Deliberation–do something you don’t do–or haven’t in awhile – Page 4

Deliberation--do something you don't do--or haven't in awhile, in progress, Tabula Memoria

pay off

Posted on March 1, 2017March 1, 2017 by arlee

Ya just gotta stick with it, and try to ignore it.The irritation, i mean, not the work. A delicate touch is tough when the fabric can’t move. I’m used to warping, bending, folding when i stitch: it’s part of the fun.

I can’t take this one anywhere either, as packing it will probably shift the cloth, which has to stay taut and on grain. Haremcloth is wonderful, but a bit of a shifty thing 🙂 I loathe using hoops, however the tension was necessary for this. Not looking forward to the larger figure–until it’s done 🙂 At least i know how i’m going to treat larger areas now with the other figure(s). (Still can’t decide if i need a third, or if after doing a first layout on the background will show that two is enough.)

I’m still not entirely happy with the shape of the foot, but when it’s applied to the background, can adjust that.

a collusion of ideas, Collusion: sampling, Deliberation--do something you don't do--or haven't in awhile

ghosting

Posted on January 10, 2017January 10, 2017 by arlee

Subject matter sometimes determines approach. My usual method of applying elements for this work just wouldn’t suit, as that method is “heavier” and more solid, even with holes added 🙂

Because of the scale of the projected piece, i didn’t want to just jump in this time, even though i have plenty of ideas and a reasonably firm vision of what’s going where and how. I spent yesterday doing more tests, and must say i really appreciate the virtue now of sampling first! The first run through always takes more time than you thought it would–and yet, less, which is always a good thing 🙂

A single layer of cotton harem-cloth is a beautiful thing. It’s a little shifty, and takes a firm grip to keep it in line, especially when you don’t like using a hoop, but oh i do love the effect.

Ain’t he the hunk?

I didn’t want him to be such a stark white however. First i tried coffee dyeing. Nope, too close to the white. Rinsed that out, dabbed on WEE WEE bits of Procion. Nope, too strong, and the colour was too red (that “rust brown” is definitely too red). Washed that out, or most of it, then got out the paint again. Good enough for sampling purposes, i’ll watch the dispersion and blending rate more consciously on the real deal, but am rather pleased.

I almost wish i hadn’t cut out centre portions, but only because the placement on the background didn’t take the dark areas underneath into consideration. Even so, i think it’s quite the look i want, but that fine fine grey thread i used was a pain in the Bazotski –i think i need new glasses again……………..

The size of this is a standard “A4” page, and it scares me a bit to think of the shifting on a larger scale. I may have to dig out my largest hoop after all: the grain and weave of this fabric is so malleable, that i don’t want stitches skewing the angles. Because the larger pieces will have more interior space as well, that means more stitching inside, whether on the harem cloth itself, or in any voids. Best to get a handle on it right from the start!

Working this little trial also has the advantage of adding more ideas for other work. I think it will show up on this somehow:

Poor girl has been sighing and pouting in the stoodio since the beginning of September!

Deliberation--do something you don't do--or haven't in awhile, Moons

skeevey brights

Posted on September 26, 2016October 6, 2016 by arlee

Lurid, ain’t they? None of these are numbered, or named, something Prism doesn’t seem to care about, hence the added numbers in the photo 🙂

The Prism tie dye threads are what they are..a yellow, chunk, a blue, chunk, a pink, chunk, no blending except for an iota where they meet. These are the threads people hate, who hate variegateds. No subtlety, no sneaking in that bridge of green, orange or purple.

That being all said, they are kind of fun, definitely hippie and pop. The stitch used obviously makes a difference, a spiderweb reminds me of the old Ojo de Dios we made in the 70’s, wrapping hideously coloured synthetic yarns around wire coat hanger frames 🙂 I can see some really nasty stuff happening with these threads in the future. They are a bit coarser than DMC, Anchor and the like, coarser even then the original Prism line used to be.

For 4.99 a package for 18 solids and 18 variegateds, i ain’t gonna complain too much! March 2013

I haven’t touched them since i made that entry on my old blog. The J&P Coats colourway 0250 though isn’t available anymore (used on the Pop Moon in the previous entry), which is too bad since it was a great blended rainbow effect, so again, use what you have.

I’m definitely feeling the need for some colourwork again. Maybe because the summer garden this year has bloomed so late–my Mexican Torchflower FINALLY has a blossom at three feet high (they’re supposed to get to 6-8 feet…), and with the exception of the sunflowers everywhere, nothing was fantastic this year, despite all my efforts. (Gardener’s rule: NEXT year will be better/different/easier/sunnier.) Awhile ago, i culled my fabric stash and kept a few loud 70’s and 80’s prints, and with the recent re-discovery/re-opening of the bead vault, i should be set for a few good sessions 🙂

~~And by the way, this one is available in the shop now, shipping included, and at our low Canadian dollar value 🙂 😦 :~~ EDIT: SOLD

I’m working on more naturally dyed moons as well, and maybe some new approaches to the Alberta Rose series (2013) again.

