The Tapestry:
The tapestry depicting the 1969 moon walk of Neil Armstrong (the first person to set foot on another celestial body), meassuring in at eight feet wide by six feet high and comprised of over 497,000 stitches + stars & overlay is a amazing masterpiece.
The old saying goes "A Picture is worth a thousand words", that being that case this beautifully woven tapestry is worth millions of words. The elegant way it in which it captures and holds timeless this extraordinary accomplishment of the human race. The blending of colors, and meticulous attention to detail mean it's just as pleasing to the eye and it is enticing for the mind.
Created by Canadian Interpretive Artist Margaret Hansford it took 14 years and over 2000 hrs to complete.
The project was originally conceived in 1980 by her father, Kenneth Hansford, for whom space and flying were a life-long fascination. After having the fine linen canvas woven in Nova Scotia, and the picture painted on it, he had a stroke and was unable to continue.
"On his passing in 1987,I promised to work it for him," Margaret states. She is the only artist that has worked on the project. Done in wool tapestry yarn and synthetic fibres, using a Continental needlepoint stitch and French Knots, the one-of-a-kind piece has taken Ms. Hansford more than 2,000 hours to complete over a period of 14 years.
The needlepoint tapestry shows astronaut Armstrong standing on the moon with the American flag, the landing module and the space shuttle in the background. Hanging in the sky is the blue-hued planet Earth. The composite design for the tapestry was hand-painted using numerous landing pictures as guides. A subtle blending of over 18 colours were used just to depict the moonscape.
"I have been able to see this project through to its completion in order to keep a promise to my father and to fulfill a challenge to myself" says Ms. Hansford. "It has helped me to define who I am and has been a very interesting journey."
This one of kind work of art is for sale.
If you are intersted in purchasing this magnificant piece of natural history,
please contact me directly via the form at the bottom of this page.
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