Dogwood / gold

 Spaced linen warp in plain weave, linen, half-bleached, and unbleached.  Mixed wefts of colored linen, and Finnish paper yarn (paperilanka) used in rya knots.  This is a simple version of a transparency weave I've been making over the last 3 years.  My paper rya experiments began after a trip to Finland where I saw paper yarn used in contemporary weaving, especially using rya. 

I brought home some of this yarn.  It is very tough.  In this piece I have brushed the yarn with water and unwound it to create flower petals.  The Japanese paper chenille yarn is a rya knot that acts as a stamen for the flower.  My first use of rya and linen in a transparency used many mixed paper and silk ribbon and plastic strips.