Coming Off the Ice

2024
12″ x 12″ (felt)
16” x 16” x 0.75” (felt on canvas)
Status: Preparing for exhibit

Wool needle felting measuring 12″ x 12″ felted onto a 16” x 16” x 0.75” painted cotton canvas frame for a clean, seamless look. Many fine blended fiber layers and varying shades of pink, purple, yellow, orange, blue, white, and gray went into creating the sky, clouds, shoreline and ice.

The reference photo behind this piece, titled ‘Coming Off the Ice’, is my husband pulling a sled of gear after a day of ice fishing in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Northeastern Minnesota in January 2023. We usually stay on the ice until or shortly after dusk. The sunsets and night skies never disappoint and this particular evening was no exception.

When the sun is low on the horizon, light has to travel a greater distance through the atmosphere than when it’s overhead and the longer wavelengths of red, yellow, and orange light become more visible to our eyes. Pink sunsets come from the mixing of red colors with white light which comes from light being scattered by fine particulates such as moisture or pollutants. Purple sunsets can be caused by a combination of atmospheric conditions and the sun’s angle. Both pink and purple sunsets are due to a phenomenon known as Rayleigh Scattering when shorter wavelengths of light (e.g., blue and violet) scatter more easily than longer wavelengths (e.g., red and orange).

The backside of the piece offers an interesting view of the colored fibers as they were pushed through the canvas and I like to leave the canvas back exposed for this reason. It also allows the wool fibers to breathe and minimizes any moisture buildup.

Wire hanging hardware is attached. An informational card and a copy of the original reference photo will be tucked into the back of the piece in a cellophane sleeve.