Author: arlee

I am a Canadian textile artist in Calgary, Alberta. As textile artists, we connect and are connected to communities larger than our Selves, or our immediate environs. We encapsulate culture, technique, history and innovation every time we touch cloth.
Posted in Crafting, Indigo Dreams, Jam Day, journal: lessons to learn, Moons, Studio Realities

laughing at myself

Posted on by arlee

First project of the year, a little test for scale, motifs, use, this needle book is for me.

5×4″, indigo, madder, cochineal, tansy, osage, sandalwood, quebracho rojo, linen, cotton, silk, naturally dyed “*orts”, beads. I won’t show you the inside: apparently some 4 year old snuck into the studio and worked that part! 🙂

I had grand plans for this little work, thinking i could make multiples and offer them in my shop, enticing people with price and portability. HA! If i actually charged what that *should* be, no one would pay the price. A common problem many makers have, either inadvertently, or deliberately, is actually pricing the true value/worth an object has cost in terms of time, skill, design and materials, assembly, and in my case, the dyeing of cloth and threads, and hopefully a small markup for profit. This Thing took the same amount of time and work as one of my larger moon pieces! Would *you* buy a $100 needle book? Nope, me neither.

At least i know my new indigo vat is working though and i *did* cull some ideas for other work from the making and thinking time!

*Orts are the left over short ends of threads (or teeny weeny scraps of fabric) used in other projects.

Posted in a collusion of ideas, Collusion: sampling, Self Directed Workshops

a little R&D never hurts

Posted on by arlee

Research and Development, or Refresh and Dive in 🙂 We all have favourite things we’ve done, but i know *i* sometimes forget i’ve done them!

Can you believe it’s almost 2020? How did that happen? I remember dating a school book 1963 and suddenly it’s 2020??? Anyways, i’m starting to plan for this next phase in the studio, even though i don’t believe the flip of a calendar page is magic. The last week of each year however does bring a certain amount of introspection and wondering what’s next. Here’s my first mashup inspiration, with lots of colour and texture and a few techniques i’d like to meld. There’s an old “scroll/shine book” behind everything, lots of blingy beads, gorgeous silk velvets, bits of embroidery in unfinished projects, old drawings and lots of hope. Who knows what will result?

Because we recently packed up, and then unpacked (which somehow has taken much longer than we thought it would…….”what a drag it is getting old”, as the Olde English Poets sang..), i’ve been reminded of some of these things.

Above, scroll/shrine book from 2009,

below ecoprint bags with machine lace from 2013. (These were a FB FybreSpace give away a few years ago, so not in my mashup 🙂 )

I’m out of practice too, so had to get in some “scribblin'” time with this old technique! EEEUUW, i need a LOT of practice again, won’t even show you what i did–Lalage has never been the best of machines, but but but!

The gorgeous silk velvets i’ve done the past year:

I still love hexes:

And the Suzani inspiration:

Looking at old drawings

I’ve promised myself this coming while too, to use more of my bead stash. There’s NO earthly reason why they can’t be combined with natural dyes and hand embroidery because after all, (while beads then were stone, bone, shell or metal) they were used historically as well. Sequins too!

Above, detail of work on Hoodoo Sky, 2009

Life has started going back to normal after our sudden big move, so it’s time to buckle down and get at it!

Posted in Crafting Art, journal: lessons to learn, Natural Dyes, Probably talking to just myself, Redux projects

sort of a recap

Posted on by arlee

These are why i believe natural dyes in textile arts are important to me and to others with this passion, no matter their “technique” or Practice. Ixchel Suarez had asked about this in a post on FB, in a natural dye group, about the importance of natural dyes to tapestry, *almost* intimating that it was the one use of the medium/material where it was so important, but i know there are other embroiderers, knitters, weavers of all the sorts, twiners, basket makers, rug hookers, book makers, fabric designers etc. who also use exclusively natural dyes. I can’t imagine using commercially dyed threads on anything now! There are nuances to natural colour that can never be replicated in synthetic dyes, and everything always “goes together”.

I know a lot of people can’t tell the difference between synthetic and natural dyes, just to look at them. I’m at a point though myself that when i look at photos of other natural dyers work, i can usually tell what dye they used, whether it’s tried and true historically accurate natural dyes, or “food waste” S**T. Really, i can. Really! There’s something warm and poetic about madder in all its antique hues, indigo and finding beauty in the palest to darkest, no “wrong” blue as a result, clear as the golds and leaf russets of osage, the aureate luminosity of rhubarb root (as prosaic as that one sounds…), the terra cotta nobility of cochineal and cutch, the royal richness of purples from lac, cochineal and logwood. SIGH.

