Ploughed Field - the Bishops Prize

So it is finished after dipping, dyeing, over dyeing, rust printing, foil printing and hand painting. This may seem a lot of processes but when you consider that I had intended quilting  and hand stitching as well in Nick's words 'the sweetie shop has been reduced'!!
So here are some images of the process -

The first dye was in Red onion which I dipped into a hot dye bath. The wool had been wetted to allow the dye to filter up and create an uneven line which I wanted to use as layering of the fields and to use to reflect the changes over time.

 You can see the line on this image. Here I am dipping the bottom part into a hot walnut dye bath to make a darker contrast for the foreground.

Now the rusted blades from my father (and grand father) workshop. Their shape gives the impression of the furrows ploughed in the field. But ....

when printed over the Red onion dye the iron partly oxidised! In the workshop I used the footprint screen that I had designed and used gold foil onto a paste to represent the footprints of 'the meek who will inherit the Earth'. Originally I was going to add stitch but  

 

 was pleased that the footprints over the 'furrows' were enough.  The top of the piece was dipped into Indigo several times but I did not achieve a contrast however it seems to work as a paler blue.

I added hand painted trees using oak and walnut paste

to represent the pine trees which were planted to stop the wind blowing the sandy soil and enabling man to cultivate the land. 

It has been a challenging project and I have learnt a lot not only about composition with natural dyes but also about the history of this piece of land.