embrilting – Page 7

Commission, embrilting, in progress, Tabula Memoria

naming

Posted on February 26, 2017February 26, 2017 by arlee

This beautiful bamboo thread was the one i thought i would run out of, but fortunately a dear friend sent me another lump of it. Thanks Meg, you are a Peach!

Photo above “pre” all the stitching!

And i may have to order more of the little Valdani ball of “Shimmering Denim”, a lovely variegated, but a silly name–who’s ever seen denim “shimmer”? 🙂

Anyhoo, i had a good weekend with the work, and am closer to finishing these 2 sections than i thought. As always, working intense areas gets rather myopic and one can’t see the whole until stepping back, literally.

I also finally settled on a title! Since this piece is about memory, and all the associations and “syndromes”, it is now “Tabula Memoria”.

Day Job at the fffFlower Mines, embrilting, in progress

feelin’ the love (sort of)

Posted on February 13, 2017February 13, 2017 by arlee

As many of you know, i am a floral designer by day, and this being Valentine’s Day “week”, i haven’t had much stitching time! It’s been more stressful this year, when people seem to forget it’s the same day EVERY YEAR DUH (and wait until the last minute, and then bitch because we’ve run out of things), but our flowers were stuck in the mountains for 48 hours due to the road and weather conditions! You should have seen me beetling around yesterday, “power arranging” vases and bouquets, making up for the days we couldn’t do it! I’m thinking of adding a “F***you Fee” to difficult customer orders…….

Every minute counts though, and a stitch here and there adds up. I’m loving this blue variegated on the axons and ganglia!

texture

Image• Posted on February 7, 2017February 7, 2017 by arlee

embrilting, in progress, journal: lessons to learn

a stitch, or many, in time

Posted on January 30, 2017January 31, 2017 by arlee

“How did it get so late so soon?” ― Dr. Seuss

Time and space are slowing with this one. Since the last “photo session” on the 25th, i have added 11 more hours worth of stitch to this area, and feel (while i’m loving it) that little more has been done…………..

Intricacy, tiny occlusions and inclusions, artistic license *and* accuracy, the Devil is in the details as They say.

(I however have to pick parts of that top hex out, as it woogled and borgled.)

The indigo was definitely the right choice.

I’ve had to make tons of notes as i go along, because there are many steps for working each section of the neuron. I keep missing little bits as i go through each one!

I wanted to add what i thought were synapses somewhere, but my thinking about this has been wrong. I thought a synapse was a totally different animal, but research shows me it’s the space “between” neurons.

I can appreciate the beauty of this though, as it’s not all cut and dried facts. My favourite shot to date below, though the lighting is not true.

The “hand” of all this stitching is sore, but the “hand” of all this stitching is so wonderfully tactile too 🙂

I had a big long discussion with myself originally on this post about “meditative” and “mindful”, but blah blah so i deleted it.

a collusion of ideas, Collision: the work begins, embrilting, in progress, Sketchwork

stitching in semiotics

Posted on January 24, 2017January 25, 2017 by arlee

I wonder how meaning is created, not what it is. Symbolism, connotation, iconography, denotation, synecdoche: Memory.

(Sketch of normal neuron from 2011)

A long time ago, i worked a series i called the Artist’s Body. Bones, hearts and brains fascinated, still do fascinate me. How do all these things come together to make a living, breathing entity? Now i’m focusing on one of the more “ephemeral”, unquantifiable aspects of the brain, memory.

Not all of us will fall prey to Alzheimer’s, though most of us as we age, start having faulty memories, the connections becoming disparate, as time and self dissociate. And when you really think about it, all of life is memory, except for the moment of NOW, that changing moment of awareness as we live it, and instantly it becomes the past, another memory.

Memory is time as illustration also. (Even as i write this, i have to refer to my trusty Stitch Journal, for dates…) On the 22nd, i spent 5 hours laying this out and hand stitching.

Yesterday, another 5.25 hours:

I’m almost where i can start adding the indigo underneath certain pieces.

