Residency 2016 – Page 2

"OPINIONATION", Collusion: sampling, Residency 2016, Shows/Publications

small exhibits: somewhat tongue in cheek, and “copying”

Posted on May 30, 2016May 30, 2016 by arlee

The National Gallery of Contemporary Fibre Art is a chance for all of us to produce small works and set up a display, complete with postcards, bio and statement, samples etc. Unfortunately, it’s not very visible to the public, buy hey, it’s a heck of a good way to “practice” and show is show ! It sounds so fantastic! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 In real life, it’s a showcase on the 4th floor of the Studio Arts , and is only visible to residents, techs and anyone who has a valid visitor pass! I’ll take photos the next time i’m at the school so you can see it in all its glory 😉

Since i had been planning on some red/black/white work and scored all that fabric from the student cast off bins, it was a perfect opportunity to showcase some new ideas. The original photo was this, from 2011 (mine, original Original lost in a hard drive crash, so i have to work from a small version):
I “warmed up the temperature” in my photo editing program (Irfanview):

Cropped it,as i have time for only a small portion of this, due to time constraints and sampling efforts:

Turned it to black and white for pattern purposes:

And started chopping fabric, discharging, over dyeing–from 3 fabrics then (bottom fabric in each pile), i have 10 colours (though in the photo, the top reds look similar, they *are* different). The left red and the bottom black were a poly/cotton blend after all, but i like the effect the discharge and then overdye had on the black!

They do not “match” the reds and red blacks in the photo, but that isn’t the point. And interestingly, some fly by brainlet on the QA mailing list pontificated that you were “copying” even if you used your own photograph!

Seriously, you think you are “copying” even if you used your own photograph??????? Why would that be any different than using your own sketch, your own notes???????????? I HARDLY consider it “copying” myself if i use my own source material, no matter WHAT medium i have “sketched out” the idea in.

A rather narrow viewpoint then, if no one can take inspiration from what is around themselves, be they photographer, sculptor, painter or textile artist…….Contrary to this belief, things do not spring “full blown from our sweated brows”! She also made the comment that the old Masters just DID the painting, no models, no “copying” from nature, no studies, BULLSHIT. Why else do we have all the preliminary sketches we are able to see now of pre-work done?????

Now to select some threads.

Residency 2016, Residency 2016

reminders ;)

Posted on May 30, 2016May 30, 2016 by arlee

You know how FB has those “on this day” memory prompts with old posts? Got this one today. “Greyman has tried to throw out or get me to throw out this tshirt for years. It’s actually the second one i’ve had like this over the last 13 years (predating him, hahah), and i’m going to make it Beautiful” (May 30, 2011)

I did get a WEE bit done that year:

A play on words, it is ResShirtection. (Residency Shirt Resurrection, get it? I think i’m so funny.) It just happens to be sitting on a chair on the stoodio–and i think it’s time to finish it!

Contextural Fibre Arts Co-operative, potassium permanganate, Residency 2016

black and white, and red all over

Posted on May 30, 2016May 30, 2016 by arlee

Yesterday’s orientation went well, with 25 participants this year, old friends and new friends joining in. We were also reminded that this year’s “theme” for the end of summer exhibit is “Self Edge”, a play on selvedge. HMMMM, ideas abounding.

I was thrilled also to see an active potassium permanganate vat that i can use! This bodes very very well for the challenge plans i have for myself. Photos below are from my 2012 residency.

The big bins that hold donated (or discarded!) yardage from students have grown to three! These treasure troves are large enough that one could fall in! I’ll have to crawl in the next time. I left some–great way to reduce my own unused stash–and took some, just barely stirring the top overflowing layers. And what a score it was!

In my sketchbook for a good while have been plans and scribbles for work using black, white and red. I found approximately 15 yards of red, maybe 4 of black, and a few assorted white in different weights and weaves. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I know there’s some polyester in the mix, as most “broadcloths” sold these days are a 60/40 mix, but that’s okay. Fabric is fabric, and there’s enough cotton in them to do what i need to do.

