Burning of the Barrens

This piece is long in the coming.  Several years ago when I first discovered free motion stitching, thanks to a book by Ellen Anne Eddy, I thought I would try to depict a picture of the blueberry barrens when they are burnt.  It did not turn out.  I had neither the skill nor the understanding of the barrens that I have today.

I am somewhat obsessed by the barrens and for those of you who have seen them, for good reason.  Vast areas of wilderness Maine are covered in wild blueberries.  In the spring they blossom and summer finds them loaded with berries and during that time they are harvested in a back grueling method old as...well, old.  In the fall the fields are burnt for purposes of bugs and proliferation (this was done by native Americans long before the first European came along)  and in the winter they are a deep scarlet red - all winter long.

I cannot describe the vastness of the barrens in the downeast area of Maine.  One could become lost easily; they seem to go on and on.  I am not the first artist to attempt to depict the barrens, nor will I be the last.  Below please find my latest attempt (and best thus far) of the burning of the barrens.