Category: Contextural Fibre Arts Co-operative

Posted in Contextural Fibre Arts Co-operative, Moons

juice moon 1 done

Posted on by arlee

I may go blind doing these 🙂 , but a sale is a sale! And if i don’t have enough for the Contextural Christmas Artisan day to justify the fees, there won’t be any point being there…..

juice-moon-1

At the same time though, the ideas are flowing freely, as i jot down copious notes about these and the technique/colourways for future work, so WTH, go with it. After Nov 19th, i can go back to the winged figure, and develop new work for next year.

I’m also working on another “rabbit moon” (different pose than the first), and thinking about some moon “miniatures” too. I knew i bought those silly little 4×4 canvases for some reason!

Posted in Contextural Fibre Arts Co-operative, Moons

*this* is why i’m all “moony” right now

Posted on by arlee

original_3a6ff7contextural_sale_-_business_card_sizeOriginally, i wasn’t going to participate, as i don’t “do” “Christmas”—in product or at home as a “celebration”, but at the last Contextural meeting, was persuaded it might be to my benefit. No scarves, cushions or bags from me, as other members of the group have that amply covered (and no, that ain’t a kvetch, it’s what they do, for *their* bread and butter), but lots (i hope) of moons in various sizes, flavours and permutations.

So far, i have five….. I’m hoping for at least ten (hoofies crossed). Considering how many of these i have done this year, you’d think this is all i’m interested in, or capable of, but WTH, you do what sells. I had not planned on this being a Year of Moons!!!!!!!!!!!!

And this too:

The Weight She Carries, 2014, hand embroidery, natural and synthetic dyes, rust, 24x40"
The Weight She Carries, 2014, hand embroidery, natural and synthetic dyes, rust, 24×40″

Perhaps some collector will fall in love. (Have to find an easel though for display: our venue allows nothing on the walls.)

See you there????

Posted in Contextural Fibre Arts Co-operative, Moons

stash busting moons

Posted on by arlee

I had started a moon that is predominantly potassium permanganate dyed, but it felt forced, so that’s by the wayside. It’s hard to not repeat oneself sometimes, though it’s great for sampling ideas!

BUT.

cbThese have been sitting around since January 2012! I’ve been going through my stash of unfinished work, wondering what to get rid of, what to cannabalize and wondering why i did some of it 🙂 All hand dyed with “OTC” dyes (Rit and/or Dylon and/or Tintex), they have a lovely tactile quality already, being either “harem” cloth or cheesecloth, and a fair amount of machine done free motion.

I’ve always loved these pieces, but wasn’t sure where to take them beyond “add some hand stitch” scribbled on the back of one. Since i am currently working on a moon series specifically for an upcoming artisan sale with Contextural, what the hell? USE ‘EM! Maybe i can sneak in that hand work with the Skeevey Brights as well……

I won’t be cutting up *all* of my old unfinished work, but let’s just say, plans are afoot for other pieces that do not involve moons!

 

Posted in Contextural Fibre Arts Co-operative, Leighton work

the Mark, the Thread, the Hand at Leighton Art Centre

Posted on by arlee

leighton-suite-ble-in-situ-b

leighton-suite-blue-in-situ-c

This is at the Leighton Art Centre, near Millarville, Alberta. Our theme was based on responding or reacting to work done by Barbara Leighton, and Marion Nicoll from the Leighton archives, work done in the 70’s by these two talented artists.

For the contemporary fibre artists of Contextural, the experience of creating fine craft is an important element to understanding it. Our constant experimentation, planning and preparations allow us to rework ideas and techniques – and “the hand of the maker” becomes evident in each step along the way. It’s during this making process that we learn about ourselves, and how to bring out the best in our chosen media. Our time, effort and passion leave a personal mark that is an integral part of our work.

The large piece in the centre of the third photo is a large, graphic batik by Marion, the one that struck me for inspiration. I love that moon and the crackling around it caused by the batik process, and responded to that.

And apparently, though you can’t see them in the photos, there are Red Dots by some of my work, always a lovely thing 🙂

EDIT: Nice write up by one of the smaller local papers, the Western Wheel. Note though, our group name is “Contextural_ and we are textile artists, not “textural” artists 🙂 (Though some of us do have more texture in our works…)

Posted in Contextural Fibre Arts Co-operative, Residency 2016

Original Truth, truthfully done

Posted on by arlee

ot done aug 22

ot done detail 2

ot done detail 1Please forgive the awful background! I am having the devil of a time photographing this one so it’s true to life! I’ve tried different lighting, inside and outside, but for the first time ever trying to document my own work,  i am foozled for true colour and depth of field. I don’t think i’m going to get a decent shot of the whole, until it’s hung in the gallery for the “selfEDGE” exhibit on the 28th.

But it’s done, and that’s what counts. Six weeks to the day of worrying about my time line and all the little details, and here i am finished with 6 days to spare!

Posted in Collusion: sampling, Contextural Fibre Arts Co-operative, Residency 2016, Shows/Publications

Original Truths, almost done

Posted on by arlee

I thought i had been working on this for months, but as it turns out since “res” was done at the end of June, it hasn’t been that long after all. All the little details are what makes it seem longer ago than July 11th that i started it! I have only a few tiny areas left to stitch, then to back it, ready for delivery on the 28th.

