Backyard Project: Next Came the Driller

The driller drove his specialised, high-tech machine right up to the blast site.

He used a steel rod to measure distances before spraying a circle of orange paint.

He put on ear protection then began to operate his machine.

Over each circle, he drilled a hole into the rock. It was so noisy and dusty. The windows and walls of the house were getting covered in a fine dust. I rushed to close all of the windows but Ron knew what was going to happen and had closed the house up before me.

He moved his machine down to the second area to be blasted and drilled.

I was pleased to have confirmed the paths I had designed were indeed wide enough for smaller vehicles to travel along.

The driller inserted a red plastic cup into each hole

Then he left, with his machine.

He left behind two piles of finely ground granite where he emptied his machine. I gathered up this dust and sprinkled half of it on all of the new garden beds. I figured it was so finely ground it wouldn't take too long for the plants to be able to access these in-situ minerals.

Backyard Project- Preparing for Blasting

Much excitement.

A truck backed up the back track with a most unusual load.

Old rubber tires have been threaded together with steel cables and secured with metal brackets and bolts.

HHS Drilling and Blasting had arrived to prepare for the blasting needed to be done before the next phase of construction could begin.

It was another one of those specialised, high-tech vehicles. This is command central tucked under the heavy duty hoist. The first task was to lower the stabilising legs on either side of the truck.

Next, the driver hung the remote controller from his neck and proceeded to unload the very heavy rubber mats.

Then he left.

Backyard Project - August, Finally the Rock beds are Flourishing

After working out the bugs in the soil were thriving under a thick layer of straw mulch and eating every sprouting seed, I removed the straw mulch and planted a third lot of seeds. By August those beds were covered in thriving plants.

These purple snap bean plants were most prolific and delicious, along with a yellow variety.

Fava/broad beans matured later and grew tall but I didn't bother staking them.

There were also scarlet runners that attracted insects and hummingbirds to their flowers.

4 different types of kale and a border of mesclun garnished with nasturtium flowers and leaves have kept us in salad greens for 3 months so far. 

The comfrey grew back quickly after its last cut back. I will cut it back again giving it a chance to grow some before the winter and colder temperatures set in.

The globe artichokes and a number of different squash were planted because they grow large and will provide lots of biomass to the soil when dug in. I'm not sure the growing season will be long enough for the squash to mature but in the meantime, they are certainly growing large leaves and trailing along the beds protecting the soil.

I planted 4 different types of potatoes. After a potato patch had been harvested I covered the remains with a thick layer of straw to encourage the soil organisms to get busy at what they do best - making soil.

These green mulch crops have been most successful and the food harvest has been an added bonus.

Horticultural Centre of the Pacific - a regular haunt

The Horticultural Centre of the Pacific is many things and there are many reasons to visit. Ron and I have been members from the first year we arrived on the island and we continue to visit for different reasons.

This visit focused on studying the Butterfly and Insect beds. I was looking for plant ideas for the Water Drop Insectary and Feather Bird Haven hugelkultur beds in our Backyard project

Hmmm... there is a possibility - Amaranth - red to attract hummingbirds, seeds for fall bird feed and it is a dye plant. I am particularly interested in multi-functioning plants.

The Butterfly and Insect bed is right next to the Plant Sale Centre. I whipped out of my bag my plant lists, gave one sheet to Ron and we searched for wanted plants. There was nothing that day but next visit I may find enough to fill the car.

Since I have been building a number of different types of stone walls for the Backyard Project I have been noticing stone walls everywhere. This is one of my local favourites.

We stopped in for a drink at Charlotte and the Quail Cafe before leaving knowing we would be back for the upcoming Fall Plant Sale.

'Earth Repair' - 3 Years Later

2014

3 years 3 months after the emergency while living outside wrapped around the Indian plum I brought the 3 afternoon tea cloths inside. 

They were carefully washed, dried and ironed. I was hoping the laundering had stopped the decay processes.

There is much staining and decay and large holes had appeared.

How to preserve this cloth? The usual way to repair a cloth is to darn it but the whole cloth is in such a fragile state didn't think it would support darning. Another way to repair cloth is to add a patch. When I thought about it, adding patches is the way the soil is repaired each year. Leaves fall from plants and trees and cover the soil. Organic processes work on breaking down the leaves to return them to the soil.

I was thinking about this soil repair idea when while out on a walk I noticed the Tulip tree had a skirt of leaves reflecting the shape if its branches. It was using its leaves to replenish the soil it grows in.

I looked more closely at those fallen leaves and saw the majority had decayed in such a way that only the veins were left. They were leaf skeletons.

I collected them up and soaked them in water to remove the soil and pine needles.

I left them to dry.

They are quite lovely in their fragile state. I had this idea to repair the tea cloth with these fragile leaves. I hand stitched leaves directly onto the cloth over the holes. At the top of the cloth I stitched a row of eyelets, wove a jute string through them and inserted a stick I found near the Tulip Tree. 

The cloth hung on my design wall for the year, still too delicate to do anything with.

2015

When the Tulip tree was dropping its leaves again the next year made me look again at the still fragile afternoon tea cloth.

I wanted to add more leaves but I wanted to make the skeletons stronger while still appearing fragile. It was time to sample. I coated leaves with various mediums but they tended to fill the holes and look a bit shiny. I ironed on a fine fusible web. I liked the look.  

