Not as easy as I thought

In my last post I talked about enjoying my social network, as so much of it relates to my creative life.  Serendipitously, an opportunity came up to join an informal sketching group, one of the areas I want to experience.  Today was the first meeting.  One lady had taken it upon herself to set up an organizational system, that required each of us to accept responsibility for providing instruction for one of the sessions, over the next few months, and for each of us to submit a sketch for critique at each session.  I had anticipated a much more informal set-up, where I could progress at my own speed, starting at my own skill level, with hopes of improving that level.  As well, most of them were asking to concentrate on aspects of figure drawing, not something I'm looking for at all. While I realize that figure drawing is an important aspect of sketching, I do not believe I am skilled enough to experience any success with it at all, and without some sort of positive experience, I would quickly become discouraged.  That skill level might come in the future, but I'm not there yet.  Nor do I use figures in any of my fibre work, most of which is more abstract.

So when the organizing lady turned to me and asked when I would take on all of the preparation and delivery of a class, I simply said that I had been looking for a more informal class, and that I would be opting out.  And I left.

But this means that my goal of a sketch a day will require an awful lot of self discipline--not my strong point.

I can't believe it's been so long!

Firstly, I had to completely re-make the exhibition piece I was planning with all of the very small squares in hand dyed green. ( I had trimmed it 1/2 inch too short for the exhibition)  Then, I was preparing to attend the yearly networking retreat and Annual Meeting of the Fibre Art Network.
                        http://www.fibreartnetwork.com/ 

This event can be held anywhere in Western Canada, and this year was local.  It was my pleasure to assist with the planning, although in a minor role.  This is a wonderful event, filled with individual artist presentations, lots of networking, field trips, and a great deal of major planning regarding the running of the organization.  It's one of the most stimulating things I do for my creative self.

One of the things talked about was the need for professional artists  to develop, and follow, a plan for their own individual professional life.  This will, of course, include the artist's individual long and short term goals.  This is something I've neglected for the past few years, while I was dealing with health issues.  Today, I sat down to take a look at this, and realized that my main goal is to be alive in five years, and healthy enough for social activity.  Now, I'm not being silly about this.  So, my intent is to improve or maintain my physical and mental health.  Physical Health is personal and somewhat self evident. Under Mental Health is my need to be creative, part of which is my need to have an active social network, as my social life consists primarily of the people and activities essential for my creativity.

This came as a bit of a surprise, as I've often felt guilty for attending social events, as it took time away from the studio.  Now I realize that these same social activities are essential to me, and well worth the time I devote to them.

And now for something entirely different....

Last weekend I took a workshop in Polymer Clay-Complex Canes.  This wasn't my first workshop, but I tend to make a bunch of stuff and then leave the clay alone for lengthy periods of time.  So what does this have to do with Needle and Thread?  I love to use the clay items in both my hand work and art quilting. Sometimes I use pieces as a focal item and design an entire small piece around them.  This is particularly effective if I use a background of needle felting, hand embellished , and then add a clay button or cabochon as the focus.  These pieces are usually about 8" by 10", and have sold well at craft and art shows--so well that I have none to show.

I also make beads.  One of my signature techniques of the use of mass beading on some of my more art-y pieces.  I love the challenge of making the pieces, and many of them have sold well, and for a good price. Again there is no picture, as I lost them all in a computer crash.  Oh Dear!

Well the best bet is to show you the items I created this weekend.
Beads, Cabochons, and some molded pieces. 

 Using the mold is very useful.  While one of the best features of the clay is the vibrant colours available, all polymer clay items can be painted with acrylic paint.  I've even toyed with the idea of using gold leaf on it. The grey faces are headed for the next reliquary I make, and the white ones may come into use, if the grey ones aren't quite right.  The discs are headed for a small embroidery.  The beads will just go into my collection of beads, to be used when the right project turns up. ( Oh do I have beads, more than I'll ever use, but great fun to play with!) The flat pieces toward the upper right of the photo will likely become focal pieces in smaller works.  I've got to think about the flat molded pieces, but tend to think they might end up in a reliquary as well.

And I still have lots and lots of clay to play with.

I plan to link this with The Needle and Thread Network.

