TINDALL

This handwoven wall hanging is probably the most significant and meaningful piece I have created to date. The design and materials create a full circle that overwhelms me with emotion every time I talk about it. Since this is quite a long story I have included at the bottom of the description. 

SIZE & DETAILS

• Measures 49" [from top of hanging bar to bottom] x 52" wide
• Hung on a custom designed solid walnut wood beam
• Milled specifically for this piece by a local small business in Rohnert Park, CA

Fiber:

• Natural white Rambouillet Wool Roving
• Climate Beneficial, Carbon & sustainably farmed in Cedarville, CA [Fibershed Certified]

• Australian Corriedale Wool Shoestring sized Felted Roving
• Produced & Hand-felted by a fellow small business owner in Ukiah, CA
• Raw wool sourced from a target grazing company based in Lake County, CA

• 50% Highland Wool / 50% Superfine Alpaca
• Hand-Spun in the Andes Mountains of Peru
• Ethically sourced

Leather:

• By-product of the beef industry
• Sourced from a local vendor in Napa, Ca

THE STORY:

The design for this piece was subconsciously inspired by Cow Mountain, a landform behind my childhood home in Ukiah, California. It was not until the piece was complete that I realized how deeply the presence, symbolism of my childhood, and impact from my local community had in creating this fiber art piece.

Early in my fiber journey my grandmother put me in contact with Matt, the man who sheared our sheep as a child. Sometime later, I became friends with his wife Sarah, when I commissioned her to make a custom fiber we call Shoestring Felted Roving. Matt and Sarah run a small family-owned company that processes wool out of Ukiah, California. 

The raw wool for the fiber came from another local, small family-owned company out of Lake county, California, located just miles away from my family home, behind the mountain that is represented in the piece. This company specializes in the support of our local land by utilizing sheep over equipment usage on local orchards and wineries. This is a regenerative process that minimizes equipment usage, lowers carbon footprint, helps erosion and naturally fertilizes the soil. The fiber is considered salvaged material as it would have been otherwise discarded due to vegetable matter and short staple [fiber length] making it adequate for any other fiber usage.  A total win-win for my local community, land and artwork!  

The Shoestring Felted Roving is harmonious with our By-product leather, local Climate Beneficial and Carbon farmed roving, as well as the ethically sourced Hand-Spun Alpaca and wool mixture, ironically all sharing the same hue. The Alpaca also has small pieces of earthy vegetable matter and is hand-spun by wives & mothers of alpaca shepherds in the Andes Mountains of Peru.