Now i have to go buy some big plastic sheets to protect tables (HOW did i forget them on the list????), and dig out my notes from the 2012 residency, and hopefully i can get in there tomorrow morning to start! (One of the other Residenciers (? 😉 ) has already screenprinted major yardage!)

a collusion of ideas, Contextural Fibre Arts Co-operative, Residency 2016, Residency 2016, Rust

my residency challenge

Posted on May 29, 2016June 4, 2016 by arlee

Today is Contextural’s residency orientation, a procedure we all do, no matter how many times we’ve done residency. It reminds us of where everything is, proper studio procedures and safety, and introduces us to each other. I don’t count it as “Day One” though—household matters aren’t going to let me start today with actual work there! And because i do have that pesky Day Job, the first day may not be until later in the week.

This year, amongst the glorious free-form do-what-they-want-to-will-do natural process fabrics i’ll be making, i set myself a challenge.

In a previous post, i showed you these, the original painting sketch and the Dreamscoped “amber fractal” result:

I could take an easy way out, and simply dye paint the fabric and do the usual “crackle stitch” to delineate the lines and fractures, but i want more than a flat surface.

From previous experience, i know that each type of cotton weave or finish has a different effect on rust marks. Cotton sateen lets the rust have crisp, almost floating marks, broadcloth lets small details be clear, twill and anything with a distinct “motif” (stripes or florals woven in, think damasks) “interrupts” itself, flanellette is, well, fuzzy, haremcloth makes the sheer aspect visible, and pima can do all of the above, except for the fuzzies! I also know how any dyes will “spread” or separate on the surface. This year, because of my participation in a recent Susan Purney Mark ice dyeing class, i may try to exploit the effect in combination with natural processes. I’m going to work with specific colours–if i can find them in ACAD’s student supply shop! This all being said, rust does what it wants to, as it wants to, so we’ll see how much control i really do have 🙂

First i’ll have to draw up a basic pattern for placement. There’s going to be a fair amount of piecing, and i’m thinking by hand, simply because the seam line is softer, and because there are so many “directions” the small marks are making on the “fabric’ in the drawing photo edit.

But first, i must “pack” for it! Greyman has to chauffeur me there, as i can’t carry all my supplies on the bus and train. Fortunately, we have a home studio there while in residency, and everything can stay put. And i’m looking forward too, to the student cast off box–always interesting to see what ends up as hopeless in someone else’s eyes, in this box. Reminds me of the old “free boxes” in the 70’s and 80’s!

Edited: Some of my previous fabrics done during residency are here, here and here.

a collusion of ideas, Contextural Fibre Arts Co-operative, Residency 2016

getting ambitious

Posted on May 19, 2016May 20, 2016 by arlee

For a person who waaaay back in ’99 told her son “i don’t need a computer–what would i do with it: store recipes???”, i’ve come a bit further than beef stroganoff notes 🙂

Residency plans are shaping up well. These self directed times are perfect for developing new work, building skills, and hopefully, finding a few surprises in one’s self.

While i have copious ideas for my beloved natural process cloths, the ones i use in most of my work, this is the one that will be a challenge this year.

The original paint sketch above was done in 2012, and she has had one incarnation in the piece (still unfinished!) below:

While idling time yesterday before the ffFlower Mines day job, i was playing in Dreamscope again, trying various filters, and came up with this version:

This made my heart race! There’s definitely rust, potassium permanganate, iron and brazilwood, piecing, hand embroidery and a fair number of hours of work in her! I find it quite satisfying too, knowing that an intuitive sketch can become digitally transformed, and then finally “translated” into/with more organic processes.

Before i start “res”, the first week of June, i’ll be drawing up the “pattern pieces”, figuring out scale, pulling potential threads, and dreaming.