Eco-printing on Tree Cloths

After washing and ironing the eco-printed samples...

..i found them uninspiring.

 

This Cedar stem showed the most potential as a dye source.

I tore off pieces of the Cedar tree cloth and soaked them in a number of different pre-mordants,
sea water...

... almond milk and ash water. Each sample was coded with the different combinations of pre-mordants it had been soaked in. Sample cloths were left to dry slowly, outside on rocks in the garden.

My Turn to Respond

The tree cloths were inside, now it was my turn to respond in this ongoing dialogue. Perhaps I could add more marks on the cloths using materials from each tree. I needed to test each tree's dye/stain potential so used India Flint's eco-printing technique of tightly wrapping material with cloth and steaming it.

Maple leaves left marks.

As did Arbutus.

Cedar

Douglas-fir

Tree Cloths Removed

In March 2011, after 14 months, I took the tree cloths off the trees, laid them on the grass to dry then brought them inside. They were washed and ironed.

Were these domestic activities to be my response in the dialogue?

Each tree made distinctively different marks. 

I left the cloths up on the wall for quite a while, not sure how I was going to continue the dialogue.

What did I want to say?

My tutor advised me it was time for more sampling.

Staining on Tree Cloths

By November 1st snow and cooler temperatures slowed down the rate of staining on the tree cloths.

In the darkness under the Cedar tree its cloth stayed wet and had decayed more rapidly than the others.

By November the Cedar tree cloth was in a fragile state.

over the summer and fall I had continued with other dialogues within the  Douglas-fir ecosystem. I laid a piece of cloth on the ground and left the leaves and debris fall on it. Each week I would uncover a corner, cut off a piece and bring it inside.

On windy days I tied a brush to a branch and held a framed cloth up for the tree to draw on.

Most of these dialogues suggested ideas I could take further but it was the tree cloths I decided to focus on for my BA(Hons) studies.

Tree Cloths

Within a few weeks, the cloth wrapped around the Cedar was rearranged by fauna running up and down the sloping trunk. I didn't touch the cloth.

By October staining was clearly visible.

As I had hoped, each tree stained its cloth in a distinctly different way.

The cloths are tied on the trees with a hand made jute string I bought at 10,000 Villages store. It was showing signs of decay too.

BA(Hons) Graduation Exhibition Work

I have been rather quiet on my blog this past month or so because I have had my head down stitching. I am working on my final work for a degree I have been pursuing for the past 6 years. Soon I will be finished. My final work began over 2 years ago when I initiated a series of dialogues within the forest I live in. One of these dialogues involved wrapping cloth around tree trunks.

I wanted the trees to leave their marks on the cloths.

I selected 4 different types of trees, hoping for distinctive marks from each one.

Cedar - Arbutus - Douglas-fir - Maple

Cellular Automata

Cellular Automata; Rule 110

Cellular Automata: Rule 30

These are the 2 works I entered in this year's faculty exhibition.
They were inspired by the work of  knitter Debbie New - one of Canada's best - in her book 'Unexpected Knitting, published by Schoolhouse Press, 2003.
Cellular Automata are systems governed by simple rules to produce snow flakes, to determine how cells divide, and to generate molecular structures.
These rules can be applied to knitting to produce self generating patterns, each rule producing a different pattern.
These utility towels remind us cellular automata systems are at work in our daily lives.

I used a hand spun linen/rayon (dark) and a wool/hemp (light) in a fair isle technique.

Hand to Hand Opening

This evening we went to the opening of the Victoria College of Art faculty show at the Cedar Hill Gallery

10 faculty members are showing work

Here am I with my 2 works

Art history instructor, Yvonne Owens (on left with mic), with a pick up band treated us to a tribute to Kate Bush.
The Victoria School of Ballet's award winning students also performed for us.
It was a fun night out.

Hand to Hand: Works by Teaching Artists

Tonight I'm getting my work ready for this exhibition
I'm entering 2 knitted hangings
The opening on Thursday will be most entertaining!

Bay of Fundy & River Thames

What is the link between the Canada's Bay of Fundy and England's River Thames?

image above - Bay of Fundy on a blustery day

Bay of Fundy on a tranquil day
Local past time - 'tide watching'

Scene from Ye Olde River Thames

Living wall in heart of London near River Thames

here are some more clues to the link between the Bay of Fundy and the River Thames

Two Continents

Two Groups

One Passion

Material Girls present

Articulated Materials: Bridging Waters

A transatlantic collaborative exhibition by

Materials Girls (U.K.) and Articulation (Canada)

Venue:

Date:

Opening

Times :

The Brentwood Road Gallery,

The Frances Bardsley School for Girls

Brentwood Road, Romford RM1 2RR

22nd February - 2nd March 2012

Wednesday-Friday only 9.30 - 16.30

(Final Friday until 15.00)

Saturday 10.00 -13.00

For more information ring: 01708 472468

www.the-materialgirls.co.uk

"Hand To Hand" - Works by Teaching Artists

 The faculty at Victoria College of Art is having their annual exhibition this month

Here is all the info about it

Do hope you can see it

I will be at the opening on the Thursday evening - looks like it is going to be lots of fun

Hope to see you there

Lesley

"HAND TO HAND" - Works by teaching artists:
Performances, dance, textile arts, mixed media, installation, tapestry, painting, drawing, sculpture, claymation puppets....

Opens:
Monday Feb. 13 – Feb. 19

Reception:
Thursday 7.00 p.m. February 16 at CACGV( Community Arts Council Greater Victoria)  Gallery, Cedar Hill Recreation Centre (3220 Cedar Hill Road)
At the reception on Thursday, giving a Degas touch, there will be a performance by two award-winning students, Kie Matsuit and Joel Exposito, from the Professional Training Program of the Victoria Academy of Ballet.
Monday (opening day) and also Thursday evening,  a performance piece by  Yvonne Owens, Leyla Mitchell, and Atomic Vaudeville's Mily Mumford --  who will present ‘Military Industrial Dreamers: A Kate Bush Tribute Piece.’
  
Contributing Artists:   Andy Wooldridge, Lesley Turner, Victor Arcega, Danielle Hogan, Joanne Thomson, Carol Thompson, Tony Bounsall, Paul Peregal, Steven Dickerson, Yesman Post, Joyce Kline, Yvonne Owens, Georges Daigle.

Sponsored by the Victoria College of Art, the CACGV and the Victoria Academy of Ballet

Enquiries to CACGV              250-812-6112 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            250-812-6112      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            250-812-6112 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            250-812-6112      end_of_the_skype_highlighting      end_of_the_skype_highlighting        or
Peter Such
President, Victoria College of Art1625 Bank St. Victoria V8R 4V5www.vca.ca              250-598-5422 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            250-598-5422      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            250-598-5422 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            250-598-5422      end_of_the_skype_highlighting      end_of_the_skype_highlighting