The old saying "Life is what happens while you are making plans", comes to mind these days. Various stressors in my life right now, but my computer issues appear to have been resolved. I'm still missing some of the sites that I had bookmarked on the internet, but that will come with time. I have the special ones. My studio has always been my savior when I find myself under stress, but at the same time, my creativity diminishes. But this time, I'm finding myself putting things together, using the "Mod meets Improv" techniques I learned over the summer. Not great art, but original work. None of the pieces is large enough for use on a bed, but that isn't stopping me. Since these pieces are larger than my usual wall hangings, the issue of quilting has come up. Do I want to try to quilt them myself, or give up some control to a long-armer? I was very pleased with the result last time, but the urge to do it myself is always there. Since I have no long term use for them, I think I'm going to try it with one, and just see how it works out. Nothing ventured, right? But, I have a hunch there is a long-armer in my future
At the same time, I continue to work on the presentation I'm doing for the LQG. Two of my Fibre Diva friends have loaned me pieces for the show, and the Power point part of it is now out of my hands. Now I just have to rehearse my speech, and get it firmly in my mind, while making sure it will only take the 20 minutes I've been allowed.
Saturday, November 30, 2019
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
A tiny bit of heaven
My computer issues remain unresolved, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The temperamental computer I bought is going back and a new one--an upgrade is on its way. I should have it by the end of the week. It means the hassle of setting it up again, but I've been promised professional help with that, so am able to relax a bit.
In the meantime, I got to do some studio work today. Some of you may know that between art-y projects I have been slowly working on Jen Kingwell's "Long Time Gone" pattern. This is somewhat of a stress reduction strategy, as it involves very precise piecing of tiny pieces. The precision needed leaves no room in your brain for thinking about anything but what you are doing. Yesterday and today, I finished 21 churn dash blocks each 3"square, finished. They had been cut some time ago, and had been hanging around my design wall making a nuisance of themselves. But now they're done. Then I decided to start some more imrov piecing. Since my elderly wrists won't tolerate more than a minimum amount of rotary cutting, I taught my husband to do the basic cutting. He has done a lot of my cutting, for years. He says that this improv stuff is the easiest he's ever done.
So, a few hours of peace and contentment, in a world that has been anything but recently
In the meantime, I got to do some studio work today. Some of you may know that between art-y projects I have been slowly working on Jen Kingwell's "Long Time Gone" pattern. This is somewhat of a stress reduction strategy, as it involves very precise piecing of tiny pieces. The precision needed leaves no room in your brain for thinking about anything but what you are doing. Yesterday and today, I finished 21 churn dash blocks each 3"square, finished. They had been cut some time ago, and had been hanging around my design wall making a nuisance of themselves. But now they're done. Then I decided to start some more imrov piecing. Since my elderly wrists won't tolerate more than a minimum amount of rotary cutting, I taught my husband to do the basic cutting. He has done a lot of my cutting, for years. He says that this improv stuff is the easiest he's ever done.
So, a few hours of peace and contentment, in a world that has been anything but recently
Saturday, November 9, 2019
Not much action lately
There have been two major projects on my mind, and neither of them involve studio work. One is a major organizational project for a group I volunteer with, and the other is a presentation on "Embellishment", complete with photos and a screen presentation, as it will be a fairly large audience.
Add to this a major computer fail, and the acceptance of the need for a new one. We've all heard of lists of the most stressful events in one's life--divorce, death, moving etc, but I don't remember reading about computer fails in any of those lists. Buying a new laptop was simple, but add to that data transfers, and then the need to set up the new one--I've done nothing much else for the last three days.
However, my DH and I did take a few minutes for some R&R, and ended up at a small casino out of town. A nice buffet lunch, a few minutes at the penny slots, and off home with more than we started with. My habit when something like that happens is to take a little of the money, and spend it foolishly. This is one thing that lottery winners are told to do. Well, I spent more than I should have, and here is the result. Does this look like $130.00 worth of Beads? they are all metallic, and all but two of the tubes are manufactured by Miyuki. The bobbins of bead thread contain my favourite go-to thread--not cheap. So I understand the cost, but still feel a little guilty. As my husband says "you have enough beads at home for a store, why do you need these?" Don't care. He can spend the rest on furnace filters, but these are mine!
Add to this a major computer fail, and the acceptance of the need for a new one. We've all heard of lists of the most stressful events in one's life--divorce, death, moving etc, but I don't remember reading about computer fails in any of those lists. Buying a new laptop was simple, but add to that data transfers, and then the need to set up the new one--I've done nothing much else for the last three days.
