Pine Needles Scarf

After much procrastination I finally finished my last piece inspired by my artist in residency at Great Basin National Park. Pine Needles Scarf was the first piece I started in my residency and is the last to be done. All my Great Basin inspired Work will be on exhibit at Finch Lane Gallery in Salt Lake City this summer, details to come!

Information from the pattern: Although Great Basin National Park is a desert, it has a wide variety of ecosystems. Ranging in elevation from 5,000 - 13,000 feet, deserts and playas, give way to mountains and glaciers. With such drastic elevation changes there is an impressive diversity of plant species. Including Pinyon, Ponderosa, Limber and Bristlecone, these diverse pine forests add beauty and life to the Great Basin Desert. This artwork was produced under the Darwin Lambert Artist in Residence Program at Great Basin National Park.

Juniper

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.

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. 

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.

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.

Great Basin Astronomy Festival

Took a quick trip to Great Basin National Park on Friday and Saturday to present the artwork I am giving them at the Astronomy Festival. Despite cloud cover and below freezing temperatures there were quite a few people there! The photo above is the piece I gave: Great Basin Sky. And the one below is a pict of my Great Basin Sky piece waiting for me to give it before everyone got there.

Great Basin Sky is my favorite piece so I am happy that it has a home at the Park.

I also camped at Gray Cliffs on Friday night – 17 degrees and I was the only one there. But it was so beautiful and I got to see some of my favorite spots around the park. The scenic drive was closed because of snow above the Mather overlook but other than that, it was a good dose of nature that I sorely needed.

I am going to miss being the artist-in-residence for Great Basin NP but I am so glad I was able to be a part of this amazing park.

Aspen Leaf

Aspens in September in Great Basin National Park don’t just turn yellow, they turn every shade of red and orange as well. This is due to anthocyanins, chemicals that produce red and orange colors in leaves when the green chlorophyll of summer begins to fade. Although it is a genetic trait only present in some trees, much of the brilliant red-orange color is also due to climate. Warm sunny fall days with cool nights allow the brilliant oranges of Great Basin aspen trees to shine. This artwork was produced under the Darwin Lambert Artist in Residence Program at Great Basin National Park.

September Leaves

Hello September! During the month of September that I spent in Great Basin NP I saw the seasons change from summer to fall to winter. The leaves were by far the highlight! And the inspiration for these traditional hats.

From the pattern: September in Great Basin National Park is a fall color paradise. Chilly nights bring spectacular color to the mountain landscape. Yellow and orange aspens mix with deep green pines and firs to create a calico collage on the mountains. This artwork was produced under the Darwin Lambert Artist in Residence Program at Great Basin National Park.