Paper magic

Following are some entries for an art contest at the Hirshorn Modern Art Gallery in DC. The rule was that the artist could use only one sheet of paper.









Aren't these fabulous?

Hanging on in there

Thank you so much for your good wishes. I'm not very good at enforced idleness, and the worst thing about this sort of bug is that you don't feel like doing ANYTHING. However, I've been reading, watching TV, doing a bit of knitting and even managing to do some painting on the other monoprints. I don't think these will look as good as the first one, as some have a lot more dye and less white space to fill, but I'm going to complete them anyway.
Also I've rethought the Naked Men a couple of times, and at last I'm pinning down how to finish these. I've always wanted to call this set "Comfortably Numb" after the Pink Floyd song - maybe it's the rhyming of "numb" and "bum" here? I'm not sure. Anyway, I've printed some of the lyrics onto 3 of the pieces, in a light grey as a shadow and then again in a darker grey. You'll need to click on the photo for a closer look - I intend that the words are soft and in the background so they don't show up sharply.

So now I think I'll just do some minimal quilting and complete this. Not today though - it's over 30 degrees Celsius today and far too hot to be upstairs even now, approaching 6pm. Another day.

Feeling poorly

I am on Day 3 of a flu-type bug I picked up from a woman at work, which is why nothing is artistically springing forth at present.

Send me some good vibes!

Changing Tastes (and quite a bit of talking)

It's interesting how tastes change - and here I am referring to making our artwork rather than food or men or anything else. At one time, I loved working with brights and sharp contrasts; but now I am right into browns and the colours of nature. Murky is great! Dull is interesting!

Last week, when I did some monoprints, I mixed up a bunch of browns - Nutmeg, Chino, Chocolate, also Burgundy, Ecru, Celery, Rust Orange, Bronze, Turkey Red, Midnight Blue - you get the idea. Not brights, but a very earthy set of colours. Then I did two layers of monoprints, which gives a lovely effect. I would have done more, but didn't think to put paler colours on first so I left it at 2 layers.

When I taught monoprints at the 2007 Quilting Symposium, I bought thin plastic chopping boards to put the dye on. I didn't realise that the paint would "bubble" - I don't know how else to describe it, but it becomes separate blobs instead of staying in a single layer. Initially this annoyed me as it wasn't what I wanted but when I wanted to monoprint, these were all I had, and I've come to like the effect they give.

Today I only had the afternoon to create in, and I couldn't be bothered mixing up dyes, so I decided to add fabric paints to the monoprints to cover the white patches. Below is one as I work on it - using a very fine paintbrush. Again, I'm using earthy colours - Ecru, Ochre, Burnt Umber, Sulphur Green and so on.

And here is the same piece when I've finished. I love this! To me, it looks like tundra (ok, I know I'm a Southern Hemisphere gal) in summer bloom. Time to crack out my Sandra Meech books to get some stitching ideas - she does wonderful works on tundra, though she's actually been there. Never mind, if my colours aren't true, that's what artistic licence is for!

A bit more PIF.....and a bit on VD

Today I received this lovely silk scarf in the mail from Susie Monday. It's part of the Pay It Forward (PIF) Challenge that some of us bloggers were involved in recently. I haven't done this sort of thing with silk scarves, only random dyed them, so I'm delighted to receive this.

Valentine's Day has come and gone, and I'm sorry to report that once again I failed to receive any cards, hearts, flowers, chocolates or other demonstrations of affection from the opposite sex. Nor did I send any. This commercial emphasis on coupledom just serves to make us usually happy singles feel like we're the only ones on our own, though of course that's not so.

I want to have another go at flour paste resist so will hopefully spend time on that over the weekend. The working week is over, and now I'm relaxing.

