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 a collusion of ideas, Deliberation--do something you don't do--or haven't in awhile, mordants and modifiers, Natural Dyes, osage, quebracho rojo

working up some courage

Posted on by arlee

Natural dyes and silk velvet have an affinity for each other, like a love poem whispered into a breeze, like feather soft caresses, cool water on hot naked skin, sensual and earthy, sharing the privacy of deep emotion and quiet solitude.

I’ve always had a secret love affair with velvet, coveting the “lavender panne velvet pant” described in a 1972 Vogue magazine ( i was all of 15 years old and it was certainly not either in my world of farm town, or in my 60cents an hour babysitting budget…) , but never really comfortable wearing any as i got older, feeling slightly fraudulent and as if i was demanding attention i didn’t deserve. But oh the slither of it, the voluptuous animalistic tactility, in the hand, on the back of the neck, under the legs…………

Ahem. Mystery and imagination, in deed, and in thought! Sometimes it’s sexy, too often it’s overblown and tawdry—what’s the expression? “Mutton dressed as lamb”?

Down to earth now. It’s also A BITCH to sew, by hand or by machine, so i’ve stayed far away from it, though once in awhile i pull out a chunk of rayon velvet i dyed some 25 years ago, when all i knew about was Rit. Odd bits of it have shown up in wearable art i made in the 90’s, some Hoodoo work when we first moved to Calgary and i was so enamoured of the spectacular rock formations in and near Drumheller, a few Christmas bits, but nothing really serious.

BUT, these from the last 4 days:

HOW could i not try again?

EDIT: Nov 21, i forgot to mention this is primarily using Quebracho Rojo extract (with the exception of the 2 greys/greygreens which are on osage), and are mordanted and modified with a few different processes. So all these colours from 2 dyes, and 5 mordants/modifiers!!!!!!!!

Now to dig through old sketchbooks.

 

Posted in mordants and modifiers, natural dye research, Natural Dyes, Naturally dyed threads, Probably talking to just myself, quebracho rojo

feeling in the pink….and purple

Posted on by arlee

Now that i have a good stock of green threads from the osage and indigo work, it’s time to add some pinks and purples! Not talking about wishy washy, not talking about raspberries, beets, beans or any other silliness i see on too many blogs who haven’t the sense of a sack of potatoes 🙂

I did get a wonderful hot pink from madder by accidentally boiling over a pot of madder (considered a VERY VERY BAD BAD as madder shouldn’t go above a certain temp or you just get browns), some useful colour variations from cochineal in the pink to purple range, and a very deep purple with logwood. Cochineal however kind of puts me off now because i worry about Ph shifts–and some Ph shifts WASH OUT with an ordinary tap water rinse!!!!!!!!!!!– and i fret too about the lightfastness of logwood, because unless it’s got a lot of iron in the mix (which can damage fibres…), i’ve seen a noticeable change in the depth of colour within months of dyeing. (I do wonder too about the current craze for it in ecoprinting: are these people going to have a shock somewhere in the next few months/year with dramatic colour shifting or fade??) So………………. my next experiments/tests/results are from a type of tannin in the “catechic” range, more red-browns that the clear “gallic” or yellow “elegic” types. Tannins are an important part of premordanting fibres, especially cellulose which doesn’t work well with just alum, but very well with a tannin first, then the alum. Some tannins are also used as dyes by themselves, notably in the elegic and catechic types.

This tannin/dye IS more expensive, but i now am comfortable spending the money to get the best results. There’s no point in cheaping out with some things: it’s a waste of time, effort and resources, from water to electricity to containers and materials used, something i am very conscious off, having been raised quite frugally and with much common sense 🙂

When i threw the Quebracho Rojo in the pot, i first screamed (silently, as Greyman was napping). The colour was PHENOMENAL. However, that silent scream was from my excitable take it at face value 9 year old child self: my rational XX+ self reminded me that what you see in a dye pot is NOT necessarily what you get from a dye pot, as  i swear they deliberately skull xxxk with you. Ahem.

Looks fab, ay?

Wet, ooo ooo oooo:

Above, rinsed, barely any wash out!

Dry, bearing in mind that colours can dry 20-70% lighter with ANY colourant, natural OR synthetic:

See what i mean by dye pot deception? Respectable colour, but not terribly excitingly scream worthy. Now mind you, the cottons that are paler pink were unmordanted, the darker cotton premordanted with tannin and alum. The silk habotai and silk velvet were also unmordanted, but because QR is a tannin as i mentioned, i figured “let’s try it as a tannin first”. Interesting too that most sources says it’s best on cellulose, “but performs well on silk and wool”, since obviously both silks did better……………………

The next phase of natural dye colour work is post mordant/post modify (though you can do these first, i don’t because i don’t want that active stew in the mix all in one pot.) Now this a is a nice range of colours!!!

