2020 Utah Design Crafts Artists Competition

I have three pieces in an exhibition at the Brigham City Museum for the 2020 Utah Design Crafts Artists Competition. These three pieces are from my artist-in-residency last year at Capitol Reef National Park and reflect the varied landscape in the waterpocket fold. Sandstone Cliff shawl won an honorable mention too!

Fruita: The historic town of Fruita, within Capitol Reef National Park, is no longer inhabited by pioneers. But visitors can still pick ripe fruit from the lush orchards under the looming orange cliffs of the Waterpocket Fold.  

Sandstone Cliff: Nearly 10,000 feet of sedimentary strata were deposited in Capitol Reef National Park. This layer upon layer of sedimentary rock records nearly 200 million years of geologic history. Rock layers in Capitol Reef reveal ancient environments as varied as rivers, swamps, deserts, and shallow oceans. Fossils found in these rocks give clues that these sandstone layers were deposited when the region was at or near sea level, far below the current elevation.  

Strike Valley: Strike Valley can be seen from a spectacular overlook in Capitol Reef National Park. It is named for the geological feature where a valley runs parallel to the strike of underlying rocks. From the overlook, you can easily see the 100-mile meandering valley of roads, streams, and strikes. With the Waterpocket Fold to the west and the rugged cliffs of the badlands  to the east the valley makes for a dramatic furrow in the earth.

Mulberry Pouch

Just for fun I created this cute little pouch inspired by all the mulberry trees that were fruiting a few months ago. We have a lot of mulberry trees in urban Salt Lake City (see below) and there are many public trees that you can harvest. You can tell where they are because of the purple stained sidewalk underneath them.

 

I gathered some mulberries and died some bamboo silk which turned into a beautiful purpley-silver. I created this pattern to mimic the drupes of mulberries on a tree. I also knit one up in a mulberry colored yarn because you can’t have too many pouches! The pattern is in my Ravelry shop.

 

Notes from the pattern:

In an effort to be self-sufficient, 19th century Mormon Pioneers in Utah began raising their own silkworms to create a silk industry in the West. Silkworms must feed on mulberry leaves so LDS Church leader Brigham Young ordered 100,000 mulberry trees from France to be planted around Utah. Although Utah’s sericulture was a failed enterprise, the mulberry trees still thrive throughout the state allowing urban harvesters a bounty of berries every spring.

Visible Mending: Mirror

I have a piece in the Springville Museum of Art’s Spring Salon (happening in the fall this year). If you happen to be near there, go in (socially distant) and see this great exhibition of Utah artists. This piece is called Visible Mending: Mirror and is part of my Visible Mending series I have been doing during the pandemic. I seem to be trying to mend everything in sight to try and fix the world in some way. But the best way to visibly mend? VOTE!