Scraps

After doing the monprinting, where the fabric pieces had to fit the size of the plastic I was printing on, I was left with some smaller pieces of soda soaked and dried fabric. I decided to use up the leftover dyes on these, plus a couple of little clean-up cloths shown above. I folded the plain pieces in various ways, and tied them with loose threads. One had a pin to hold it in place, and another a bulldog clip. Then I tipped the leftover primary coloured dyes randomly on each piece, starting with Tangerine, followed by Midnight blue.
The I put the last of the Turkey Red, and followed this with some of the various browns I was using. I had visions of sepia tones in my head, and this was what I was trying to achieve with the flour resists - a pale background with browns and dark blue cracks and markings. I didn't manipulate the fabric much as I didn't mind if it had some white patches.
Here are 4 pieces, which are very pretty.
So is the last one, and even the little cleaning cloths are quite nice. Putting the browns on last gave the other colours time to strike and those first colours came through in the final result, despite being heavily dowsed with browns.

Play Day

As promised, I've spent today on creative stuff. It's amazing how blissful a whole day to play is. I did some monoprinting in layers (photos to come later, as I'm still doing the layers) and also some flour resist. Above is one where I "wrote" in the flour, and I was very keen to see how it would come out. I let it dry, crumpled it, and then applied dye.
Here it is with dye painted on - I love the look of the crackle background and the lettering is clearly visible. Click on the photo for a closer look at the patterns.
After hot washing, drying and ironing. I love how the colours have gone very subtle -the light brown has turned quite pinkish - but it wasn't what I expected. The wording is no longer visible and far more dye attached to the fabric than I thought.
Here's another of the 3 that I did - this had no designs in the wet flour. Above is the "before" shot.
And here is the "after". Again, the flour has toned all the colours down, but most of the dye has still penetrated the resist. And lastly, this one - no "before" shot was taken, just this "after" one.
This one was done with a whole pile of different browns. Lovely subtle shades, but little hint of the underlying design as most of the dye got through.

Summary: more work necessary. There are a number of possibilities as to why these didn't come out as expected, so I'll keep experimenting.

#400

Yes, this is indeed the 400th blog entry! Yippee! Thanks to all my lovely readers who make blogging so worthwhile. Now I know I haven't been posting much over the last couple of weeks due to pressure of work - the new business is time-consuming, plus I am back to being a hands-on "mother" for Arisa. In my spare time, I get to process and pack my dye orders for the other business. Sigh.

However, I haven't been idle, and I have several things on the needles, as I knit in the evenings when I'm relaxing in front of TV. Also, I found this lovely book at the University Bookshop (interestingly enough, this is located at Christchurch Hospital, where I was passing time waiting for someone who had an appointment there).
Apologies for the flash reflection on these photos which were taken last evening. You probably won't be reading this book unless you're a Kiwi, as it's about New Zealand craftspeople. There are several quilters/fibre artists in it but I found the other artisans inspiring - see the following collages:

Intricate bone carvings in Maori designs; a lovely wooden bowl inlaid with paua (abalone) shell; a carved wooden statue.
Felt hats; glass beads with "flowers" inside them; and these gorgeous flamboyant teapots.

I've also just received the latest issue of "Quilting Arts" magazine. I can't believe there are so many articles in it about things I want do and am poised to do! Monoprinting! Monoprinting in layers! Framing! Ah, I love that magazine.

Today I am exercising self-control and packing my dye orders BEFORE being creative. Anyway, I have to soda soak some fabric for monoprinting so need to wait for that to dry. Then I have PLANS!

Arisa from Japan

This is Arisa, who is 16 and from Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan. She arrived in New Zealand on Saturday and will be staying with me for 10 weeks, atending the local high school and improving her English. Here she is holding up her new school uniform.

Left or right brain?

I was interested to see this test, as I work with both sides of my brain.

Readers are asked to study the graphic and then read out the colour, not the word. The difficulty in performing the task is down to the fact that while your right brain will try to say the colour, your left brain will be more inclined to say the word. Aim to complete the test in less than a minute.

If you can complete this test easily then the right side of your brain is dominant. If you find it hard you're a left brainer.

EFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
(anti-clockwise)
uses logic
detail oriented
facts rule
words and language
present and past
math and science
can comprehend
knowing
acknowledges and appreciates
order/pattern perception
knows object name
reality based
forms strategies
practical
safe

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
(clockwise)
uses feeling
"big picture" oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy & religion
can "get it" (ie. meaning)
believes
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
impetuous
risk taking

My right brain rules - what about you?

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em....a rant

My goal for 2008 as far as my art is concerned is "to get my art out there". Yes, I know I'm repeating myself, but if I say it often enough, I may actually DO it. In order to get that happening, I need to devise ways of framing/finishing/presenting it so it can be displayed along with other art. I already know how to finish a quilt for a quilt show - what I want to do is have my work alongside ORDINARY art -no offence intended to painters here.

The biggest hurdle we art quilters/ fabric artists /textile artists /mixed media artists (take your pick) face is that art made from fabric does NOT get the same respect or sale prices as paint on a canvas. This is not confined to New Zealand - I have seen passionate discussions on international mailing lists saying the same thing. The buying public have a mindset that quilts (and therefore fabric arts) are a "craft" and therefore of low value. Or is it that they are just not used to seeing quilting and fabric as art? The old dears at the local quilting guild don't help this any, with their scandalized comments about prices charged on quilts for sale at quilt shows. This all devalues the worth of what we do. Also it makes me mad.

What is the difference between paint on canvas and paint on fabric? Where there's excellent design, use of colour, technique and so on, why should one be worth more than the other?

Working on the philosophy of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em", I am going to present my art in the same way as painters do - the big names in art quilts are already doing this (I am a late starter in most things) , and it seems to get around the problem to a large degree. I'm hoping this DVD from Jane Dunnewold (www.artclothstudios.com) will help - I haven't watched it yet, but it says on the back "This how-to guide is perfect for anyone who wants to choose the right finish or frame for any work of art". It's aimed at fabric panels, mixed media artwork and everything inbetween. I'll let you know how i get on.

UFOs

I started back at work this week, although I don't officially take over the business till 1st February. Of course, in my line of work, working does not automatically = earning money.

I haven't really worked for 5 months, so it's both exciting and exhausting. I will have around 300 customers, and should really try to meet them all, but I don't think this is logistically possible. As a result, my focus is now on making a living and developing the business, so the creative side has to go back to being a weekend activity.
As part of my plan to for 2008 to get my art "out there" (wherever THERE may be), I've dug out some UFOs (UnFinished Objects) which I'll concentrate on completing. Above is "Look Left, Look Right" (top only, unquilted).
Can't remember what I called this one. It's all quilted but needs binding. I love the quilting design on this - click on the photo for a closer look. This is a favourite piece I painted while my ankle was broken. This was when I first started to do "cutouts". It is also an unquilted top.

What is it?

I have no self-control, so I won't make you wait till tomorrow for the answer. In case you're the same!

"I am not deigning to look at the camera, Human. You should be averting your eyes as you gaze upon my magnificence. Or at least, my magnificent bouffy hairdo.""

Cressy after a visit to Groomingdales (dontcha love that name?). I love the smell of the shampoo they use, and their shaved muzzles are soooooooooooooooooo soft and velvety. White poodles have black skin on their muzzles, but it's pink in most other places.

On the needles

This is actually more "off the hook"! This is my 3-D crocheted vessel.
I have finally finished the long rib-and-cable section of this cardigan. Now I'm starting to pick up the arm stitches to knit the sleeves the same way. This merino 4 ply knits up beautifully. But I got a bit bored with just knitting this pattern, so I started this:
Another cardigan! They're trendy now - for many years I considered cardies to be the pastel Bri-Nylon things my mother wore, and wouldn't have a bar of them. Now, I think they're great! And there are so many lovely modern patterns. This is an interesting lace design from Just One More Row (sorry, can't make a link work at present) - the curved bit is the right front, and this is brushed wool that I found at the op shop - 8 balls for $10. I blame Melody Johnson of Fibremania (have a look here - scroll down to December 15th) - this is another pattern I saw on Melody's blog and just had to have. I don't think she's made the pattern I'm using, but there are other great patterns on the site.