As i said in a previous post, i’ve always felt alien, outsider, misfit, so this then i guess is a self portrait of sorts, another side to the mirror, that long path behind the subconscious.

I added bees, of course i added bees.

Donna Noble: You’re saying bees are aliens?
The Doctor: Don’t be so daft – not all of them.

I love Dr Who:)

 

The Feminine Monarchie

And there’s a secret hidden under one of the larger hexes, a treatment i liked, but not for this piece!

dim

The hex beside the lace rose is where it’s hidden now.

hiding hex

ot aug 21 almost done

And now there will be a shuffling of papers, folding of fabrics, and paint and ink splashed about as i research and develop new work. Here’s a “mood board” for something i’d like to do:

mood boardwith this as the primary image:

winged 1

winged 2Not sure which orientation to begin with, not that it really matters as there are 2 separate cloths here.  Maybe i’ll do both to give myself a break from the same thing over and over —HA, joke. I had originally thought of doing another “abstract”, rather than pictorial, but nothing is set in stone.

Posted in Collision: the work begins, Contextural Fibre Arts Co-operative, in progress, journal: lessons to learn, Residency 2016, Residency 2016, Shows/Publications

push pull

Posted on by arlee

There are no machine made nodules, no “dimension” beyond the tactility of the stitching, but elements of my overly ambitious plans for something else have crept in and settled comfortably.

To hell with “Concept” as i said in an earlier post. I’m tired of trying to write statements that explain WHY i did something, especially when a well written tailoring can adapt almost any piece to any show. Concept can be in the eye of the beholder as well, right? As we develop our style, our voice, whatever you want to label it, certain truths and ideas, interpretations become self evident don’t they. (Not a question, a fact.)

se contextural

When you make 8 pages of notes and sketches, and still can’t quite “git ‘er done”, it’s not the right time for that CONCEPT.

So, this then is the piece i will be exhibiting. Finally titled also as “Original Truths”, since i went back to what i love and love doing. No influence from anything else, any other artist, just me. This *is* me on the other side of the mirror. I’ve heard it said that when an artist draws faces, unless in a deliberate style, that elements of their own face, or their internal guise, are more evident, so though i’m not completely sure what this says about myself, other than the feeling that i have always felt alien, outsider, misfit, stranger in a strange land.

Though most of it is done, there’s something missing. I shall have to pin it up and stare at it for awhile.

OT aug 16 almost done

I need to pull some of the starker white to the left top somehow, but how? Not more hexes, too heavy handed then.

It’s also been a bitch to photograph—-i need that perfect afternoon light, because otherwise there is too much yellow imparted to the golds and browns in this. I’m happy with the detail shots, but the whole, not so much. Since it *is* not quite done though, i’ll worry about that later. The detail shots are good enough to submit to the show organizer.

OT aug 16 detail 1

OT aug 16 detail 2

There are 12 days until the exhibit gets set up, so hopefully i can finalize a solution to what’s missing, execute it, and photograph the whole properly.

Posted in "OPINIONATION", Dyeing, Ecoprints and Natural Dyes, garden dye plants, in progress, Residency 2016, Residency 2016

place your hexes

Posted on by arlee

Subject to change without notification, but i am betting this will be the most likely configuration.

from behind the mirror a CAnd i’m having a terrible time photographing things this last week–the weather has been strange with dark moody skies and then a burst of blinding sun, and then thundercracks and lightening!

Doing some natural dye experimenting as well. I gathered dock (Rumex) seed stalks, after seeing the results someone else did in a REPUTABLE, SCIENTIFIC, FACT BASED FB group. Currently these are in various vessels with different modifiers and mordants.

fresh dock seedsFresh above, dried and drying below.

dry and drying dock seedThough someone else with 40 years of natural dye experience got a range of colours from yellow green and brown to red and orange, i’m getting some glorious shades of    ————————— ———————   yellow again………..but i like yellow now, and the more threads i have in the arsenal, and to over dye, the better my thread stash looks. Could be the season, could be the weather, could be the soil, could be the stage of growth, everyone gets different results with some things. My rhubarb root dye pot gave me the most luminescent glowing gold threads that i had to try these, and there were good results from burdock as well, but i can find no roots due to recent “herbicide” spraydowns. The bastards.

And why am i harping on PROVEN DYE methods again???? Because this kind of crap is still around:

gag me with a spoon full of stoopidThere’s a whole chunk of “dyes” listed for various colours (some are REALLY dumb…), but ANY site that immediately tells me i can use SALT and VINEGAR as a MORDANT or “fixative”, is IMMEDIATELY scoffed at by true natural dyers. Do a little research. (For one thing, vinegar is a MODIFIER, (and a Ph adjuster)not a mordant. Go look up the definition of mordant, you idiots.) Just because this is “Pioneer Thinking” doesn’t mean it’s true. “Pioneer thinking” also includes a hell of a lot of old wives’ tales. There are SO many good books, fantastic teachers and methodology sites, there’s no excuse for this ignorance. Stop perpetuating it, UNexperts……………

Back to regularly scheduled stitching again while things stew and rest.