Guess what though? I forgot to put any threads in, so now i have to go wind some skeins, scour ’em, then premordant some…………..

Olé!

PS you can still click on the photos for enlargement, but you can no longer comment on them–i had to shut that off due to the number of STOOPID ASSHAT SPAMMERS.

Posted in cochineal, embrilting, FybreSpace the shop, Indigo Dreams, Madder, Moons, Natural Dyes, Naturally dyed threads, osage, sandalwood

River’s Edge

Posted on by arlee

#15 in the indigo moon series, i may have lost some “serious art” readers “because apparently all i’m doing is “crafting” this year” (get on yer high horse, you know who, and ride off far away), but ya know what? I NEEDED this year to be easy, to be Small, to be, well, just mooning the world–ha!

The texture on this one is amazing, even if i do say so myself 🙂

 

Since it’s grey and cold and blowy here, i added a little bling from the embellishment stash that hasn’t seen the light of day for a looonnng while! These moons are getting bigger with this one measuring at 10″ across. (Still thinking of a HUGE indigo moon!!) And some are getting smaller, as i have a few planned in a 5″ size.

See the shop for details.

 

 

Posted in Natural Dyes, Naturally dyed threads, Probably talking to just myself

“each stitch an entrance”

Posted on by arlee

Not all threads are created equally, especially when it comes to dyeing them with natural colourants!

I’ve had a few flubs along the way, as i build my stash for stitching with, but in the end, each has it’s own qualities that are useful. The major fail i had was a thread i thought was 100% cotton, but since the label had been long lost, and i generally haven’t collected any synthetics for a few years now, i threw it in a madder pot and expected good results automatically. HA! There must have been some acrylic in this one, as it barely took any colour:

Pink from madder, pale lilac from madder with post mod iron dip, but this thread was just too soft and lovely on its own to throw out, so i then dipped them in indigo, because indigo dyes *everything*, it being SO substantive!

And there’s still some lilac-y hints! These give a lovely soft ethereal appearance when used, subtle gradations and shadings quite effective depending on the stitch used.

 

This one REALLY bothered me at first, a heavily twisted 4 strand embroidery thread, it just wouldn’t dye evenly due to the tightness of the wind, no matter how long i let it sit in the madder! Popped it in the indigo again and whoa! Look at that tweedy heather effect!

I use this one separated into two strands and love the way the colour shifts along each length. Because of the stiffness of the thread too, it tends to stand more proud of the surface. The way the colour took, and the spin of the thread, give it the appearance of disappearance visually when used on darker backgrounds! Fantastic for texture!

And these were a lesson also in the “weight” of a thread, the left being a crochet cotton, the right a stray spool of fine upholstery thread:

Due to my inexperience at the time, the indigo didn’t grab every spot, because of the way the threads were wound, tied and handled. Both are heavier, thicker threads that really lie loudly on the surface, or build a heavy tactile line, again with different stitch types.

It may look as if i’m using indigo to “fix” problems in incorrect procedures, but it’s co-incidence i swear 🙂 I do pride myself on proper scouring, premordanting according to fibre type, and using dyes that are actually dyes, not stains or food waste nonsense. (Again, no beets, beans or berries here….) These “fails” were inexperience, haste, and not testing unlabeled fibres. Lessons learned!

While every stitcher needs a substrate to stitch on, whether it’s conventional fabrics, plastic, metal, paper or toast, it’s the threads that get me excited. I’m continually building the inventory, and am thrilled to say that now i can depend on my own skills to add so much colour, without using commercially dyed threads, or having to worry about matching dyelots! There *can* be subtle differences in dye baths due to the inherent nature of these dyes, but at least the reds are still reds, the greens are greens, the blues are blues, etc etc etc, but never like this debacle with synthetic dye……..

 

 

And i wanted to share a very evocative piece of poetry that my friend Dana sent me.

The Many Ways the Light Gets In

​​​​​​​
It was easy to judge those Jane Austen ladies
languishing all afternoon over embroidery
pulling thread in and out of hooped linen
as the world spun round without them.

The bone stays in the starched bodice of their dresses
forced an upright position,
the way nuns in a cloister sit
all spine and neck erect
to better access the “no thought”
they need to taste
the honey of meditation

centering their minds
to a pinpoint
of light

I’ve envied the discipline of those mystics
tossing off thought like an extra blanket
but not so much the ladies
sealed in their parlors

then today
I found myself
deep in silence
pulling a rainbow of silken threads
through a hooped grid
the rhythmic in and out
of the steel needle flashing its tail of color
dissolving all thoughts in whorls of amber
sapphire, magenta—
falling upward
each stitch an entrance.

