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Darby Downey grew up in Washington, Harford and New York but mostly in New York City. She attended the Tyler School
of Art in Philadelphia and followed that with a career in Graphic Design. The Graphic Arts lead her to weaving, which she has been doing for
the last 29 years. Her work in the graphic arts has influenced her weaving as far as her work with color blocks, lines and stripes.
Darby has taught classes and workshops in painted warps and beginning weaving.
"A Taste of Weaving" at the High School of Fashion Industries 10th Grade with Terry Henley.
She has also taught Card Weaving at the Anthroposophy Society, as well as a warp Painting Workshop at the Hudson-Mohawk Weavers'
Guild. She has given Weaving and Spinning Demonstrations at the Dyckman Farm Museum, King Manor
Museum, "Medieval Festival" and the New York Public Library.
She has sold her work at ArtRider Craft shows at Lynhurst, NY, Westfield, NJ, Boston, MA and the Helderberg Weavers
Annual Show and Hudson Mohawk Weavers Guild Show & Sale at the Pruyn House, Albany, NY.
Darby weaves Painted Warp, Inlay, Rep Weave, and Boundweave Wall Hangings and Boundweave, Plain, and Twill Rugs.
In 2002 Darby and Terry Henley founded Cross Town Shuttlers, a weaving challenge group in New York City.
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DARBY DOWNEY
"I find blending colors is fascinating. Everything changes when you change the sequence or pair different colors. When I design a rug, I choose colors I like but some of them really can't be beside each other. It becomes a challenge to include them all and have them work together. I like to experiment using colors that don't appeal to me and find they are beautiful when I put them next to the right colors.
I prefer to weave boundweave rugs as it gives me a blank canvas to work with and I can revise my designs as I weave."
My rugs are all original designs. Only one is woven from a design. They are all linen warps with wool weft.
Rugs 29 x 46 range from $200 to $300
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Asymmetrical
3 x 5 boundweave rug. Linen warp and wool weft
Cocktail Rugs
Wool and Linen.
The taupe caption.
Four Greys 2010
3 x 5 Boundweave rug. Linen warp and wool weft.
Store Awnings
3 x 5 Boundweave rug with linen warp and wool weft.
This rug was inspired by a block of store awnings.
I leave it to you to guess
24 x 40 inch Boundweave runner. Linen warp and wool weft.
I sometimes challenge myself to work with a color I'm not fond of and that is what I did in this rug.
Waves lap the shore
Wall Hanging, Three 6.5 x 8.5 inch panels. Linen and embroidery floss.
Friends and Neighbors
3 x 5 foot rug with cotton warp and custom dyed fabric selvages weft
This rug was named for its colors.
Aztec 2007
3 x 5 rug with cotton warp and custom dyed fabric selvages weft.
I love the intensity and power of the color in this rug.
Southwest
3 x 5 Boundweave rug with linen warp and wool weft.
A Crosstown Shuttlers challenge "Southwest".
Lavender Blue
3 x 5 foot rug with cotton warp and custom dyed fabric selvages weft
Rep weave wall hanging.
Colors Usually Avoided
29 x 47 Boundweave Linen warp and wool weft
Linen warp and wool weft.
Desert Flowers
28 x 42 Boundweave Linen warp and space dyed wool weft
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America the Beautiful
28 x 47 Boundweave Linen warp and wool weft
"O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plane!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!"
How green was my Valley
27 x 47 Boundweave Linen warp and wool and acrylic weft
Joan's Rug
27 x 43 Boundweave Linen warp and wool weft
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The Beach in Puerto Rico
25 x 40 Boundweave Linen warp and wool weft
"Tiger,tiger burning bright"
36 x 60 Boundweave Cotton warp and custom dyed fabric selvages weft
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Use Your Leftover Yarns
27 x 54 Boundweave Linen warp and wool and acrylic weft
Asymmetrical
3 x 5 boundweave rug. Linen warp and wool weft
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