Commissioned by the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program  •  charcoal, acrylic, polytab on alumalite, 2019

Industrious Light: Wilde Mill Yarns is located in the Wissahickon neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Artist Phillip Adams worked closely with the new developer of the historic Wilde Yarn Mill, and connected this painting style to four other of his works related to the Industrious Light series. The mural was created using washes of charcoal powder and acrylic paint to polytab cloth. The cloth was then sealed and installed over Alumalite panels installed over the foundation stone in each archway. The scale of  the imagery is seen from Main Street and I-76. 

Established in 1884, Wilde Mill was the oldest and last completely intact American carpet and yarn mill in Philadelphia until it closed in 2008. The mural panels showcase some of the original machinery used during its height of production (the one predominantly featured was to separate the wool). As the view moves from left to right, red yarn is seen coming out from the machine and spreading through the interior of the mill. The yarn wraps around pillars, creating a space resembling a loom that feeds to a creation of a historic Navajo rug pattern. One of the company’s major, and last, customers keeping the Mill running were the Navajo rug weavers from the Four Corners area of the Southwest. The yarn produced at the mill was one of few yarns suitable in quality and texture for traditional Navajo rugs.