I haven’t done any dyeing since before we moved to our new home, too much going on, too many other projects, but i’m starting to run out of threads especially. I’m planning for 2020 (i can’t believe that at all, that it’s going to BE 2020), and trying to figure out a schedule of sorts with flexibility for making the materials i use, and then making from/with *that* making 🙂 The best i can figure is to devote a week every 2 months (as needed, because surely i won’t have to do it EVERY month) to the dyeing, a week for paperwork, putzing and planning, and two for making. That still isn’t written in stone of course: part of this whole thing is the spontaneity generated by excitement, discovery, tangent, possibility!

I’m not making Grand Art right now (with the exception maybe of the patient Samara, and hopefully others like her), but i am making art that other people enjoy, and that *I* enjoy making. I see all these together and i get excited all over again, knowing that i, me did this from “scratch”–i may not have grown the sheep or cotton plant or moth cocoon, or woven or spun the cloth and thread, but i still “made” these fabrics and fibres, i coloured them and that’s pretty damn satisfying.

Would i be as rapturous if it was the “old days” and i was using commercially bought, commercially made, commercially dyed materials? Not sure, don’t care: i am where i am, and where i need to be now, now.

 

 

I also have in mind to if not REPLICATE, but to redux, remake, re-interpret a few older works in natural dyes:

Too, there are also old techniques i favoured, themes i loved, and mediums, and i’m testing some for the use of natural dyes in them. So many ideas! Piles, heaps, hills, masses, oodles and multitudes, stacks and torrents! Good thing it’s not 2020 yet 🙂

 

Posted in a collusion of ideas, Moons, Natural Dyes, Probably talking to just myself

no scrap left behind

Posted on by arlee

I come from a long line of Sensible Savers and Scroungers. While most of my line put the scraps in the ragbag, and none were really stitchers, small pieces came in handy for cleaning with or patching. I learned to sew on a machine when i was 5, creating barbie clothes (of course) (though my Barbie wasn’t a true Barbie, just a knock off) with scraps saved from Mom’s making of our pyjamas and shirts. In my early early teens, my uncle Ron did window dressing for big department stores as part of his Arts program, and brought me bags of bits i didn’t even know existed: pink sparklies and gold lame and screenprinted trees and red fake fur. (Shoulda seen the hotpants i made from those!)

When i became a single mother, i scrounged old clothes from the Free Box at Gordon House, a neighbourhood community organization in the west end of Vancouver–BLISS! (And wow, it’s still around, in a shinier location now, with a thrift store instead.) There were barkcloth muu-muu’s, “old lady suits” of metallic brocades, Hawaiian print shirts and plenty of odd 70’s cast offs that no one would be caught dead wearing in the 80’s 🙂 I STILL HAVE SOME PIECES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I made a LOT of patchwork then, having discovered quilt magazines too. That was a skill no one had in the family either, with the exception of ONE quilt made in the 30’s by my Great Grandmother, which i still have.

Now these velvets, these natural dyes, oh my. Seems such a waste to toss the little bits, and realizing as i was cutting more moons, that there were still “useable” bits. So i  made *more* moons *from* them, and i have a list of other little things i’d like to make too.

That was the first batch above, but then i started really piecing, using some of the off cuts from them:

(Two of the three from the “Thorntree” series, still in progress, these will go on backgrounds as well.)

Of course, with velvet’s slurki-ness, some scraps are too small, so they will either be stitched raw edge on something else, or (becoming a neurotic masochist), i will hand stitch. There IS a limit though 🙂

But then i remembered these from 2012, which became the “juice moon” series:

OMG how would these look in VELVET????????????????????????

I think there’s at least one more series with that idea, and then i must rest–and get back to some Samara stitching–lots of ideas for *her* background. (No bling though 🙂 )

 

 

Posted in "OPINIONATION", Deliberation--do something you don't do--or haven't in awhile

why don’t we write long blog posts anymore?

Posted on by arlee

I started blogging in 2003, intensely personal and set to completely private. I thought that was what blogging was for: an online journal, diary, lists of daily experiences, woe-is-me’s, and small joys. I don’t remember being able to add photos or links, it was literally just an online personal notebook. In 2004 i discovered there were PUBLIC blogs–and WHOA, there were artists, there were TEXTILE artists out there who like me, wanted to record their journeys, their tests, their revelations, how to’s and failures, and their art, for everyone to see.

I would spend hours every day clicking on links–in those days we shared that, shared the work of people we admired, with no thought of jealousy or snark, long lists of blogs we each visited, links to strange things we liked. One of my favourites was “Corpses for Sale“, an artist who yes, made life like (death like??) corpses from latex and hardware supplies. (That was part of my body fascination in art phase 🙂 ) The  site is pretty slick now and i guess disturbed people enough that a warning was posted on it: “WARNING: Displaying a corpse in public may break some County laws.”  HA.

