REP WEAVINGS - OP to Be Square
Orion's Plumage logo for weaving studio of Rosalie Neilson featuring a parrot whose name was Orion.
Optical illusion of gradated circles formed by checkerboard arrangement of blocks. Designed by Rosalie Neilson. Fiberworks-PCW.
6-shaft weaving draft for "Circus Op" designed by Laurie Herrick. Draft appears in book Weavers Study Course by Elsie Regensteiner.
This is a fully realized draft of Laurie Herrick's "Circus Op" as described in Elsie Regensteiner's book Weavers Study Course, p 127. The optical illusion of 3-dimensions is created by the size of blocks gradating from small to large. I wanted to reinterpret this design in warp-faced rep. SInce this is a 6-shaft draft, a warp rep design would require a 12-shaft loom to achieve the hour glass shape of each block. Recognizing this as a checkerboard type of design, I reinterpreted the draft for 2-blocks as shown below.
OP to Be Square - Design Process in Warp Rep
Documenting the Design and Weaving Process for a Reinterpretation of Laurie Herrick's "Circus Op"
Redesigned draft for 4-shaft loom by Rosalie Neilson.
The redesigned draft is a 2-block design which can be woven on a 4-shaft loom. Block 1 is threaded on shafts 1 and 3 with black on shaft 1 alternating with white on shaft 3 for X number of times. Block 2 is threaded on shafts 2 and 4 with black on shaft 2 alternating with white on shaft 4 for X number of times. As the blocks increase in size, the number of threading and treadling units adjusts accordingly.
Circuses remind me of clowns juggling balls, so the first interpretation to the right shows different sized circles representing the balls.This is a 2-block, 4-shaft design.
But then I rethought the concept of a checkerboard arrangement. Why not alternate circles with solid squares? The center column requires 2 more blocks to accomplish the alternation so this is a 4-block, 8-shaft design. The final rug design appears below.
Color version of "Op to be Square" warp rep rug designed and woven by Rosalie Neilson. Fiberworks-PCW
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"OP to Be Square" - 36" x 101"

Warp-faced rep rug designed and woven by Rosalie Neilson to honor Laurie Herrick's Op Art works