However, my DH and I did take a few minutes for some R&R, and ended up at a small casino out of town. A nice buffet lunch, a few minutes at the penny slots, and off home with more than we started with. My habit when something like that happens is to take a little of the money, and spend it foolishly. This is one thing that lottery winners are told to do. Well, I spent more than I should have, and here is the result. Does this look like $130.00 worth of Beads? they are all metallic, and all but two of the tubes are manufactured by Miyuki. The bobbins of bead thread contain my favourite go-to thread--not cheap. So I understand the cost, but still feel a little guilty. As my husband says "you have enough beads at home for a store, why do you need these?" Don't care. He can spend the rest on furnace filters, but these are mine!
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Just about there!
All of the collage work is finished on my two 12 by 12's. Next comes beading. For these pieces the beading will be minimal, rather than the encrusted beading I love. The circles are created by painting the glue side of fusible webbing, that is attached to paper. When dry, it's supposed can be just fused on, but I found it wasn't that easy. I had to remove the paper and make sure that the paint side was closest to the iron. I also wanted to warm up the pieces a bit. So I used a copper metallic thread to attach the circle--admittedly more decorative than functional. Then I put the copper metallic in two other places on the piece.
My next step is to figure out how to attach the pieces to the wrapped canvas. I have always wrapped the piece around, and stapled it down, but this is rather bulky because it's backed with industrial felt. So, my options are to cut it exactly to 12 by 12 and finish the edge--always a difficult chore, for me. Then glue it to the canvas, after adding a layer of paint to the canvas. This would mean not having to finish the back to hide the stapled edges. But I'm really not confident of my skill in doing it this way. A third option would be to remove the canvas before wrapping the edges of the piece around--which is the direction I think I might go.
I plan to link this to The Needle and Thread Network, and maybe to Nina-Marie Sayre's Off the Wall Fridays.
My next step is to figure out how to attach the pieces to the wrapped canvas. I have always wrapped the piece around, and stapled it down, but this is rather bulky because it's backed with industrial felt. So, my options are to cut it exactly to 12 by 12 and finish the edge--always a difficult chore, for me. Then glue it to the canvas, after adding a layer of paint to the canvas. This would mean not having to finish the back to hide the stapled edges. But I'm really not confident of my skill in doing it this way. A third option would be to remove the canvas before wrapping the edges of the piece around--which is the direction I think I might go.
I plan to link this to The Needle and Thread Network, and maybe to Nina-Marie Sayre's Off the Wall Fridays.
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Still trying to figure it out
After doing a lot of thinking, I suddenly realized that in trying to plan hand embroidery, I'm trying to work with old skills--things I can no longer do. Why not go with my current skills? Than means getting down to machine work. So, instead of giving up on the 12 by 12's, I've put together two backgrounds for collage and machine embellishment.
During my recent "purge" several things that could potentially be used in this were thrown out. Most of what is left works well in a white/gold colour scheme. I've used some cotton hand dyes, but also several scraps from silk kimonos. The pictures aren't good, but the pieces all work together, and I look forward to starting the machine embellishment tomorrow.
During my recent "purge" several things that could potentially be used in this were thrown out. Most of what is left works well in a white/gold colour scheme. I've used some cotton hand dyes, but also several scraps from silk kimonos. The pictures aren't good, but the pieces all work together, and I look forward to starting the machine embellishment tomorrow.
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Frustration
We've experienced a severe snow storm the last couple of days, and since any sort of travel is discouraged, that means lots of studio time. I decided to start work on some 12 by 12 pieces I wanted for my gallery show in May. I had no firm idea of what I was going to do, but figured that the smaller area required hand stitching as opposed to pieced work or FMQ'g. Borrowing a technique described in a recent Art Quilt Studio magazine, I used Inktense blocks to make marks on several small pieces of damp cotton, and then diffused those marks with more water and elbow grease. I was thrilled with the result, but the backs of the pieces were often more appealing. I still didn't have a clear idea of what I might be doing, but decided to try using several pieces of fused glass that had been gifted as focal points. One piece had an amazing orange-y pink/brown colour that I just loved. I doesn't photograph well so you'll just have to take my word for it.
I did a bit of rubber stamping, as suggested in the magazine article. Maybe not a good idea. Then I selected thread and such for the embellishment. After quilting it, I found I wanted to accent the stitched area a bit more, so needle felted a wisp of roving into it, the colour of which just about matched the darker lines of the InkTense blocks. Glued on the glass, and stitched it down with invisible thread. Started stitching, and worked on it, slowly, for about an hour.
I'm not thrilled. As I said the colour is not true. The background is an orange-y/pink with vague brown streaks.
This has sent me into a "blue funk". My creative skills appear to have diminished significantly over the past couple of years. I haven't produced anything that really "stirs my blood", in all that time. I wonder if this is a part of aging, or maybe the first echoes of diminishing brain function? Maybe a function of poor preparation? Regardless, I am frustrated. Creating an image and puzzling out how to a achieve it, used to come easily to me. Have I boggled my mind with too many new and different techniques? My two most significant mentors were aunts who remained creative well into their 80's and 90's. Does this mean that I'm aging that much more quickly than them? This is certainly the longest period of creative block I've ever experienced.