Deliberation--do something you don't do--or haven't in awhile, Not so ordinaries

a little bling never hurts—–and neither does some true caring

Posted on September 25, 2016September 25, 2016 by arlee

When i re-organized my galleries, i realized i used to use a lot of beads, sequins and metal bits in my work. I still have drawers and drawers! No point in saving them for the coffin, unless someone volunteers a good big glue gun, because i doubt anyone has enough time to stitch them all on, before i go underground…………………except i want a green burial, so that’s not gonna work either, millions of itty bitty plastic, metal and glass thingies getting tangled in the roots that grow over me 🙂 So use ’em!

I’m not going to suddenly start encrusting everything in sight though, and certainly a lot of the work i do does not need orange sequins or blue crystals! But it might be fun to add unexpected ingredients or components.

Previous work, some of which was heavy on the beads 🙂

While i’m stitching on more indigo and naturally dyed moons, i also pulled out some vintage brights as well, a late 70’s rayon:

This can definitely carry some Bling 🙂

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And our newest rescue! My MIL has had “custody” of Cosmo for a few years now, but with her refusal to admit he has a health problem–really really bad teeth, due to her really really REALLY bad care of him–and her denial even after a vet appointment, that there was anything wrong with him (she even refused to give him the painkiller prescribed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), Greyman went over on Friday night and pulled him out of there. He is now OURS, period. We got the expected hypocritical phone call “Oh i can’t sleep worrying about him” after the fact, but as far as i’m/we’re concerned, if you can buy several new couches in a year, new stereo equipment and those stoopid Franklin Mint “collectables”, and then plead poverty at the mention of the bill for the dental work needed, you can go &^%* yourself. We may not be the richest, but we WILL take care of our babies.

Cosmo is brother to our other white cat, Elmo (Mo), in the inset photo. Cosmo is partly polydactyl, front feet only, Mo is normally toed on all 4 feet, and there was a third brother who was completely polydactyl, Leo, who unfortunately passed away several years ago. Cosmo has spent the last two nights with me, but has now settled on my stoodio worktable, ignoring and being ignored by the other animals (Mo, Slapshot, the cats and Nessie, the DogFaced Girl)–except for the occasional drive by hissing and swinging Slapshot. Cosmo is of course, rather grouchy right now, but still a sweetheart, and we know after his teeth are fixed, will settle in more comfortably.

I know a lot of people think i am a nasty, crusty, people hating bitch (and maybe rightly so, because i don’t like most people 🙂 ), but when it comes to animals, don’t screw with me.

a collusion of ideas, Deliberation--do something you don't do--or haven't in awhile, Probably talking to just myself

deeper soil

Posted on July 19, 2016July 19, 2016 by arlee

My garden for the second year in a row is holding its breath–a kind of regrouping, a rest, making sure those roots are deep, the buds turning the right way, and then surely waiting for the sky to blue deeply. Even though i’m a flowergirl by day at work, flowers, plants, roots have been on my mind much more than normal this summer. Time to plant another garden, one in my thoughts and growing from my fingers, deeper soil.

Since the flood in 2013, roots have been prevalent in my work.

I think of how roots not only let things grow, but anchor, delve deep into layers and layers, pierce stone, search water, search earth, seeking nurture and permanency.

Every time we go to the mountains, my eyes find the seekers, the holders of place and time. Taken at Red Rock Canyon in Waterton Park last week, these visible reminders show me the dominion of tenacity, the innate desire and need of solid ground to moor so growth, flowering and seeding can happen.

Roots are veins as well, and tendons, supports, carriers of blood, droghers bearing impulse, explorers of new territory, guardians and defenders of old ground.

There are always cuttings on my windowsills with fine filaments waiting for soil.

Creeping, settling, looking for any escape, solidity.

I’ve been struggling, seriously doubting, second guessing, sabotaging and burying things the last month or two. Despite a good life, a decent job, and people and animals who love me, i’ve been fighting the Black Dog again. *That* root is unfortunately very strong, going to my bedrock. I’d like to bury that damn dog far below the surface, fossilize it, break it into small parts that will feed new growth, root new stock. Go back to origin. Go to ground. Till over and start again. Make it disappear but for a few fragments of coal.

Or diamonds, should i be so lucky.

I can’t not make, as presently hard as either approbation is.

Deliberation--do something you don't do--or haven't in awhile

nice

Posted on July 15, 2016July 15, 2016 by arlee

Well, it is. Pretty even, not my usual thing, but maybe that’s the point.

