It seems that winter has arrived at the party early this year and decided to stay.

We got well over a foot of new snow on our hill this week, bringing with it the delightful perk that the light in my studio has been perfect. This is the kind of illumination that brightly shows colors in their truest form, but I am especially appreciating it while attacking the first stage of laying in the image for a new piece with white thread. It’s ideal for giving my stitches plenty of definition against their white silk ground.

Is it any wonder that being surrounded with all this snow has set me to thinking about great works of white art? Unsurprisingly, Malevich’s 1918 painting “White on White” was the first to come to mind. Here are a few others.

• Louise Nevelson made numerous white pieces. Great images on Alabama Chanin’s Journal, including the uncredited textile piece at the end of the post.
• Jasper John’s 1955  White Flag
• Local artist Mark Goodwin
• Photographer Scott Peterman’s ice houses

Because of where we live, it’s inescapable that I will write from time to time about the snow and the impact it has on my work. I wrote in a past post that “I’ve always loved winter, so a snow-covered landscape is a welcome seasonal perk…just because. But from an artistic and working viewpoint, there is a lesson in the snow: the importance of finding a balance between maintaining a certain boldness (via composition, pattern, and texture) while remembering to get my point across as simply as possible.”

That’s something to keep in mind as I tackle this next piece.