Thursday, April 28, 2011

Symposium classes

This time around, I taught 2 classes, each 2 days long.  They were "Pole Dancing with Shibori" and "Faux Batik - Using Resists".  Following are examples of class work.





 The above photos are all from the shibori class.  We also discharged fabric (took the colour out) as you can see in the last 2.
This is Jenny from Australia, who did both my classes.
 A piece of silk shibori - the colours come out quite differently from cotton.



Here we were using paste, glue and commercial resists to pattern fabric, then adding layers of dyes and paints.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

From the Exhibitions

 From the main exhibitions -
Lynn Ogle - "One Flax Flying".  I liked the way this was divided into 3.
 Thelma McGough - "Black Saturday" .  I liked the colours in this memorial to the Victorian bush fire victims.
 Griet Lombard - "Sunset at Waitarere Beach". An novel way to portray a sunset.  Great colours.
 Clare Smith - "A Change in the Weather".  Lovely quilt in a limited palette.
 Wendy Ward - "Michael's Quilt".  Personally, I hate doing paper piecing although I admire the results.  Here the colours are really well utilised.
 Faye Quayle - "Wiltshire Summer Fields".  Lovely lime and emerald greens mixed with browns.

After this, I ran out of batteries.  You know how it is. Sorry I couldn't show you more.
 Later with fresh batteries - the Silk Road Exhibition for which I have no catalogue.  Sorry.  This was the winning piece that I liked for its colours (no surprise there).
 I think the next 2 are from the City & Guilds display.  Again, I liked the use of colour.

 These last 2 are part of the Western Canada Fibre Art Network Exhibition.  The first features a really interesting layout.
This one was digitally printed - very clear image, and (wait for it..) great colours.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - fibre art in New Zealand is as good as anywhere in the world.  Well done, everyone.

Quilts from Symposium - Tutors' Exhibition

 Sue Wademan - "My Piece of Paradise"
 Part of Jocelyn Leath's "Where the Water Flows"
 Gloria Loughman - unnamed
 Yvonne Brown - "Stone Story 111 - Ely Cathedral"
 Jane Sassaman - "Life Totem"
 Part of Jeannette de Nicolis Meyer's "Essential Maps 6"

 Karyn Walton - "Traces & Memories"
Cheryl Comfort - Unfinished Business"

As usual, I only photograph what interests me.  The Tutors' Exhibition is not competitive - it is for the tutors to bring along and display a piece of their work.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Tutors and temptations

Jane Sassaman, Bonnie McCaffery, Jan Krentz - all from USA
 Karen Brodersen (NZ) and Larkin van Horn (USA)
Cynthia Corbin (USA), Lisa Walton (Australia), Yvonne Brown (UK).  We were all out to dinner at the Thai restaurant. It's very nice, but it wasn't the temptation....
...This is the temptation, and the only thing I bought !  100 grams of red/magenta/crimson laceweight merino from Touch Yarns, who had a stand in the Merchants' Mall.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Setting the scene

 The view up the Frankton arm of Lake Wakatipu - on the way to Queenstown.
 There was a light sprinkling of snow the night before.
 From the primary school - one of the Symposium venues...
 ..and further around - the snow is melting.
The gondolas.  Yes, I'm too chicken to go up there.
 View from the lakefront out one way...
 ...and the other.  That's the SS Earnslaw, a steam powered boat.
 You may need to click on this one to get a better look at the paraponters. They often land in the primary school grounds.
 The lakefront showing the lovely colours of claret ashes.
 Statue of William Rees, an early settler and sheep farmer in the district.

Looking back at the town on the way home, soon after sunrise.

More photos coming  - tutors and classes.  Watch this space.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Finished and nearly ready..

 Piles of Blended fabric that I'm taking to symposium to sell.  I have to drop the dogs off at the kennels, then come home to pick up all the boxes and stuff that I'm taking.
Here's the finished stitched version of "Aotearoa".  It's 52 x 42 cm (20" x 16") and made of the aforementioned Blended fabric.  The colours are a lot quieter and more subtle than I usually work with but I wanted to showcase my special fabric in this quilt.

I'll take photos at Symposium and post them after I get back.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to symposium I go..

This is "Aotearoa" - the Maori name for New Zealand.  The drawing I took this from was done by a classmate and he has given permission for me to interpret it in cloth.  This is the raw image - it's been cut out and fused to a background, but that's all.  It's currently being stitched and will be ready to take to Symposium with me tomorrow as my Tutor Quilt for the exhibition.

For more on the quilting symposium, go here.

See you in a  week.  Happy Easter.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Dyeing day

 Today is fine and sunny with little wind - perfect for my type of dyeing.  I need plenty of Blended fabric to take to Symposium to sell.
 These are all one metre pieces and they will be chopped into fat quarters for sale.
 The line was full so I took pieces down as soon as they were dry.  After that, they have to be washed!  It's a long slow process.
I had dye left over, so I grabbed a couple of calico tab top curtains that I'd found in the spare room, and sprayed dye over them.  I'll try to use them somewhere.