Marion Goldstein

Posted in Collision: the work begins, in progress, journal: lessons to learn, Natural Dyes, Samara

back in the Land of Myopia

Posted on by arlee

Had a bad moment last night when i suddenly thought the stitching on the wings was too tight, too controlled. Must remember to get out of the small work approach!

But it’s getting bigger, looser and is not too “precious” after all. The “myopia” that develops as i work small areas of a large piece means i have to literally step back to see the whole. And since i can see in my head what will be happening in the wings and in other areas, it will work.

One disappointing (in a sense) thing is that the result is not the same as the work done this way on “A Birth of Silence”. (See previous post.) The rust on that particular piece stiffened the fabric for more dimension, something that is not featured much on any of this piece. I may have to manipulate it more when the time comes to attach to the background, or maybe it will be fine. I think the backing fabric i used this time too is thinner or flatter than the one used in ABOS as well, but c’est la vie!

There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just different.

Posted in a collusion of ideas, embrilting, in progress, Natural Dyes, Samara

small stitches, big ideas

Posted on by arlee

I’ve just completed a small “commission” for someone, and happily noted that a couple of stitches i used on it can feature largely for “Samara”.

 

Samara’s wings are (with the figure of course!) the most prominent focus on this piece. I’ve been stumped about how to treat them, and had started three different ways of “illustrating” them, all to no avail. Frustrating. It meant a deadlock, because without knowing how i would work them, i had no idea how to proceed with the background. Hell, it was a gridlock!

The first two were with commercially dyed threads on the rust and natural dye cotton background, the third with all naturally dyed fabrics and threads.

I *do* like all of the ideas–just not for this piece! The first two were a bit predictable: feathers that “look” like feathers, while the third was maybe too much of a good thing with all that colour. (Stack ’em and stash ’em for future work…)

My favourite Thing too, a signature, if you will, is the use of dimension and texture in my embroidery technique. Whether it’s raised areas, or FrankenStitch ( my personal woogly boogly break-the-embroidery-rules-about-neatness-and-even-ness approach), i feel i MUST go back to that. That’s Me, that’s what my work is. The feathers above would have satisfied a bit of that, but nah, too feathery 🙂

I’m looking at this:

in conjunction with ideas from “A Birth of Silence”

and now have these to work on:

I’m hoping that i can do one a week……. the body is almost done, as it needs only minimal stitch, but the background is going to be a bear because it’s so big, and that is why it probably won’t be finished until the new year. (Day Job will be F’n  FRANTIC in December, so very very little time there…) When the first wing is done, i can also start making choices for the fabric that will show underneath at the edges.

I know this work won’t be done until into 2019, my slow pace necessary with hand work. No rush, no deadline, nothing really to add to a “Gallery 2018” page on this blog, because i’m going where i don’t know where i’m going.

Posted in a collusion of ideas, Deliberation--do something you don't do--or haven't in awhile, in progress, Samara

mining

Posted on by arlee

I’ve spent the morning mining deeper and deeper into the archives of old work, old photos, old ideas.

You can’t duplicate things, at least i’ve never been able to. I have no desire to do copies, even of my own work. Series are one thing, adaptations are another, but/and churning out the same thing over and over is an entirely different mindset…… I tried it a couple of times, but other ideas creep in, so obviously that’s my way to go. I’ve bored myelf when i’ve done production work, no real artistic satisfaction in it. Even my “bread and butter” work is all different!

All i’ve done this year, really, is just that: helping putting food in the animal dishes, gas in the car and new underwear for the human residents at the Stately Barr Manor. Six months without a Day Job took a toll, especially psychically, emotionally, and so i am very happy to go back to alternating art for sale, and Art. (Yes, there is a Day Job again, but you’re not going to hear about it, as i’ve decided it’s not my focus anymore, just a way to build things.)

I’m eager to start actual work again on “Samara”. I know it will take time, and much thought, but once i get into the “zone” again, i also know it will be worth it. To that end, the digging has pulled up two three ideas i want to extrapolate from:

Detail of “Self Portrait: SAD”, 2011. The concentrated areas of stitch, and the looseness of the heart are the appeal here.

“Beautiful Bones”, 2009, i still love that heavy encrustation of sequins and beads on the ribcage, something i never did again anywhere, but am finding very “catchy”:

 

and a detail of “Birth of a Silence”, 2015, the dimension, the combination of flat and raised, of line and texture:

One of the wings will be coming off the board and we’ll see what happens, how things get combined, re-worked, adapted.