I digress………

We posted samples of how we worked, we wrote actual tutorials, we traded art, we wrote long posts and added lots of pictures, bared our guts, and laughed at ourselves a lot. I remember being excited so often by what i saw, what people made, how they discovered things, how their artistic exploits evolved and expanded. We formed groups by dint of actual MAIL, real letters and packages, we created round robins and exchanges, we made art collaboratively and entered shows specifically for that, we solved problems for each other, we communicated almost every time we “visited”. Our best “communal platform” was Flickr, a Flickr that was a lot more user friendly in those days. We were interactive, wrote long “in response” posts of our own, did even more sharing of links and how to’s, and left thoughtful comments that were more than a “like” (or a troll response!).

So what happened? With few exceptions, most of us don’t do, act, think, or respond any more, do not inhabit our blogs the way we used to. (Guilty.) They’re drop shipping ports now: “Go to my Etsy, Facebook, Instagram, flavouroftheday platform”. (Guilty.) Or they are “monetized” now, supported by suppliers, links to quote affiliates unquote and advertising for spuriously related products. (By the way, any ads you see at the bottom of MY posts are completely out of my control, as i use WordPress’ free platform. They get put there automatically and i don’t even know what they are!)  Islands in the vast galactic sized ocean the net has become, with no other land in sight it feels. Some of us disappeared by choice, or sadly, died, some just faded away with no reaction or reason from themselves or their followers, some did abrupt turns and we left them behind because they no longer interested us. (Guilty.) Attention spans shortened drastically, “yeah but’s” appeared, “one up man ship” started distorting responses. (Guilty.)

So. Almost 17 years later (cause that calendar page is gonna flip again in 20 days and everything will be MAGIC again…), i want to go back to 2004 in a sense, and BE here. I may miss things, may not appeal, may flounder, flop and fail, but i’m going to try. Are you?

 

 

 

Posted in Moons, Natural Dyes

new moon series

Posted on by arlee

Well, number one is done and i surprised myself: i thought i had started this a week ago, but from start to finish was only 2 days! Faithful readers (all 3 of you….) will know i’m not of the “mindful” set, but being in the zone sometimes is helpful 🙂 I prefer to think that commitment to a craft is better than any “connecting with my ForeMothers” Hooey!

Of course, i posted first on my IG and my FybreSpace FB pages, with this, asking about the orientation:

embroidered silk velvet moonsThough i had worked it with the upper left orientation, it was the least favourite. Someone made me laugh by comparing it to the SW “Death Star”. The lower left makes me seasick! To me, it’s like looking through a porthole on a (sinking) ship! Most preferred the two right side orientations, so i decided whomever gives this a good home gets to choose the orientation.

One thing about the new studio space is that to get true colour representation, i have to photograph in the livingroom, at the right time of day!. Yesterday’s photo above is a bit saturated at 430PM, so here taken today are the true colours 9AM (Time of day and conditions can make or break shots of your work):

hand embroidered silk velvet moon artI do use a lot of “spot” lighting downstairs, an OTT light, a gooseneck with high wattage and the studio lights of course, especially when beading, and most of the embroidery gets done upstairs in the stitchin’ corner on the couch.

Very happy with this, and now on to the other two i have planned!!!

 

Posted in embrilting, Moons, Natural Dyes

new velvet moons

Posted on by arlee

It’s almost time to dye a new batch of colours for this silk velvet, as i slowly work through offcuts and scraps!

Learning to handle this slippery fabric has taught me a lot as well. It has its limitations–i can’t work intricate shapes or teeny weeny pieces, and certain manipulation techniques just don’t co-operate, but the pleasures abound for piecing, embroidery and beading. And after having moved so many bead containers recently, i realized i really should be using them!

A bit of embroidery and beading still to do on the upper right side to balance it a bit as well.

I love the high contrast of these colours, that old complementary colour theory thing. Oranges and reds against blues has long been a favourite of mine, so i may do a few of these 🙂 (photo below, “Hoodoo Sky” in progress, 2009)

I have 2 more colourways planned as well, indigo against chocolate and mango, and indigo against blush and coral:

Posted in Crafting, Days of Honey, Deliberation--do something you don't do--or haven't in awhile, embrilting, FybreSpace the shop, Indigo Dreams, Madder, Natural Dyes, osage, quebracho rojo, tansy

studio time finally, and a shop update

Posted on by arlee

This past week i have said to hell with unpacking boxes, shuffling furniture around and organizing things in our new home. I finally got down into the studio and had fun!

Digging through the silk velvet scraps for the elf mentioned in a previous post, had me wondering what to do with all the dinky teeny itsy bits. If you love velvet and other luxe fabrics, you get that–no small left behind! 🙂 And when they’re naturally dyed, they are even more precious!

And yes, they DO come as PAIRS 🙂 Hmm, might be cute Christmas ornaments as well!

This weekend however, the two of us will be descending to the depths, and getting laundry appliances moved around, a laundry sink and water filter hooked up, tools settled into shelves, and the last of my studio stuff IN the studio, out of boxes, bags and piles. Once that is done, i plan on setting  myself a schedule of sorts to get work done, the serious stuff (Samara, poor Samara!), and some more fun things as well.