Baker's Dozen: My Favorite Tapestries in 2023 (So Far) Pt. 2

2023 has seen me trying to sail through some rough, traumatic waters. Despite all the effort I have made this year so far, however, it's just been a choppy ride: reading books to help learn new skills for managing my PTSD and try to establish an identity again has tilled up old wounds and pockets of anger, my partner's best friend was killed in April, leaving us grieving, and for the last few months, constant thunderstorms have driven our larger dog into constant fear - she won't leave me alone. I feel guilty if I send her away, but I need time to myself every day. Every time I get into something, she comes running over for comfort at the slightest creak of the house; I'm hardly getting anything done!

So my goal for this year of trying to find calm in all this has been a little derailed. I'm still not in practice to try these new tools - tapestries, lighting...etc - automatically. I'm still trying to build those habits of using these tools often and effectively. As I write this, I realize this. There's been times I could've tried to relax with these pieces, but it's just not my first instinct to handle upsets that way. I've got a lot to learn there.

I already showed off 13 of my favorite tapestries here, but now I've got a whole other batch to take a gander at! So let's see what else we can throw at crappy circumstances to try and bring a little joy into the home! "Titles" are just what I'm using to define each piece, not what they are actually called, nor do I really know artists for these tapestries. Again, as with the first list, please ignore the fold lines - they'll disappear with time!

Let's get into it!

1) Lush Forest

It doesn't get much more tranquil than a lush forest in the daylight! Everything about this piece is soft: the lighting, the shadows, the moss on the trees - and the material itself!

While our backyard is equally as green with the unusual amount of rain we've been getting for months, the constant thunderstorms have largely been hiding the sun from us - very unusual for Colorado, where we get sunlight like 95% of the year.

It's so easy to throw this tapestry up and get lost on that forest path between the trees. A little sage incense or a mossy perfume and a green projector light really go a long way in improving that experience! And doesn't that light just emit 'hopeful'?

Such a serene scene.

2) Loving Tigers

Intended for appearances in the dining room - which isn't ready to host tapestries just yet - this piece features two calm tigers; face-to-face in black and white. It'll look great among the leafy green jungle theme!

It's an image that invokes closeness with how close the animals themselves are, and it will be a fantastic semi-stable piece in the dining room - where we tend to gather. It also reminds me of how some of our own house cats interact with one another; this is similar to what it looks like before one starts grooming another.

I love how soft the image is of these two big cats; so often, they are only depicted as vicious, savage beasts; stalking, snarling, or fighting. It's refreshing to see a much gentler depiction.

3) Sharks

I am still amazed how good most of the tapestries look. If it weren't for the fold lines, no one would ever guess these images are on fabric! Ones like this, where the details of the water really steal the show, are so easy to get lost in!

Despite the image being of a large number of sharks, this too is a serene sort of display. Even though there is movement, the picture shows that it is languid; slow. The silhouettes hide the would-be scary details of the animals, instead leaving them less of a threat. More whimsical.

I'm not a strong swimmer, but this tapestry makes me wanna take a dive with some sharks! Or just zone out on the floor looking at it...

Floating adrift...

4) Disintegrating Dinos

Naturally, I needed this tapestry for my office, which will be dinosaur-themed!

I was actually surprised I liked this one, as I generally don't like yellow or gold. Warm colors, really. However...

This basically depicts the asteroid impact that killed the non-avian dinosaurs! I say that because of the light source - likely the impact zone - and the disintegration effect of the T-rex!

Many of the other dinosaur tapestries I have are also much more crowded than this one; fun for a little while, but too cluttered to enjoy day after day. This one is easier on the eyes for a longer time.

The extinction event itself was a tragic loss of life, but I do have to admit, it's nice to see a T-rex fall. It's a cool animal, sure, but entirely over-hyped, over-used, and over-represented. Like, where are my 300+ stegosaurus documentaries? Everything is about the T-rex when it comes to dinosaurs... I think that's why I enjoy the inclusion of the Triceratops and Brachiosaurus; if the image was only the T-rex, I would probably like it much less.

Especially in that yellow...

5) Arctic Howl

This one will eventually be featured in the front room - or what I have been calling "the wolf den". Care to guess what animals will be featured there?

It is not as long as what I like for the office, but obviously it's not going there. And when it comes to the "wolf den", this one will fit right in. The walls are a very similar pink, and accents in the room are aqua/turquoise, so this tapestry is on point for the colors.

It'll go right along with pictures of the aurora meant for that room, too. It'll be the perfect mix of arctic colors and warmth! I can practically hear the wolves howling to the meteor shower!

6) Snow Leopard

While this one looks a little more intense, I simply can't get over the beauty of snow leopards! They are hard to spot, but fluffy - especially the tails!

