Featured with other UberTalents, on TextileArtist again!
And previously there: Part One and Part Two
Mother’s Day week at the ffFlower Mines was exhausting. I’m rejuvenating today by doing yard work in the morning–fresh air and exercise clearing the beds, and going to an estate sale with a friend in the afternoon to clean out an apparently mind blowing thread stash.
Too busy to “stage” that above arrangement properly!
above, euc on silk with brazilwood
below, right chemical vat, left 123 vat, quite a difference
previous peony ecoprint fail, then overdyed with brazilwood, then dipped in 123 vat:
oak, madder and tannin on silk, in brazilwood:
failed osier ecoprint with bits of euc (?) dipped in brazilwood:
failed osier on silk ecoprint, brazilwood and 123 indigo:
maple ecoprint on silk, brazilwood, 123 indigo:
lots of pretty colours, copious notes made, pre-testing for res
time for supper
What horizon are you looking at now?
Clear, fresh, Spring skies. Available!
And now i must get back to stitching, while the vat has a rest.
More results from the chemical (aka regular vat/indigo vat/vat, ’cause i’m tired of explaining the difference…)
And it was worth it. The 123 vat IS WORKING. The colour *is* paler, but repeated dips i’m sure, will add depth to the shades. I had expected the greeny-turquoise tone from my first experience with it in a Wada workshop, but am still thrilled. (Though once this vat is used up, i won’t repeat the effort 😉 )
On silk:
On cotton:
And for your delectation and discerning taste, i’m offering small “Boro Strapping Packs” again in the shop. Letting you know too, these are all from the chemical vat (so as not to offend the purists)!
Well, apparently all i had to do was wait ONE more day for the vat to actually work, the chemical one at least. (The 123 is a whole different waxed can of balled worms….)
A lovely lovely LOVELY “flower”:
I see some new Indigo Moons happening!
123 vat left, chemical vat right:
The 123vat though did not oxidize, just came out with this “stain”. The chemical vat did oxidize, but the colour depth is sad. Starting to think that though the old vat *looks* impossible, i *might* be able to revive it again one more time. There’s still so much indigo in it, that i wonder if a big kick just won’t get it going again.
If i can get this 123vat to work harder, i’ve decided this will be not only the first, but the last time i do this one. I’m not such a purist that “organic” is going to matter much in the long run.
The second figure for this piece has been a bit problematic. The original sketch’s colouring (above centre right) did not translate well the first time to the haremcloth—too green, too dark. The sampling (above centre left) was actually done before the large attempt at the stitching, but i lost sight of what it was and didn’t go to the now aborted attempt with it.
I’ve gone back to the idea of the stitched sample (which will become a small piece on its own, as i quite like it), for the colouring and the “flavour”. Less is more.
I however DID like the stitching i did on the first, so will be doing that again.
The tapestry frame worked a dream for stretching the expletive deleted haremcloth, keeping it taut and 99% on grain. I’m sure any nun or lace maker would agree that the 1% should be more important, but considering the piece when done will be loosely attached to the main background, subtle stitch manipulation will true it up.
I stitched it to both sides, then flipped it over and stitched one end because there was enough overlap, but the other end had to be stapled because there wasn’t enough at the end to fold over. Poohpoohpeedoo, it worked.
Now we’ll see if i can work it this way, as i am unused to hooping of any sort, except on the very very rare occasion. I suspect i’ll be propping it on the edge of a table, and working stab fashion, instead of my usual fold, borgle, crumple method.
I’ve done more than i thought, and less than i thought. Still 3 months to deadline.
Top centre detail, moon:
Left and right panels:
Tall figure mock-up, and seated figure:
Seated figure:
Right panel detail:
Right panel (tipped, as it actually is vertical):
Left panel:
Seam treatment:
The whole is 44×46″:
Potassium permanganate, brazilwood, iron on cotton.
Yup, the gut feeling was correct. The hexes blend in, hold the fabric and still add a bit of texture.
Onward!
So handy to live in a digital age 🙂 Hesitant to put needle and thread to the centre, i did this first, and am confident that the top right is the way to go. Some of the sketchies were dismissed immediately, some would work elsewhere on other work, but this gives me a clear idea of how to handle that centre strip.
It needs to be “filled” but VERY discretely, and more “openly” so it doesn’t fight with the rest of the moon, and the rest of the work. The moon needs to be emphasized, but not at the expense of the other elements: it can’t assume more importance than the figures or side work.
My order of threads had arrived last week, so i’ve chosen the Caron Wildflowers #171 Caramel to work that area. It “blends” enough with the colours of the fabric and natural dye processes, but is still alive enough to add a little interest, without being overly visible. There’s plenty, with 2 skeins, to do this and to add the discrete hexagons to other areas of the whole. I may also use it for the standing figure–which has to go on the frame sometime this week and be done!
albedo too 
You must be logged in to post a comment.