I added the bonded leaves but I couldn't iron them in place. I decided to machine sew them in place using the finest thread I had with the finest needle.  I liked what was happening and decided to add another layer of leaf skeletons next fall.

 

2016

I added another layer of bonded leaves using a combination of hand and machine stitching.

The cloth with its leaves was stronger looking but getting very dried out and brittle. I added a thin layer of liquid Min Wax. I thought this last effort had ruined the whole thing. It was shiny and stinky and ugly. I just left it hanging thinking I would throw it away when I got around to it.

But one day it caught my eye because it had taken on a transparent glow and the layers of leaves were more visible giving an interesting depth. And it wasn't stinky anymore. 

I was going to add yet another layer of leaves until it got accepted into the World of Threads Festival. Once our work is accepted we have to promise the work shipped will be exactly the same as the images we sent in with the application. 

I can add the next layer of leaves after it returns home.

PS This is what the Indian plum tree looks like fall 2016

Still alive...

...but the bark doesn't look very healthy where the deer ate it.

The fungus growth on the middle trunk indicates the tree is dying.

Maybe the deer knew the tree was old and on its way out.

'Earth Repair' - the Beginings

'Earth Repair' began as a response to what I considered to be an emergency situation.

March 11, 2011 - quoting from my journal -

'Emergency. It has been a long winter here on the island. The deer are hungry. They are eating the bark on my precious Indian Plum. I need to care for this tree. The deer have free choice in the rest of the forest - even my emerging spring bulbs but my Indian Plum is not part of their buffet.

I am placing sacrificial tea cloths over the wounds to protect them. First, I lost my needle - I felt vulnerable and inadequate - I couldn't do what I needed to do because I had lost my valuable tool. Flashback to an earlier time when women depended on their needlework skills to survive. A lost needle was potentially a loss of livelihood translating to an increased risk of not being able to adequately care for her family.

I ran inside to get another needle after I had given up searching in the deep layers of moss and decaying leaves. When I returned with another needle I found my first one hanging by a thread - ties in with that vulnerable feeling again.

I was having trouble holding the cloth in place and sewing at the same time which had lead to the loss of the original needle. Then I heard a distant ambulance siren reminding me this is a triage situation.

Another run inside to get my wooden-based pin cushion, given to me by my mother. A reminder of how important life skills are passed from one generation to the next.

I was now performing the required surgery as I pushed a couple of pins into the bark to temporarily hold the edges of the cloth as I sutured it in place.'

The 'Earth Repair' cloth with embroidery wrought by and unknown hand.

Sutured in place around the wound to stop the deer from eating more of the bark. 

I have since read the Saanich First Nations people make a bark tea as a purgative and a spring tonic. Perhaps that is all the deer were doing because they had upset stomachs after having to eat plants not usually in their diet.

Continuing from my journal entry - 'The tea cloth continues to function - to protect wood and in doing so sacrifices itself to the elements - it was raining as I secured the cloths in place.

Inside the home, the cloth would be used to present food - outside it is now protecting the bark so the tree can get its food....

The cloth has been taken from the horizontal to the vertical plane. Does it still read as a table cloth? It has been taken from a smooth flat object to a wrinkled curved form. Does it still read as a cloth?'

These were musings for the development of work while I was studying for a BA (Hons) in Embroidered Textiles. After 6 years of study, my graduation exhibition work was related to my thoughts and actions on this Day of the Emergency.

'Earth Repair' Makes it into the World of Threads Festival 2016

Lesley Turner, 'Earth Repair' 36" x 35"/92 x 89 cm, 2011 - ongoing, embroidered (anonymous) vintage cotton afternoon tea cloth, leaf skeletons, cotton & polyester thread, jute string, wooden branch, MinWax; tree staining, washing, ironing, hand & machine applique, waxing.

This work has been accepted into the World of Threads Festival 2016 in the 'Late in the Season' exhibit in the display area of the Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre in Oakville, Ontario, from Saturday, October 29 to Sunday, November 27th, 2016.

Whippee!

I spent most of the day following the instructions in several emails explaining exactly how to get the work ready for hanging and how to box it up.

I made a box so the work will fit snugly and not move around much while in transit. I made the box with a reuseable cap so it can be reused to return the work. 

The work can not be folded or even rolled because of the many layers of delicate, dried, leaf skeletons stitched to the cloth. 

Inside the box, I made a suspension system to hang the work from the top. 

I sewed together pieces of bubble wrap to make a snug bag to pad the work while it is in the box.

Then there was all of the documentation required. Make a label with details of name and title and secure it to the back of the work. Type up hanging instructions with images. Put my name and email on every piece of packaging and both parts of the box. Include a spare set of hanging devices - just in case. Phew!

Now to wait until the right day to mail the box so it arrives between the 2 dates set for the arrival of work in Oakville. 

Dawne Rudman and Gareth Bate are the organisers, curators, festival originators and all of the other jobs it takes to mount such a large exhibition of work from around the world - 134 artists from 24 different countries. You can see why I am very pleased to have work selected again for this festival.

Dawn and Gareth curate the exhibitions with a system I think is unique to their festival. They put out an international call for artists' most recent work and wait to see what comes in. They look at images of the work while identifying some common themes. Work is selected that fits the chosen themes. That's how I think they work.

Next post I'll tell you why this unassuming work has taken 5 years to make - so far.