Week 3 in My Studio

Welcome back to the studio - it was energizing to be back at work, visiting family and celebrating Christmas was so special - even with an "unusual to us" snowfall....that kept me at home for a couple days. But we kept the fire burning, hummingbirds fed and just enjoyed the rest!

I'm working on creating small vessels that combine paper and fabric with a bit of stitch - its been challenging to figure out the sizing and where to cut - lots of paper mockups were made and destroyed! I have a busy week as some of these will be going into the next exhibition at our local gallery.

I'm planning on a video tutorial on the process soon. With a bit of research I also discovered many other shapes that can be made - endless possibilities!

Last week I showed some images of painted sweeps of black across some vintage linen, I had cut them up and was playing with the arrangement. I got one that I was totally happy with and sewed it together. I am planning to "quilt" it with small x stitches across the surface rather than using more traditional machine or hand quilting.

The other pieces have not played well together and still require some work....we will see!

 I'm happy with this one, the hint of a large X in the middle is appealing and it seems well balanced.

This one is not behaving and I have already made adjustments from this image, it will end up smaller and may even be smaller still.....coasters, anyone?

I have some new Art to Carry Textile Totes set up in my Etsy Shop - they are so much fun to make, each one is different and its a great way to experiment with surface design ideas...

You can check them out here: Art to Carry

There's still time to register for my Cloth to Codex Workshop, I would love to share my ideas and inspirations with you....here's a little video that explains what you'll be learning: 

https://vimeo.com/658057548

You can sign up HERE

Week 2 - My Studio

 Another week that was spent mostly out of the studio - but still art stuff going on...I was busy getting the Cloth to Codex Online Workshop lessons set up on my website. It was fun to revisit some of the videos and look at how I might plan each lesson. Last time they were all on a private Facebook Group and it was fairly straightforward to link to them. Now I need to add more text, still images and edit the videos a bit and set them up as "evergreen" meaning they never expire. AND, there's room for you, I would love to have you join in this creative journey.

You can sign up here:https://www.susanpm.com/2016/11/23/cloth-to-codex/

My Call and Response....

 I was watching the interview on Fibre Arts Take Two with Dorothy Caldwell and Claire Benn,  look on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbSWEfUADOE&t=4015s

... and Claire mentioned her explorations being a "call and response" ... meaning that she will have an idea and respond to it with an exploration to see where it takes her. I think we do this as a "what if" ...

In the interview Dorothy had a grouping of tied pages that reminded me of small books and since I'm in the midst of teaching my Cloth to Codex Online Workshop which focuses on books and mark making I thought of tearing up a large sheet of marked paper into pages....

The paper started as an exercise in .... chasing shadows with India ink. It sat in my cupboard for a few months ....

then I marked the back of the paper ....

and tore it up into rectangles ... and then just laid out the pieces in a random order. First one side ...

and then the other side ....

and arranged them again....

I like how they looked in a stack ...

and took some of the photos into my iPad app and drew over top ...

and then took the photo away ...

....so that's it for now! What's next? Crop and edit? Multi-coloured strips? Not sure but this is my "call and response"

What is yours?

Marking with Stitch

In among some travels and trips off island to meetings and appointments I've been working on sample pages for a book that has been bouncing around in my head. Rather than making small samples that then get lost in drawers, I thought if I put them into a compilation of some sort then I might actually refer to it from time to time. So I'll steal a title from Emily Carr and call it "The Book of Allsorts".....
Here are some of the pages I've done so far on Khadi paper which I love but its darned hard to find locally.

 Even though I think its a bit "twee" I like the limited use of colour and the delicacy of it. Also the combination of watercolour and stitch - it includes the scraps of a well worn doily.

 Simple lines and dots with a bit of thread - unpretentious but dramatic!

 This is the reverse side of the one above, the red loops work well but the brush marks are a bit wimpy....

 Good concept of overlay - but not enough contrast, I'll work on more of a similar idea...

 It's okay but not much else....

 Free motion zig zags....I'd like more variation in size, density and orientation

 The stitches work well but again, the background isn't dramatic enough...need more negative space.

 This I like!

 A bit like tree bark...I think if I work into this more with marker or washes it might be better.

 Yup - its good, machine stitch design isn't the best choice however....

 Probably my favourite....

 Yeah, as a composition its ok, otherwise just "meh"

So again, the reverse side of the one above - a better combination of shape and line - simple but acceptable....

What have I learned about my ideas so far with these samples? I like the simplest of marks combined with basic stitches, not because they are easy but rather they seem to be more engaging, spontaneous and have some elements that are suggestive rather than literal. The hand stitches are more organic, less precise and structured.

My Book of Allsorts" will continue to grow - I'll add binding soon - but a few pages left to build.

It's Been All Black and White....

Even with lots of visitors and fun this summer, I've managed to get a fair bit of work done - some of it the essential paperwork but also the essential art work! I've made some more books and found that to be a very welcome creative release - make one that leads to another and another and another - just the way it goes....

I made several small-ish books that were totally fun and then a few more serious....I had some beautiful linen that came from a thrift store or something - it has the most luscious drape and hand to it. I knew I want to use it for something special and I've dyed some and also painted on some of it - just big circles....then I added torn strips of shibori that really seemed to echo the lines so nicely.

Tide Lines

Tide Lines - unfolded

The long strips were pressed on the fold lines and the book is bound only in the centre, then the folds/pages come into the centre.
I'm so pleased that Tide Lines will be part of the Victoria Arts Council  - Celebration of BC Culture Days to be held at the Cedar Hill Arts Centre, September 20-30, 3220 Cedar Hill Road. Please stop by for viewing!

Ready for My Closeup!

I'm in the midst of finishing some fabric books to enter in a couple of upcoming exhibitions. I took the last stitches in one that I've titled "Tide Charts" and since its so very long, traditional art photography just wasn't going to work.
So I drove down to the far end of South Pender Island and got set up for what I'm calling "glamour shots", basically photographing in unique situation which I hope will showcase my books to their best advantage......I have a lot to learn! With all the wildfires here in the province, its been so smoky and overcast, not nice to be outside at all.....at the beach it was like a fog, I was barely able to see more than a couple hundred yards in any direction. But being overcast meant there were fewer shadows to contend with.

"Tide Charts" was placed on rocks, on the shoreline, on logs and more. No one picture was totally outstanding but I think a couple of them captured what I envisioned.

Not a good idea to photograph straight on!

Not enough contrast on the log....

Not bad, but fighting with the big rocks....

Best one, I like that the flow is mirrored in the seaweed.

Totally lost - shipwreck! 

I also took some of my other books and was pleased with those photos....its an entirely different approach than taking pictures on my design wall....sitting on the ground looking up at them, making certain the grass, bugs, and leaves are out of the way or not! At least my subjects were still and not jumping about or flying off!

Good value contrast

I managed to get some of the water behind!

 

All in all, it was good fun, and I learned a lot - plus I'm so happy to live where I can go out and do things like this. The air quality is supposed to improve and I pray that the fire crews will ahve rain soon.