Knothead Design Studio

Mixed Media Fiber and Wood Artist

Inspiration from Living in Wisconsin

Orange, red and green trees of Autumn next to a meadow in Wisconsin

I am a Wisconsin girl married to a Florida boy and together we have raised a family and lived all over the state. When it comes to my art, I generally create my larger wood and wool felt pieces at our home base in Germantown. There, I have access to my favorite mill for live edge slabs and my husband’s wood shop for prep work. And of course, my favorite local farms for wool:

Hearthside Fibers
Windridge Fiber Farm
Homestead Wool

We also have a cabin in Chetek (northwestern WI). This is where I create branch weavings. Here, I am surrounded by trees, water and wildlife. I routinely go for walks and get strange looks from the neighbors when I travel down the road with long branches tucked under each arm.

For today’s post, I thought I would highlight a few of my latest weavings. Back in July, I had ended a post about branch weaving with finding a wonderful birch branch. Once I found this bright chartreuse art yarn at a craft fair in Chetek, I knew that pairing it with a cherry red wool in that birch branch would complete this weaving.

Branch weaving in large y shaped birch branch found in Wisconsin using chartreuse and red wool yarn and roving.
Hummingbird – Branch Weaving

The next two weavings were created with scale in mind. I wanted the weavings to be on the smaller side. So these are both only about 12 inches wide and 14 inches long in the V. I used a silver maple branch and gray wool that matched the branch as the base color with pinks and golds for accent for the top weaving. The bottom weaving is in a birch branch. This branch has an unique ombré effect from cream to brown. For the weaving, I mimicked that shading.

2 branch weavings, one in a silver maple branch and one in a birch branch. The silver maple using gray, pink and gold wool yarn and the birch using cream, tan and brown wool yarns. All materials sourced from Wisconsin.
Silver Maple and Birch Branch Weavings

I have found that I enjoy using the circle weave technique for branches. It feels the most organic. Usually, this means I find some pliable pine branches and wrap them to create a circle. However, sometimes I get lucky and find a premade circle that fits the look and feel of my work. The final piece today uses an iron nut that I found at the local hardware store as my circle. This piece was for a Black and White Exhibit. I had another birch branch, so I used black wool yarn, gray tweed roving, white wool yarn and then some tufts of white roving. It is titled Whispers in the Dark. The black part is an ear and the white tufts the whispers hovering around it.

Branch weaving titled Whispers in the Dark for a black and white only exhibit. Created in a birch branch using black, gray and white wool yarn, gray tweed roving and white roving. All materials sourced from Wisconsin.
Whispers in the Dark – Branch Weaving

We are at the cabin this week. The leaves are all turning colors. It is absolutely beautiful. I came back from my walk with a lovely branch tucked under my arm – it is going to be a lovely week.

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