fragmenting and old fractures, and a fairytale fabric

Girl, City Garden and something else are in pieces all over the house, all in warm colours, vying for attention and not knowing who they belong to. I thought they were for specific projects but they’ve been moving around, claiming territory in each other’s acreage and  for that mystery third piece. I’ve separated things out in project boxes, but because several of them are being used as demo pieces for the FrankenStitch class, they have minds of their own as to where they “should” be.

Girl/rose and thorn panel almost finished

I’m rethinking layouts and size, and maybe some of these chunks are going to be, supposed to be, on their own.

And oh what this rainy October, age and intensified stitching have done to my left thumb! I bashed it many years ago on Bowen Island chopping wood: the maul slipped and so did the log and landed right on it, fracturing it. Since then in times of stress or damp, it sets itself on fire. I’ll have to coddle the poor thing today, wrapped in soft little blankies and sung to sleep with a little lullaby……

Also wanted to say, my FrankenStitch students are an amazing lot, diverse and innovative! It’s interesting to see how others are approaching the “style” with colour choice, fabrics and module design. Teaching the class is allowing me to be more creative as well! I’m trying new applications of my basic FS stitches and new looks for them. Thank you my students! I hope to use many of these new ideas on my “Waterworks” piece for the 2012 FAN exhibit in North Battleford, Saskatchewan.:) BEAUTIFUL gallery!!!!!! And nope, you haven’t seen any of it yet, because it’s still in the Stew Stage:)

Ethereal, exquisite, empyrean…………..rose and cherry on silk:

Cherry Park 2

Dreamy!

 

stitched jellyfishes

There’s actually little left to do on this: piece a strip into the bottom band, pop a few more jellyfish on the warmer coloured side, do a bit more seeded back stitch to anchor everything, then put a backing on  and finish the edges.

Fired up for working on the “must do” work again after this lovely break!

 

Sea Change lives again

This UFO looked like this, early afternoon after being put away since the spring:

sea change b dec 28/10

You can’t see the difference, but i can:

sea change july7/11

The bleached silk bars are all tacked down now, there are more sea anemone flowers and jellyfish are making an appearance:

This Cloth to Cloth (one of Jude Hill’s classes) piece was started in September or October of last year–i’m glad to be nearing its completion!

 

a good start but time for the break

Coming together nicely, but time to turn elsewhere while more ideas percolate. When you stitch the same area three different ways and it still doesn’t look or feel right…..

I’ve also to write my proposal for a one month residency at ACAD again through Contextural, and finalize my plans for the show at the end of the year with an “intent to enter” letter. The 3x3x3″ max size for that one is proving to be a bit problematic!

 

one panel down, thirteen to go……….

This might go a wee bit faster than i thought The fun thing is that while every panel goes together as a whole in the end, each one allows for different interpretations and additions of stitch, kind of a big sampler as i work it. I’ve started stitching on the next one, number 4 actually in the plan with 3 being the first i worked on.

panel 4 (2nd worked panel) march 18/11

panel 4 details, march 18

I had to bunch up the bottom of the left hand strip–too long to handle while stitching, it will be attached to the bottom part of the panels…oh bugger, that means i have more than 13 to go…….”forgot” i have yet to rust, discharge and rip the bottom black strips!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can’t do the rest of the hand bones that connect to panel 3  (they’ll be right about where the bunched strip starts in this one) until all of the other sections on this are worked: the tension and shrinkage was half an inch on that panel, and i want the bones to line up properly.

And did you know this about BORO?  It’s also a type of “hard”glass, 33COE: needs high temperatures when working with it, but gives endless possibilities for organic-style beads.

 

hoonoo how a hoodoo would felt

horizontal orientation

I sort of consciously made this Hoodoo-ish as soon as i realized it wouldn’t be used as a legwarmer.

hoodoo collage from 2008

YUP. So i cut it open on a woogly line to maintain that organic feel.

Stitching in spare moments coming up

 

panel progress

As of March 8th……

 

start, counterstart, end

Put the needle for the first time to the new big piece, blasted away at a plan for smaller companion pieces to it (and themselves) that will go in the year end Contextural show, and am ready to lay the last of the decorating on Raggedy Black Heart.

It’s been colder and more snowy this winter in Calgary, and as loathe as i am to go out in it, i plan my day according to Nessie the DogFaced Girl’s needs, and i’m realizing that hour long walk means blood flowing in body and brain, which means good, nay, dare i say it, great things happening in the stoodio. I’m energized, more calculating and more spontaneous, which means too that i am also going out, sans Dog, to see things and be with people IRL.

Monday i will be snow dyeing with Karin and the Worldly Women, then going to see Donna White‘s sculptural installation at the Epcor Ledge gallery. Wednesday is a felting workshop with Contextural, who are lucky enough to have a day with Marjolein Dallinga, a world renowned felter (works with Cirque de Soleil too!).

I’m working this in panels because of the size. It’s portable, i can switch from piece to piece without getting bored, and will still be able to work on it after they’re all joined. (Just have to dig through the basement to find the black i want to use for the bottom portion.) I’m already “seeing” this heavily encrusted, and still thinking of adding metal—-which means placement and size concerns, because if i ever have to transport it, how will i do that?

I’d been thinking of this as another of the “Artist’s Body” series, but it’s not, something i keep forgetting. It’ll be associated with that, but stand on its own, a (hopefully) adjunct piece that will be part of an installation project. I’ll change the tag/category later when i know.

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I’m glad i finally got the nerve up to go big–i’ve been stalling and throwing obstacles in my own path for a long time. On Feb 11th, i suddenly thought “well, if i could work big, what would i do?”. Even drawing up a rough sketch, and making “what if “notes can get a person out of a rut, kind of a “what would you do with a million dollars?” question!

I’m still having nights that when i lay down in the dark, the thoughts and feelings slide out of my brain and slither down my throat, filling my heart and stomach, but the periods are getting shorter and further apart. The Black Dog is leashed but will always growl there. The art, talking and face time with actual peoples helps!

 

 

Raggedy Black heart starting to look black

All that stitching is lending authority to the fabrics: the weight is becoming substantial and the tactile quality is amazing.

There is, and isn’t, much left to be done at this point.

 

dyer by day, stitcher by night

This is my current companion each evening now. The heart doesn’t look so raggedy or black at the moment but will when i’m done

The brilliant blue is rather shocking at the moment, too happy, but will slowly be toned down–i had to do that section last night so i could still see the stitches that sank into the red velvet.

I’m as always entranced by what happens on the back:

I’ve decided the BIG piece i have planned will feature some stitching done this way.