TAPESTRY Woven Blankets

Need a little more color in your life? Try on this 100 % pure cotton woven blanket for size. You can hang it on a wall, throw it across the back of your sofa or in your car for a charming picnic spread. Each blanket is woven in vibrantly dyed yarn from 195 color combinations with the backing made a mirror image color negative of the front to bring one of Jennifer S. Levine's original paintings to life. The blanket is washed after weaving. The yarn contracts for a firm hold. Then, the piece is finished with a 2 IN fringe to prevent fraying and frame the design. Due to the process, size can vary + / - .5 / 1 IN.

Machine wash in cold water. Mild detergent. Gentle cycle. Do not bleach or wring.

ABOUT THE PAINTING:

TAPESTRY: Acrylic on canvas, 14 x 14 IN.

In the literal sense, a tapestry is a thick textile whose images and designs are created through weaving a fabric or an embroidering on a  canvas. But, I’ve always had a romantic notion of the word like the rich tapestry of life or the fates weaving  our destinies in their loom and such… then, there’s the beautiful patterns in handmade woven objects, from baskets to platters to rugs to blankets. Each culture, each region in the world with its own signature color palette and recognizable style, it’s just a magical expression of humanity. For example, in traditional Persian crafting, tapestries and rugs are created with a deliberate flaw because only Allah is the perfect creator. How profoundly striking is that a commentary on their relationship with their god, the world around them?

All of these thoughts and ideas informed my approach to this pieces. I tried to emulate the weaving on the canvas but also give it movement. I incorporated the deliberate imperfections from the Middle East, sometimes called the Persian flaw. I made my interpretation a little more pronounced for composition purposes and a visual rhythm to counterbalance an otherwise static, formal structure. I leaned into the greens, thinking on the tapestry of life and growth and water flowing, then pulled in reds for their complimentary vibrations. I finished the piece with a high gloss sheen that I don’t normally employ but it really brought out the physical texture of each row the paint had carved and gave more depth to the parts of the painting I’d pulled away for the “flaws”. This theme of weaving is something I play with in my work often, as a focal or even incidental component. This is the first time I’ve stripped the weaving theme in a painting down to the basics, almost representational in it’s execution. There’s something about this piece that I can’t find words for but it’s somewhere around simply satisfying.