Start with the known and somewhere deliberately fall off the path. This thing will get bastardized within an inch of its life in the future.

a collusion of ideas, Deliberation--do something you don't do--or haven't in awhile, journal: lessons to learn

new play tool

Posted on April 6, 2016April 6, 2016 by arlee

MM, what a fabulous ~~time waster~~ tool 🙂 I usually just use my trusty free download of Irfanview to fiddle with photos. It has enough “effects” and capabilities usually that it suffices to get the fires going. I also don’t have one-a them fancy newfangled “smart” phones that can download all the (mostly) useless apps everyone thinks they have to have. Once in awhile though, a computer tool comes along on a site that is useful for manipulating colour, line and feeling. It’s good to shake things up once in awhile.

I really like this tool, so i spent a few hours with it this morning. Most of the “filters” distort your photo so much that the point is lost, IMHO. (And who really wants their work to look like a mass of peanuts or jelly beans, the American flag, or “Citradelic”????) I stuck to the “Kandinsky” filter, and found that while black and white uploads can give lovely images, the more strongly coloured your photo is, the more contrast and interest points there are. The panoramas below are the original sketches i used for my “The Weight She Carries” ( i used only one wing alone in the final work!) and the manipulated image. I find it fascinating that the mood of the original becomes completely different, joyful even. I still want to use the whole original sketches as works, but companion pieces in the “happier” version would be interesting as well, with different methods used in each.

If you want to play too, go to Dreamscope, but be warned: you could spend HOURS, DAYS, WEEKS futzing around. Be selective 🙂 I won’t be going back for awhile: i have all the grist for the mill i need right now. (The larger your photo upload, the longer it will take—and magically, a 650×871 sized photo becomes a 894×1200 manipulation, go figure…)

Deliberation--do something you don't do--or haven't in awhile

impatient curtains

Posted on April 4, 2016April 4, 2016 by arlee

I have sewn for Greyman, myself and the homestead not for a long time. Our front porch/sunroom still had the drab utilitarian curtains up that came with the house, so i decided to whip something up a little more memorable. Our new neighbours will no doubt hate them, but it’s my job as neighbourhood artist/freak to offend, bother and bewilder people, so WTF.

For the record, i made a few mistakes due to my haste in getting them up. I haven’t done any domestic sewing in years really. They DO hang straight, though in the photos look a bit wonky due to angles and crammed in corner stuff, but i assure you they are rectangular at least. However, one set is one up, one down, motif wise, and the others not only had to be patched for length, but one is wrong side away……..but they are all rectangular 🙂

A very loud African batik, i didn’t know what else to do with this fabric. I think at one point i was actually going to make lounge pants out of them, but they would scare my couch when i sat on it, so nope. These below will be pyjama-ey lounge pants, the blue cheetah for Greyman and the wild flowers for me.

And because i was on a roll, a new pincushion.

Just what i need to add to the 11tybajillion others. But it’s cute made from fabric i designed way back and had printed by Spoonflower.

What next? Cushions i’ll have to hide because the DogFaced Girl will muck them up, a new top (tunic style as always) for me that i’ll probably wear once at a wedding, and whatever else my bored little mind comes up with. There’s a reason i am no longer a domestic goddess.

Creative Strength Training with Jane Dunnewold, Deliberation--do something you don't do--or haven't in awhile, Home Cookin' the Cloth

Ice, ice, Baby

Posted on March 29, 2016March 29, 2016 by arlee

Part of my “training for creative strength” over the past three months, is to try things i haven’t done, or at least haven’t done successfully :). I signed up for Susan Purney Mark‘s ice dyeing class, thinking i’d like to add some more colour fabrics to the arsenal.

Good thing it is ice dyeing, because Calgary this winter has had a great dearth of snow. It’s been the brownest one i’ve ever seen. And OH MY, what a difference having proper instruction makes!

I know now that my previous results were extremely wasteful of dye powder—another reason i gave up at that time. Though i know it’s not the last available, any i have is hoarded until i periodically slap myself and wonder what the use is of just storing them 🙂

I also am tired of trying to re-ecoprint failures, as they have never worked for me. Once done, they seem to be done, and most of the time if they DO ecoprint again, i end up with a muddy dark ugly mess of a cloth…….This means i have more than a few boxes of fabric that is uninspiring, horrific, embarrassing and with a face like a can of smashed ass****s. Cloth of course should NOT be thrown out regardless, and can always be overdyed. Naturals weren’t cutting it either, so for this next little while, i’ll be winnowing out the deformed and grotesque, and whacking some ice and Procion over it. There’s no rule book that says you can’t combine natural and chemical. And i LOVED the golden yellow and violet Procions bits added to the indigo overdyed grevillea ecoprint in previous posts :).

This is the last week of Jane‘s class as well. I admit to falling behind and must spend the coming weekend catching up—no point in not pushing myself to the limit, and hopefully beyond. I’ve learned more than a few things about myself, the way i work, and why i work the way i do, valuable.

Deliberation--do something you don't do--or haven't in awhile, Leighton work