Many years ago, I started a "prompt" jar, by writing down bits of ideas on paper, as they occurred, and putting them in a jar for use when I didn't know how to proceed with a troublesome design. I also have a couple of pages in my sketch book containing similar notes. Maybe it's time. And maybe it's time to abandon my plans for the 12 by 12's, and find something else for my show.
I did a bit of rubber stamping, as suggested in the magazine article. Maybe not a good idea. Then I selected thread and such for the embellishment. After quilting it, I found I wanted to accent the stitched area a bit more, so needle felted a wisp of roving into it, the colour of which just about matched the darker lines of the InkTense blocks. Glued on the glass, and stitched it down with invisible thread. Started stitching, and worked on it, slowly, for about an hour.
I'm not thrilled. As I said the colour is not true. The background is an orange-y/pink with vague brown streaks.
This has sent me into a "blue funk". My creative skills appear to have diminished significantly over the past couple of years. I haven't produced anything that really "stirs my blood", in all that time. I wonder if this is a part of aging, or maybe the first echoes of diminishing brain function? Maybe a function of poor preparation? Regardless, I am frustrated. Creating an image and puzzling out how to a achieve it, used to come easily to me. Have I boggled my mind with too many new and different techniques? My two most significant mentors were aunts who remained creative well into their 80's and 90's. Does this mean that I'm aging that much more quickly than them? This is certainly the longest period of creative block I've ever experienced.
Many years ago, I started a "prompt" jar, by writing down bits of ideas on paper, as they occurred, and putting them in a jar for use when I didn't know how to proceed with a troublesome design. I also have a couple of pages in my sketch book containing similar notes. Maybe it's time. And maybe it's time to abandon my plans for the 12 by 12's, and find something else for my show.
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
Re-visiting Shibori
Today was the monthly meeting of my fibre art support group, who call themselves The Fibre Art Divas. Under that name they are recognized a a group to watch. They currently have one travelling exhibition, Prairie Perspectives, and a second one, Home Is..., currently being organized. Our meetings are a lively exchange of ideas, as well as a genuine critique session that the members trust.
Today the question came up about how we use the fabrics we create with Shibori, or Eco-dying and printing, or anything else where we make significant changes in the appearance of the surface of the fabric.
In response to that discussion I would like to discuss a couple of the pieces I have created with my Shibori dyed fabrics. I had a wonderful "how-to" book that I used as a resource in all by Shibori dyeing, but can't find it, nor do I remember the title and author. Also missing is the correct terminology for some of the techniques I used. My apologies.
My first effort consisted of overdyeing some previously dyed fabrics using a basic Shibori clamping technique. I then added leaf prints to some areas for focal interest.There is one piece of pole wrapped Shibori, but at the time, I really wasn't sure how to use it in a piece.
The next piece was made using nothing but hand-stitched Shibori pieces. I had far more than I could use, so chose pieces based on a colour scheme. This piece has a great deal of hand quilting to complement the stitch, based dyed areas.
The third piece was made with pieces selected from my "stash" purely on the basis of colour. It includes some stitched, some pole wrapped and some folded and clamped sections. It is completely machine quilted.
Lastly, I put together a lot scraps from the previous efforts, using a colour scheme again. Do you sense that I have an affinity for a blue red or blue green analogous colour scheme? This piece was quite "blah" until I added the purple circles. This addition completed the analogous colour scheme and totally changed the finished effect. It is machine pieced, machine quilted and the circles are fused applique.
Today the question came up about how we use the fabrics we create with Shibori, or Eco-dying and printing, or anything else where we make significant changes in the appearance of the surface of the fabric.
In response to that discussion I would like to discuss a couple of the pieces I have created with my Shibori dyed fabrics. I had a wonderful "how-to" book that I used as a resource in all by Shibori dyeing, but can't find it, nor do I remember the title and author. Also missing is the correct terminology for some of the techniques I used. My apologies.
My first effort consisted of overdyeing some previously dyed fabrics using a basic Shibori clamping technique. I then added leaf prints to some areas for focal interest.There is one piece of pole wrapped Shibori, but at the time, I really wasn't sure how to use it in a piece.
The third piece was made with pieces selected from my "stash" purely on the basis of colour. It includes some stitched, some pole wrapped and some folded and clamped sections. It is completely machine quilted.
Lastly, I put together a lot scraps from the previous efforts, using a colour scheme again. Do you sense that I have an affinity for a blue red or blue green analogous colour scheme? This piece was quite "blah" until I added the purple circles. This addition completed the analogous colour scheme and totally changed the finished effect. It is machine pieced, machine quilted and the circles are fused applique.
Now I'm worried that this whole trip down memory lane may result in more Shibori work. Whoops!
I plan to link this with The Needle and Thread Network, as well as Nina-Marie Sayre's Off the Wall Friday
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