IceOmetric was woven for Loom to Wrap’s Spring 2016 Great Competition of Weavers, which had an Under the Microscope theme. It is Cat’s Cradle’s first entry in any of the L2W competitions.
IceOmetric is a woven interpretation of “Ice Arc,” a photograph by artist Erin O’Malley. When I first saw Under the Microscope as a candidate for the competition theme, I instantly thought of O’Malley, who works in macro photography, among other media. O’Malley often uses naturally occurring magnifiers – in this case ice, and glass. It was a tough choice, but I settled on Ice Arc for both its color palette, and the challenge of representing the form and shapes of the photo. The colors in the photo are from water and skin, which I love since I designed and wove this wrap while nine months pregnant and planning a water birth. You can find a selection of more of O’Malley’s work, along with the inspiration photo, here:http://www.erinomalleyart.com/digitalphotography.html.
IceOmetric was woven on an eight shaft loom with no dobby, using an echo draft I designed, based on the mathematical definition of a circle. The piece features two contrasting gradients interleaved in an unmercerized cotton warp with solid black tencel weft, and measures 4.88 meters long by 67cm wide, with a gsm of 342, though keep in mind that Tencel measures denser than it actually feels in hand. Measurements are done tailor-style against a sewing table. STIH the wrap measures between 4.9 and 5 meters. IceOmetric has tapered ends, and no middle marker, though there is a distinct feature in the pattern that falls exactly in the middle of the length (this is the chevron shown in the belly wrap photos.)
cat's cradle textiles 