My new favorite from my Great Basin inspiration mostly
because of the colors. Last year the berries on the juniper almost outnumbered the
needles! Juniper is one of the most abundant and widely scattered trees in
Great Basin National Park. It is typically found growing among pinyon and
sagebrush. They are very hearty and can live to be 650 years old. Juniper
berries are the female seed cone (not a true berry) with unusually fleshy and
merged scales making it look like a berry. The berries can be dried and made
into beads for jewelry and are also deliciously eaten by jackrabbits, foxes,
coyotes and people. This artwork was produced under the Darwin Lambert Artist
in Residence Program at Great Basin National Park.
Monday, October 30, 2017
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Desert Colors
The dazzling colors of September in Great Basin
National Park are not only limited to the high mountain aspens. The lower
sagebrush ecosystem is vibrant with colors that sing under the intense blue sky
of the dry desert.
I used some reclaimed silk I had dyed with
natural dyes several years ago for this project. The yarn was the same as the
West Desert Hood I created years ago (see picture below). The colors truly echo the muted desert
colors in the fall. This artwork was produced under the Darwin Lambert Artist in Residence Program at Great Basin National Park.
Monday, October 16, 2017
Still Knitting Great Basin
Although my residency is over at Great Basin
National Park, I have a few more pieces inspired by the park that I want to
finish before I have an exhibit next year on all my inspiration. I had to go to Southern Utah to teach a workshop
last weekend and took some time out to go up the canyon in Leeds and knit among
the juniper. As luck would have it, I was knitting a piece inspired by juniper!
This one is now my new favorite. Stay tuned for finished photos soon.
Monday, October 2, 2017
Pinyon Nuts
I missed the Pinyon nut harvest when I was in
Great Basin National Park last week but I remember
the work last year that was involved just to harvest a small bag. The park
allows visitors to harvest pine nuts up to 25 lbs. I wanted to create something
inspired by my tiny nut harvest that was maybe not as much work to knit as the
nuts were to get. Hence this neck warmer of piney textures (and pine wood buttons!).
From the pattern: Gathering pinyon pine nuts is a great way
to experience the fall bounty of Great Basin National Park. The single-leaf
pinyon, Pinus monophylla, is an abundant tree found between 6,000 and 9,000
feet. The nuts produced by these pines have been important to Native Americans
and animals for millennia. Gathering pine nuts within Great Basin National Park
is allowed in the fall only and is limited to 25 lbs per household. The goal is
to ensure that plenty of nuts remain for Clark's nutcrackers, pinyon jays, and
ground squirrels. This artwork was produced under the Darwin Lambert Artist in
Residence Program at Great Basin National Park.
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