And this is a few agapanthus and gladioli from my garden.

Review

Several readers have asked me to review this book, so here goes.

I am not familiar with the author Susan Stein but I see that she has been quilting for many years, has a quilt store and takes classes. I bought the book because I liked the look of the artwork on the cover, and the fact that the book covered a wide range of techniques for art quilting.

Best things about it :-
: the techniques were well illustrated and amny showed four different ways of applying them.
: a very wide range is covered, some of which you don't find elsewhere such as making fabric beads, burned edge appliqué, distressed felt, rust dyeing, doing stuff with silk cocoons and the like.
: some very appealing discharge work and fabric collage

Worst things about it:-
:no real criticisms except that I am already familiar with many of the techniques

Overall appraisal : I'm still happy to have bought this book despite the above comment. It's easy to follow, has lots of ideas, and brings a host of things for art quilters together in one place. Many surface design books concentrate on putting your mark onto the fabric but not with what happens next. This book goes that little bit further.

Phew! it's hot

For those of you getting through winter, I'd just like to mention that it's mid-summer here and quite frankly, it's STINKING HOT at present. Yesterday was 34C (which is 93F for American readers), today is slightly cooler but tomorrow will be about the same as yesterday. I've had to put water on some plants during the day just to enable them to get through the heat of the day before I do a proper evening watering.
It's really too hot to spend much time upstairs doing any artwork. I'm interested that quite a few readers have said they thought the Elvish Door looks fine as it is - maybe I'll just do some stitching on it but no more surface design.

Here's some mid-summer garden photos.

Cutout part 2 - The Elvish Door

(click on the photo for a closer view)
Interestingly, when I came to write on this, I did it the other way up - in the earlier photo, the greenish part is at the top. I didn't notice until I'd finished, but decided I like it this way anyway. The words are in both Elvish and English and wander all over the place - it's not my intention that people should actually stand in front of it and read them.
There's no writing on the frame nor on the verticals - it may not be apparent, but the cutout in in 4 "panels", and each one has a different design.

Now I have to think about what to do next - this is by no means finished.

Farewell - Sir Edmund Hillary

A New Zealand icon, Sir Edmund Hillary, has today died at the age of 88. Best known for his conquest of Mt Everest in 1953, Sir Ed was the most well-known and admired Kiwi of our time. You can read more about his life and work here. He epitomised the quintessential "ordinary Kiwi bloke" and is immortalised on our $5 note.

Cutout

This is the finished cutout that I showed you in drawing form on Monday. I've just cut bits of it at a time, as it's time consuming and fiddly. originally I had intended to place it over one of the monoprinted pieces, but decided these were too pretty to cover up. So I found a piece of my Blended fabric that I didn't particularly like in the piece, but which had some interesting colour changes, and fused it to that.

Now to decide what to do from here! Any brilliant suggestions are welcomed.

Still relaxing

I am still in Relaxed Mode, until next week when I get into partial Work Mode. Relaxed Mode is wonderful, but unfortunately does not contain any money. Nevertheless, I..err...the Evil Twin I mean....has been bending the plastic at Amazon. This arrived today.

While much of what's in here can be found in other books I have, I always find there's some idea or technique that I hadn't come across or thought of. I am going to be very busy come 1st February - the date I take over my new business - so now is a good time to play around.

I'm off to give blood this afternoon, so a good book or 2 to look at when I get home is called for. I never feel very good after donating blood, but I do it because of Roxy. She needed blood products of all kinds while she was sick - red cells, white cells, platelets and whole blood, depending on her condition at the time - and I really appreciated all the people who had donated blood that she used. I do urge anyone reading this who is in good health and not already a donor to consider becoming one. It could be you or a loved one who needs it next.