Trace

The Craft

Low relief line work of this kind sits at the intersection of tufting and carving. The line is first tufted at a slightly higher pile height than the ground, then trimmed and shaped by hand to give it a clean, raised edge, a process that requires both the tufter and the finisher to understand the drawing as a whole, not just the section in front of them. The organic forms in the upper field demand particular care: a curved line in pile has a tendency to widen at bends, and maintaining the even weight of the line as it turns is the kind of quiet precision that only comes with experience.