[Guest Post from Noelle, Artfibers Design Director]

This month I was given a very special assignment: to take total creative control over the  Artfibers Yarntasting Sampler Collection. This is an opportunity that I have been waiting for since my early days at Artfibers. I wanted to do something entirely unique that has not been done before by any other yarn company.

With this project I wanted to honor six artists who have done their part with maintaining an expressive and fluid documentation of human evolution.  My intention was to not only translate the color palettes used by the artists, but also to capture the essence and “feel“ of the work.

I started by examining each sample and thinking deeply about what period or style of art I most associate with each unpainted strand, then slowly but surely I began to build strong associations which in turn allowed me to search for specific works. Once I chose the piece or artist that I felt directly corresponded with each fiber, I began developing painting methods and color formulas for each palette. I also had to keep in mind the personality and “dyeing temperament” of each fiber to make sure that the formulas I created would be accepted and successfully translated to the very end of each dyeing process. By considering “dyeing temperament”, I mean all of the elements of processing that will determine the outcome for each fiber; this includes temperature, moisture, pressure, washing, handling and just the right proportions of acid or alkaline processing which will allow each fiber to accept the dyes used with limited washout and fading. Also, I should add that we prefer to use natural and earth friendly methods of processing rather than giving-in to harsh chemicals that many industrial dyers prefer to use (for reasons that I cannot imagine rationalizing.)

So without any further ado, here we go!

PHYZ 21 ( 70% cotton, 30% nylon ) is a flat ribbon yarn, very geometric in shape. It is stretchy in nature and able to maintain any shape the designer desires even after extensive wearing and washing.

The perfect art history association for this yarn is Cubism. It is the intention of an artist working with the Cubist stylistic system to translate three-dimensional subjects and objects by breaking them into pieces that are then re-assembled into abstract and geometric forms. It is with this practice that the artist succeeds in depicting his or her subject with multiple viewpoints from random angles, by distorting sense of depth to represent a greater context.

This movement was composed mostly by the European artists of the 19th and 20th centuries, such as Henri Matisse, Paul Gauguin, and Pablo Picasso, they were greatly inspired by the African, Native American and Micronesian artifacts being brought into Europe through the rise of colonialism during this time. As most of Europe found these colonized cultures to be inferior and the artifacts to be primitive compared to their own, it was the artists who found these artifacts to be not only deeply inspiring but exceptional and pure forms of artistic and spiritual expression to which nothing else came close in comparison. I, myself have to agree!

Now, it would have been easy for me to search for a work done by the known father of Cubism, Pablo Picasso, however I wanted to extend my search for an artist with whom I was less familiar. It wasn’t long before I came across Wifredo Lam’s work, Goddess with Foliage (1942, Gouache on paper ) and felt immediately inspired.

BOA #26 (100% Nylon) is one of my favorite yarns, I feel it provokes the most playful and sensual nature in me. Both soft and fabulous, the long, thin and shiny Nylon strands brought on the undeniable association of sweeping brush strokes that in turn, remind me greatly of the Impressionist Era.

I wanted to find a painting that like BOA, brought on a feeling of soft luxury and extravagant class. I closed my eyes to open them again and fell in love with Edgar Degas’s Dancers, Pink and Green (oil on canvas, 1890).

I could have chosen one of the more realistic paintings in Degas’s dancer’s series, but I felt that this one in particular has more of the soft impressionistic style that I was looking for. This painting said to me, “BOA!”, so all I had to do was develop a palette and paint a BOA that says, “Degas!”

GINKO #11 ( 87% bamboo, 13% tussah silk) is a yarn that we spin in the studio and one which we can truly call our own. I wanted to find a work of art for Ginko that was both deeply spiritual and colorful to complement its natural iridescence. I was very particular about the work of art to be chosen for this one and after some time in search, I came across this piece and felt that it was perfect!

PACINO #15 (85% extrafine merino wool, 15% Nylon) is another one of our ribbon yarns and is one of my favorites to paint. This is a material that is so easy to handle and work with that you soon realize that no matter what you do to this yarn, it will always look good! I would recommend experimenting with felting this one! When thinking of an artist for this one, I wanted to emphasize color over all else. I wanted something romantic, exotic, and exciting. My choice was one which I never grow bored of by a favorite artist of mine:

I used a palette of ten color formulas for this one, more than any other paint project that I have ever done.

I started with an overall base color of the light tones of the lover’s skin.  With this I prepared my canvas and applied my colors in the proportions that would directly correspond with the proportions of color in the painting.

I made sure that romantic golden yellow dominated in this palette!

CHEESECAKE #38 (30% silk, 70%, extra-fine merino wool) is one of those yarns that will never go out of style and will always leave you wanting more. Quick to knit, soft and cushy, and satisfying to paint, I could never ask for a better fiber medium. I knew that I could really stretch my mind to find an artwork that was truly different from all the others. In thinking about it, I realized that all of my inspirations so far have been paintings. This time I decided that cheesecake deserved something different. In my search I stumbled across this piece and was satisfied.

The Harvest: From a set of “Teniers” tapestries, 1712–28
Woven in the workshop of Urban Leyniers (1674–1747) and Daniel Leyniers (1669–1728)
Flemish (Brussels)
Wool and silk

I chose a palette of blended earth tones of greens, golden browns, soft yellows, with a dramatic red to boost the intensity.

Last but not least, the newest addition to our collection: ZYME #2 (80% silk, 20%nylon). Zyme is plied with two silk components each painted separately then spun together to create radical but complimentary color schemes.

I did not have to search at all for an artwork by which to take inspiration in this case, as I already had a specific piece in mind; from which I have painted a palette once before, in Golden Chai. However, this time it would be a bit more complicated because Zyme requires a separate palette for each component.

It seemed only natural that I should create two separate palettes, one for the soft blue and green landscape in the background, and one for the intensely warm vibrant reds, browns, and oranges.

Component #1: JOMAYU (Japanese, good cocoon) is a fine boucle made from tussah silk, harvested in the wild from cocoons that have already been left by the moth. These strands were painted with a cool palette.

Component #2: PURR consists of a chain of silk strands that reach out like tiny soft eyelashes. These strands were painted with a warm palette.

When knit into a fabric, it brings to mind tiny flowers peeking through luminous blades of grass.

Thanks for reading and come back soon for more fiber inspirations!

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Our Yarntasting Cafe Sampler for September 2010 is a special edition containing the six new colors developed by Noelle from painterly inspiration.  The sampler includes 15 yards of each yarn, enough to make a swatch in pattern, 90 yards total.  The cost is $10 ppd US, $15 ppd everywhere else.  To order just send a request (including your mailing address!) by email: artfibersyarn@earthlink.net.  We’ll bill you via Paypal.

Tags: artfibers, dyeing, yarn, yarntasting sampler

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 at 4:49 pm and is filed under design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.