Back to Spring Cleaning

The last bit of machine sewing resulted in a satisfying number of empty spools.

I do enjoy using my stash of resources.

I sent a swatch sample to the SDA Swatch Collection.

It is a piece of bed-sheet that was wrapped around a maple tree for over a year. I stitched it with the colours I observed on the tree during the February new moon.

Then I  went back to getting my studio in order.

 It was only while following this urge to clean up that it hit me  - I have spring-fever.

Amber, our son's girlfriend, gave me this delicious yarn last Christmas. She bought it in a Melbourne market cause it looked like me, she said.

Hand spun, hand dyed, chunky Australian merino wool by Hawthorne Cottage - hawthornecottage.com.au

I wound it into a ball and put it out to wait for it to tell me what it wants to be.

While cleaning up I came across this piece of light-weight silk. 

It said it wanted to be with Amber's yarn.

Now they sit there together - waiting.

Studio Tidy-up Time Continues

I am taking my time cleaning up my studio because it is giving me time to think - the type of thinking that goes on when my hands are busy and the music is up loud. The ideas just rise to the surface and all I have to do is jot them down for later contemplation.

One of my recent treasures a friend picked up for me is an old Gray & Dunn biscuit tin full of silk threads...

...on wooden cotton reels.

I will wait to see what they want to become.

More Christmas Knitting Completed

Amber's Christmas knitting is finished - for the 2nd time. I guessed her head size and made it too small the first time round.

It is Fleece Artist's Ana Bandana in their luscious Woolie Silk (65% wool/35% silk).

Amber lives in New Zealand and there is no rush to send it to her because it is summer there. I am sure she doesn't want to be reminded winter is coming, just yet.

I was successful with an auction bid for this copper kettle and tankard.

Now I am set to do some natural dyeing with a copper mordant.

More Christmas Knitting Completed

Take some delicious yarns: (left) -3 ply wool & silk hand-dyed by Fleece Artist & (right) Diamond's lace weight pure silk...

... add needles & follow Fleece Artist's Ana Bandanna pattern.

The 2 yarns blended together so well into a softly draping sunset-looking fabric.

Younger daughter modeled it before it was packed up and sent to her older sister.

The pleating at the back looks like origami.

I have heard it fits well.

Synesthesia #24 - Golden Yellow

Continuing the Synesthesia series.
Collecting up #24 Golden Yellow fabrics and sorting by value.

...and threads. An opportunity to use some of my many gold threads.

But sparkly wasn't right for how I feel about this colour.
So my collection of sparkly gold threads will have to wait their time for another idea.

Art in Quebec City

Jean Paul Lemieux, Sketch for "The Ursulines"1951
This work caught my eye because we had spent a morning doing research in the Ursuline Museum.
Evidently the artist spent about 2 years working on this idea for a painting.

It's final form was a big change in style from his earlier works.
He entered it in the 1951 Quebec Art Competition and won 1st prize. It was bought by the art organisation.
In 2011 they also bought the sketch and were able to put the 2 together.
"Finally united, the two pieces provide access to Lemieux's thought processes at a turning point in his career".

We saw a retrospective of Leopold L. Foulem's work, mainly ceramics.
This teapot was my favourite.

Vanessa Yanow, 'Collaborer avec son histoire - Incarnation I', 2008.



It looks as though Vanessa used vintage iron-on transfers to place the motifs on the cloth imitating the embroidered table cloth but here the motifs are not placed in the conventional locations. She then embroidered the motifs in the traditional way using silk thread.
Glass embellishments were added.


The centre of the cushion is a mound of clear glass balls...

...filled with samples of the embroidery thread and transfer patterns used, feathers and pieces of transfer printed cloth.
This cushion was included in a very interesting exhibition of many different works made of glass.

Articulation Visits the Ursuline Nuns Workshop and School Museum

Articulation's 2013 study session was in Quebec City. One of the highlights of the week was the time spent studying embroderies produced by the Ursuline nuns and their students.

They had specialised in producing heavily embroidered textiles for the Catholic churches and their priests.

Their main techniques were raised gold work and long and short stitch silk and wool thread painting.

'Alter Frontal : Holy Family at Rest', early 1700s.

Wool, silk, Japan gold, Japan silver, gold and silver with plate, purls and spangles on moire silk satin ground; bobbin lace.

Articulation and Material Girls at Tulista Galley

Barb McCaffrey and I have been sitting in the gallery every day, with breaks when 2 other Articulation members, Wendy Klotz and Donna  Clement, visited for a couple of days each.
We set up a mini studio so we can continue to work while people visit.
It has been sunny most days so I have been dyeing.

I have been dyeing protein fibres: wool, mohair and silk, with easy to use Gaywool dyes.
Over the 11 days we have had over 700 people visit the exhibition.

Another SDA Conference Exhibition - Elise Deringer & Kelsey Wiskirchen

'Looking Through: New Work from Elise Deringer (right) & Kelsey Viola Wiskirchen' (left) at the AnArte Gallery, San Antonio.

A close up of  'Olivia Wade and Lizzie' shows Kelsey's signature technique - free motion stitch over net.

This work is huge, 100" w x 53" h.
The gallery was barely wide enough to get back far enough to view the work.

The lighting added another dimension to Kelsey's works, creating repeated lines on the white walls.

Here is a low quality image of another large work where Kelsey drew with her machine a page from her journal.

'Residue #9 (Why I Wake Early)', 3 pieces, each 40" x 13"
Elise Dereinger's work is very different - opaque where Kelsey's is transparent.
Here Elise has run ink and sand inside silk, dyed pillow-case forms. Her spontaneity and lines-left-to-chance contrast with Kelsey's intense pre-planning.
I was sorry I couldn't get more images of Elise's work.

'Memory, poetry, and landscape come together in this two-person exhibition that examines internal self, the external world , and the space between.'

Back to the SDA conference

Portia Roy's work was captivating - obviously very personal although her artist statement tells of universal trauma to the human body.

I found her series of small works repulsed me while at the same time they drew me in.
I've never experienced that before, while standing in front of art.

In another way I was captivated by the simplicity and complexity of work by Dawn Scent (Wei Sun).
She has used the essential design elements to show atmospheric perspective in a classical Chinese landscape scene - Xia Gao?

By using the simplest of techniques -burning silk to give a brown edge - she singed the fabric using burning incense - a strong and, at the same time, subtle reference to the sense of place and to her inherited culture.
Masterful!

Synesthesia #2

I decided to go with low intensity colours.
Next step is sampling. I sample only enough to see if is giving the effect I want.
I really want to use the luscious piece of patterned silk but it is not working.

So I got out fabric paints to darken the value and to make the pattern less dominant.
This is the simple ground I decided to work on.

I sewed loose, wavy lines over the whole ground.
Then I added fabric strips starting in the top quarter of the ground.
 A large open zig zag over each fabric strip gave the dynamic feeling I wanted.

Synesthesia #2
I snapped this image in my studio. It is not a good photo but I think it shows the strong upward movement I was working for.