There is something both calming and assertive about this image. These beautiful cats spend their lives in icy, rocky landscapes in near-isolation, and the distillation of that lifestyle seems to be captured here in this intense, wild gaze.

It's truly a nexus of the snow leopard's beauty and ferocity, and I wouldn't want the real deal looking at me like that in the wild. But on a tapestry? I can stare it eye-to-eye all day long.

7) Canyon

My understanding is that this features Antelope Canyon in Arizona, and I fully intend to get other tapestries featuring the sandstone canyon in the future! I've since seen other images from it, and it is gorgeous.

Normally, I'm not a fan of oranges and yellows, but when it comes to natural features like these, I make an exception. I've always had an ironic soft spot for rock formations.

Would I like to get lost in that? Yes, please!

At least, from the comfort of home...

Beautiful piece.

8) Mammoths

Dinosaurs aren't the only prehistoric life I appreciate! And I don't find mammoths to be as over-hyped as T-rex!

This tapestry, to me, is well-balanced: the three living mammoths in contrast with the hazy, snowy mountain in the background, the tufts of prairie grass poking through snow in the foreground... And nothing is too dark or too bright - it's all in the same range.

It is just me, or does it feel like we're there, yards away, staring at mammoths? One's even staring back. If that isn't the hallmark of a great image - to transport the viewer into the scene - I don't know what is.

9) Archaeopteryx

Speaking of prehistoric animals, here's another! Anyone familiar with fossils is likely to recognize this version of the famous Archaeopteryx fossil - the "first bird" found and classified in the fossil record (quotes because it has been a while since I brushed up on the history and classification of Archaeopteryx).

The tapestry is a little more narrow than I'd usually like, but when it's featuring such an epic, iconic fossil, you just go with it. If I continue to hang it in my office like above, I'll have to hang a larger, solid bit of cloth behind it to make it look nicer against the closet, but I'm happy to move this one around into whatever spot I want in the house.

10) Spiked Dragon

While not as in-your-face as the dragon tapestry featured in my first list, this one is a stand-out in its own right!

First, let's talk about that sheen; unlike most of the other tapestries, this one is made from a particular cloth of flannel. It adds a little weight compared to similar-sized tapestries of cotton or silk, but not much, and is soft to the touch. But it also gives a bit of glare in light like what's in the images.

That said, this is a lovely depiction of a spiked dragon! It will be at home in a room I'll hopefully have put together soon to relax and create in, but it is also at home being a guardian in the hallways! I love the darker coloration in this one, and it's balanced well by the starlight.

11) Volcanic Activity

Now, erupting volcanoes don't typically invoke tranquility, and in a lot of ways, these ones don't either. I do have an aversion to those warm colors: reds, oranges, and yellows. I'm not exactly attuned to fire; I'm far from a pyromaniac! There's an energetic eruption and volcanic lightning and a foreboding, choking darkness among the flowing lava...

But I wanted representation of all the elements - of nature in all forms. The reds, the energy of the image - they have their time and place to make an appearance. Shit, sometimes you need an eruption...

Like the dragon previous, this is also a flannel tapestry; there is slightly more weight and light-bouncing from certain angles.

It's not what I normally enjoy, but I do like this one.

12) Shapely Seahorse

A seahorse of shapes! This image, comprised of a bright crystalline seahorse amid a dark background of bubbles, really, really pops!

Seahorses have always held a special place in my heart - and in my time playing World of Warcraft! When I saw this one, I knew I had to have it!

The colors pop in the daylight, but I really enjoy combining this tapestry with projector lights for an effect like in the image above! The projector colors allow me to mix it up, and it's almost like it's a new tapestry with every change!

13) Orca Splash

I first bought this image as a small canvas picture because I loved the dynamics of the water in this image! A close friend of mine even commented on the Yin/Yang vibe, and I fully agree!

When I found the image as a tapestry as well, I went all out; this is one of the largest of the tapestries I bought, and it covers entire closets.

Surprisingly, it's not quite as heavy as similarly-sized tapestries.

In comparison to the orca tapestry from my first list, they are night and day. The first one features a still, quiet scene, while this is energetic.

My one complaint about this one is that some features, up close, seem more pixelated. But even then, it's such a pretty image.

And that's the list! I'm much more excited about using tapestries, lighting, and other stimuli to help combat, well, everything else going on. I'll have to keep trying to incorporate nice things, and hope that I build more relaxing habits.

Thank you for your time! I hope you enjoyed this slightly short "Baker's Dozen"! If you enjoyed this and haven't already, please consider checking out the following posts, all former Top Stories on Vocal!

Baker's Dozen: My Favorite 13 Tapestries in 2023 (so far) - First tapestry list of the year.

Baker's Dozen: 13 Perfumes I Enjoyed in 2022

Baker's Dozen: Cannabis Strains I Loved in 2021