Weaving is one of the oldest crafts in history, and Chicago-based artist Adrienne Lee keeps the ancient art form alive with her Painted Sky Textiles. She uses colorful yarn and a loom to render intricate textile landscapes that capture the beauty of the hills, meadows, mountains, seas, and skies.
Before Lee starts on a single piece or collection, she often has a theme or place in mind that she wants to base it on. She uses found images or ones that she’s taken herself over the years while traveling. “I will often take elements from a few different photos and combine them to create a new, unique picture, and then use that new image as my reference photo as I'm weaving,” Lee tells My Modern Met.
“Sometimes, I don't use a reference photo at all and just feel out the piece as I go, visually mapping it out on the empty loom before I start. Once I have an idea in my head or a picture in mind of what I want the piece to look like, I pick out my fibers and begin building the piece from the bottom up, section by section.”
Lee tells us that her techniques and style have evolved, but the most important aspect of her work is the many different fibers that she uses. She’s tested many over the years to create the textures and depth that make her work so distinct. She reveals, “Choosing the right fibers can absolutely make or break a piece, and I am very picky when choosing them.”
When it comes to color, Lee takes the time to develop the right palette for each piece. “I make sure the complimentary colors are in the same shade family, and that the contrasting colors work well together,” she explains. “If something isn't working or isn't blending right while I'm weaving, I'll unravel it and find some other fiber that works better.”
All of this careful consideration pays off. Each handwoven landscape beautifully captures the beauty and diversity of nature in textiles. Clouds feature as puffy woolen stitches, and flowers are rendered in delicate loops of thread. The sky's soft gradients are tightly woven with precision, and Lee even manages to recreate lush grasslands with tufts of yarn in various green hues.
Check out Lee’s woven landscapes below and discover more of her work on Instagram.
Chicago-based artist Adrienne Lee weaves beautiful textile landscapes that capture the diversity of nature.
She uses a variety of fibers in different textures and colors to replicate grass, flowers, sea, sky, and more.
Each intricate piece is handcrafted using a small loom, yarn, and a needle.
Lee often works from reference photos, but sometimes she “feels it out” as she goes.
