Mapping Crozet in Tapestry

I used to raise sheep. In 2020, I sold the flock to younger farmers ready to take on a challenge. This was timely because I thought that I was going back to work-full time and my kids were going off to college. We needed the kids to help with the sheep!

I didn't know that Covid was coming in January 2020. But, by March, everything was on lock-down. It was a good time to retire from being a Shepard because all the agricultural services and suppliers shut down. After I sold the flock, I started weaving.

In 2024, I retired from my legal career. It took two years to wind out my private practice and prepare to leave teaching at UVA Law School. The first year of retirement was fantastic because I was accepted to a tapestry diploma program at beautiful West Dean College in Sussex, England. The second year of retirement was equally exciting because I was making costumes for a production of Queen Lear. I finished that project in Dec. 2025.

2026 was difficult. I felt out of it because of retirement. I wondered what I would do with the rest of my life. I missed the intellectual challenge and the professional status associated with being an attorney. I missed the sheep.

In a search for connection, I decided to study Crozet. I learned about the geography and the agriculture. I thought about all the vineyards in the area. I thought about the threat of development and the loss of natural resources. I came upon the idea of weaving a tapestry geology map. Learning about the geology fascinated me. I love the patters that mineral mapping creates. So, I decided to weave a geological map of Crozet made from my sheep's wool. It's the minerals under the ground that made such rich soil upon which my sheep grazed across the verdant meadows.

I thought about development and zoning. Crozet is the designated growth area of Albemarle County. Every 3 days a new house is completed. It is a stunning and accelerated building cycle in this area of Albemarle County. I found a population density map and was interested in the geometric patterns of development and how zoning affects the land use. You can see that Crozet is densely populated near the roads and the center of town. Routes 240 and 250 limit growth in the center of town. Outside of the roads, the country begins. 

Lastly, I thought about the agricultural history that makes this place so beautiful. Apples, pears, peaches, grapes, cherries, and flowers grow here. Rachel Willis made dye from plants from this area. She dyed all the Navajo Churro used to weave "Colors and Flavors of Crozet.” A friend pointed out how routes 240 and 250 make a wine glass shape. So, I changed the orientation of this weave to showcase the "wine glass effect" of Crozet's topography.

It was a joy to weave these tapestries and I do feel more connected to Crozet now. I exhibited these tapestries along with others at Crozet Library April 28 to June 9, 2026.

Minerals

Crozet, Virginia

(2025)

Crozet, Virginia is a productive and fertile agricultural area. I used to raise Navajo

Churro sheep on my farm. Why is the land so productive? It’s because of the

mineral that lie beneath. This is a map of the minerals under us. The red roads are

250 and 240. Wool warp, wool and linen weft 18"x 27"

R-1, R-2, R-4, R-6

(2025)

Crozet, Virginia is situated against the Blue Mountains. Historically, it is an agricultural

region. Now, it’s a designated growth area. I explore what that growth looks like in color

and texture. The white lines are the three main traffic arteries that surroundthe central

village of Crozet. The colors of the weft represent residential zoning districts and building

density. The darker colors represent increased housing density.

Wool warp, wool and linen weft 18"x 25."

Map of Crozet

Colors and Flavors

(2026)

Apples, peaches, sunflowers, alfalfa and grapes and other fruits grow here. Crozet

is surround by vineyards. I oriented this version of the map series so that it looks

like a wine glass. Have you ever noticed how routes 250, 240 and Crozet Ave. create

a cup?Wool warp, wool and linen weft 12"x 18" All natural dye by Rachel Willis.