area, provided the shading for this mid-ground area. I was eager to use a new bag of flax and wool mix to detail the grasses in this area. The snow foreground would be created from various layers of white fibre including wool, viscose and cultivated silk – each with its own colour and texture. Eventually I hoped it would have a relief structure (in reality, the snow is covering scrubby thickets of grass).
The distant trees were made from handspun 2-ply yarns from my supply. In this area of Ridgeway, a lot of light barked poplar has been seeded for quick ground cover especially at the perimenter of the larger woodland stands that take the walker onto the ridge. The white pine evergreens were certainly planted by humans. “Friends of Shagbark”, a voluntary group of forest and meadow-land caregivers, were responsible for the planting of the initial meadow, designed to attact birds, bats and insects. Bird and bat houses in the park have been responsible for their breeding. Bluebirds and endangered chimney swifts are among the 64 species of birds that can be found in the park.
From this point the image now demands more softening and blending, creating a way to “walk” into the scence. More layers have been added to the pines to create the thicker, scruffy look of these naturalized trees. The deciduous trees are likely maples or oak, native species to the Carolinean forest of which this area comprises.
The grasses have been extended to soften their tops and blend more naturally into the background. I will also add a layer of silk blend to soften the look of the grasses themselves and create and parting to invite the viewer deep into the scene. Foreground Bull thistles have a wonderful gesture about them – almost dance-like with their arms held high as they pirouette upon a single leg.
The last phase of the work will involve about 2 weeks of stitching to detail, anchor and texturize the work. It will be mounted once completed. I haven’t quite decided if it should be quilt finished or mounted onto a stretcher frame. The finished vertical work measures 43.5 x 33.5 inches.
