A Tribute to May Ratchford and Am No Tanabata Hime

Materials: Black walnut wood, steel pipe, nylon cord, loom thread thimbles, loom gut’s mechanism

Dimensions: 8’H x 9’W x 10”D

October 2005

May and her family lived next to my wife Sue’s house in Brewster for 3 generations. After May’s death, Sue adopted this black walnut wood out of May’s barn. The wood is 200 years old. Am No Tanabata Hime is the Japanese goddess of weaving. The wooden center and the thread spindles in this piece came from a very old loom that had to be put to rest. This piece was created to pay homage to these two special women.