Starting over

With the exhibition piece "going south", ( see previous post)  I decided to take a bit of a break before starting over.  This piece has been bugging me to finish it for awhile.  I have a pile of hexies that I hand piece, during those few moments when I'm watching tv.  It's always a challenge to figure out what I'm going to do with them once they're pieced.  I was going to make a knitting roll (organizer) with these, but it kept telling me that it wanted to be a tote.  Since the knitting roll would take another metre or more of fabric, and I don't knit, I agreed.  I FMQ'd it using Superior Theads' Fantasia 5207--a yellow/orange/red/purple variegated Trilobal Polyester, that I've found to be a very useful and versatile thread.  I use  my take on McTavishing, but once it was finished found that the quilting disappeared into the hexies.  The whole piece looked much better on what was to be the inside than what was to have been the outside.

Above is what was to have been the inside of the piece, with the FMQ'g complete. and below is what was to have been the outside of the piece complete with FMQ'g.  The basic square ( and it must be a square) finished to about 17 1/2" square, which was then bound.

Here it is clipped together ready to hand stitch.  

 Once it was stitched, I added a twisted cord of #8 perle cotton, and a plastic curtain ring wrapped with the same #8 perle cotton, so the closure could be tied, as well as a small carrying handle.

The finished tote is large enough to hold a hand work project and supplies.

I plan to link this with The Needle and Thread Network

Disaster!

Finished quilting my exhibition piece.  Very nice, I was well pleased.  Then to trim it.  I mis-calculated , and cut it 1" too short.  I cut it exactly as calculated and measured, but my calculations were wrong.  A whole week's work down the tubes. After some bad language, and a trip out to Starbuck's to defuse,  I sat down to talk to myself and ask " What now?"

Well, it's not a large piece.  I can probably start over again, and may well have enough fabric to re-make it.  I had used all hand dyes.  What a waste!  However, I don't have to have it in to the show until late December.  Lots of time.  And none of the appliques had been attached, so I have them ready to go.  One thing that I struggled with, and had to re-do was the actual size.  I had to add to both the length and width, and that can sometimes show.  So maybe not so much of a disaster.

But, not today.  For today, I think I'll sit down and read a book, maybe listen to soft music, and generally relax.

More green

The leaf prints came out very well, and I ended up with many more than I will use in the current project.  I plan to applique them onto a pieced background, and am now piecing that.  I have cut the squares 1 3/4 " by 1 3/4" so that they will finish to about 1 1/4".  

I have a  "portable flannel wall" made out of a piece of 2" thick styro-foam, 2ft by 4 ft.  I can take this anywhere I want to work, and lean it against a table or chair.  I did this, and then sat in front of it to arrange the squares in a good array.  They were then pieced, row by row.  Here it is in progress, and a close-up of the finished rows.  All of the fabrics are hand dyed, most of them by a low water immersion process.  I have tried to create a slow gradation from light to dark, from top to bottom, of the piece. Sorry about the poor colour in the close-up, The first picture is close to actual colour.  I had trouble with the flash, and the second one got over exposed.  I didn't realize that until I actually posted them.

As the finished piece will be entered into an exhibition, I won't be able to post it when it's done.  Sorry about that.

With the left over cut squares, I plan to piece them together into a square about 10" by 10", to use as a "doodle cloth" to try a couple of different options for quilting the piece, and for attaching the leaf prints.

I plan to link this with The Needle and Thread Network

Leaf Prints

There are a couple of small pieces on my worktable that I feel call for leaf prints, so today was the day.  The tree the leaves came from is very high, and my poor husband had to use a very long extension handle to knock the leaves off, but we got some very nice one, and the right size too!  We also discovered that the tree is infested with aphids, but that's another story.  

Since my current interest is in colouring and using older cotton Damask table linens, I used a large napkin that had been very gently treated in its past life, and was in pretty good shape.  I still stabilized it a bit with spray starch on the reverse side.

I'm very pleased with the result. My work space is fairly simple, a piece of glass to use as a palette, a bucket of water, two brayers, textile paint and textile medium, paper towel, and, of course, a bunch of leaves.  The fabric is stretched over a single layer of batting.  I put the leaf in the paint, wrong side down, cover it with a paper towel, and firmly press or roll ( using a clean brayer over the paper towel)to make sure all of the back is covered with paint.  Then, carefully lift the leaf off, position it on the fabric, cover with paper towel, and press again, ( using a clean brayer).  You'll notice that the fabric is marked to help position the various leaves. After they dry, and are heat set, I plan to stabilize the fabric with a light weight stabilizer and cut them apart with pinking shears.  They can then be raw edge appliqued over a pieced background.

I plan to link this with The Needle and Thread Network.