Since 1998, Donald and Era Farnsworth have collaborated  on a printmaking endeavor that posits individual trees, with their exact locations in space and time, as representative of aesthetic and philosophical ideals.  These trees, as well as other images, are now being woven into elegant Jacquard tapestries that fuse the couple’s blend of antiquity and modernity, of East meets West.

The Farnsworths’ fascination with Tibetan art and mythology dovetails with their environmental concerns. Much of the work is based on Tibetan thangkas illustrating the stories of divine lovers in allegorical situations, dealing with greenhouse gases, and melting ice caps.

Using two antique Belgian looms, and updating the production process with modern digital technology, the Farnsworth’s transfer the presence and the power of trees, mandalas, even architecture into works that resound with quiet resonance. With more than ten thousand threads 

at their disposal, at a density of 152 threads per inch, the couple is able to interweave color and pattern into a soft textural painting.