View to MacBeth Icefield

Dimensions: 24" x 38"
Materials: #7- and 8-cut hand-dyed and as-is wool, wool yarn, silk velvet, ribbon, sari yarn, and nylons on linen
Designed and hooked by Sara Judith, Nelson, British Columbia, Canada, 2018.
Featured in: Celebration 29

"This view, from a local Kootenay hiking trail. across the valley to MacBeth Icefields is wonderful to me. It represents the majesty, grandeur and wildness of the mountains I live in. It is uplifting and inspiring. I spend my summers hiking, camping and back-packing in the mountains, and the winters cross-country skiing in them. This image brings back many fond memories.

I love texture and colour and used a wide variety of fabrics to connect with the elements that I was representing. Silk velvet for the glacier, with hand-dyed silk ribbon for the fissures, rugged recycled tweeds and plaids for the rocks, hand-dyed wool for the valley slopes, wool yarn for the trees and a variety of whites, blues and lavenders in nylons for the sky. Silk sari yarn and a silk boucle evoked the creeks tumbling down the mountain and silk sari ribbon highlighted the trees. I hooked only the sky (nylons are very stretchy so not appropriate to punch-hook) and the glacier and snow where I wanted to be sure to have the rich plush texture of the silk velvet on the surface. Punch-hooking, used throughout the rest of the piece, has a more organic look to it, as you can't control the direction of the loops of cut wool. I feel that this texture using the punch hook is appropriate for depicting the wildness of this scene. It was also useful to use punch-hooking to control the height of the loops, with the trees highest, the mountains next and the sky the lowest. This helps the piece gain the necessary perspective.

Drama and awe is conveyed by using a major colour chord, from the whites of the glacier to the dark greens and blues of the trees. I was delighted to discover Susan Feller's finishing technique (from Finishing Hooked Rugs by Rug Hooking Magazine) using stretcher bars, and love the professional completed look of the piece, with the back and edges covered in black cotton."
- Sara Judith, Celebration Hall of Fame 2019