Catching Snowflakes

I’ve tried to capture various types of snow in my sculptures.  Fresh snow on a cold day is light and fluffy. When the clouds clear and the sun re-emerges, the snow sparkles like jewels. As temperatures warm, the snow shrinks. It mixes with dirt and grime from passing cars.

Snowball evokes the joy of children playing in the yard after a snowstorm. I created the yarn for this snowball by taking pure white wool of Vermont Cormo sheep and carding it with fibers from an Angora rabbit.  These slippery bunny fibers don’t lie flat. Instead they float above the wool in a halo of fuzz. To incorporate some sunshine sparkle, I added just a touch of mylar glitz. To get the full effect, you really need to see it in person.

Of course, snow is not always fresh and sparkly. On those short days when the sun is low in the sky, snowy fields look blue or grey. Leaden light isn’t the only thing dulling the snow. The general griminess of snow banks is deepened by fallen leaves and plowed up bands of sand. Every yarn in this drawer in my studio could be the perfect color for snow on some day in winter.

I chose an off-white yarn for the snow in Spring Crocus. It’s a rough wool yarn that captures a different type of sunshine: spring sun. The warm beige tinge comes from the muddy earth seeping into the old snow. 

This yarn is an unbalanced energized yarn that skews out of line when knitted. Using that feature to advantage, I made the stitches swirl and bubble. The subtle movement suggests melting snow shrinking before our eyes.

What image of snow do you want to capture?