And can something so drifting and fleeting be so tangible to, and in, physical touch? Palpable, stirring, substantial, as i run my fingers over this.

embrilting, in progress, Moons

still juicing

Posted on October 23, 2016October 23, 2016 by arlee

I’d have had more done by now, but yesterday i was elsewhere, and though i had brought this with me, the minute i opened the bag, the needle flew out and was lost! And since when have i ever poked only ONE needle in for use???? Only yesterday………..

Fortunately, we are working our way through Deadwood, and my brain and fingers can separate to get something done 🙂

By the end of day i should have enough components for three moons, with interesting bits left for other projects.

And for the record, though Deadwood is dirty and grit laden, with horrendous behaviours and the lowest of criminal intent, it has much historical basis, incredibly well developed characters, and the language, oh the language is so wonderfully Shakespearean! (Some of it will go right over the heads of most, but i know you intelligent readers will understand 🙂 )

embrilting, in progress, Not so ordinaries

moving along, and another backyard rescue

Posted on August 14, 2016August 14, 2016 by arlee

I could might get this done in time for the exhibit!

The honeycomb/hexes/cells are stitched with rhubarb root dyed cotton perle–i just love the way this dye glows an any fibre!

I wanted to add more of my treasured and hoarded walnut dyed lace, but i put it somewhere in a safe spot–and someone has moved or hidden the safe spot!!!

And Greyman to the rescue again! He was going to mow the back 40 last night, but found a young robin by the lawnmower, so for the next hour we fed, watered and kept safe the fella until his Momma came back. He was full grown in size, but not in temperament or self care, but still with baby feathers, so pretty!

No sign of him this morning, so hope he’;s safe, but we can hear Momma.

embrilting, in progress, Residency 2016

a little hex vexed

Posted on August 11, 2016August 11, 2016 by arlee

I think i need more of them…….

I apologize for the lighting, taken last night at 1130 in a dim studio!

Not the finalized layout, i’m playing around with placement, and i feel i need more of them to not look like a last minute add on…..

embrilting, in progress, Residency 2016

hexing

Posted on August 8, 2016August 8, 2016 by arlee

I’d planned on using these in a more ambitious project, but now they will be on the face piece–and i need a name for her soon!

Since the hexagon shape often appears in my work on the background as part of the “embrilting”, it’s a natural progression to add them in a more dimensional form. I like these shapes as they evoke honeycombs, cells, natural forms. These will all be puffed up and added along the bottom corners in various configurations, “dripping” off. And i think the Caron Wildflowers “Ash” (#218) is my new favourite colourway, sliding from fog and snow and back again, especially on this “filler” fabric i designed during residency.

I hadn’t realized/remembered the face fabric being so gold, so will have to work out a proper integration of the very white hexes!

I might have to build the canvas stretchers as well, as i don’t think i have any pre-mades this size.

There are now only 20 days until the deadline!

Contextural Fibre Arts Co-operative, embrilting, Residency 2016

res day 8, abort

Posted on June 22, 2016June 22, 2016 by arlee

24 hour tummy bug yesterday, damn it, so no time at ACAD. This week sucked for getting in there, but at least on Monday i was able to find some more cotton. I’m going to have to do a LOT of work next week in the last few days i can get in!!!!!!!!!! I think the next time i do a residency, i will go for the three months! While some of the work i do is for the shop, i also try to have enough of a “stockpile” for my own work–and i’m not getting much of either done…….

I made the best of it however, and not only got a start on the first face, but managed to make 2 dozen sachets for the bread and butter sales. Boring but necessary 🙂 At least it smelled good while i was working!

I’m now “seeing” this face “dense” with asemics. Need to switch to a finer thread for the effect though, as both i used were so similar (swirls along the side of the face as well) that there is no visual difference. I’d use a silk, but the sheen makes it more obvious too.

I love how the eye turned out, but doing the other so it “matches” scares me! It can’t be “identical” as light and shadow is different for each side of the face, but i hope the skew isn’t too skewy! The original work from 2007 that inspired this was all in colour, but her eyes were black/blank areas, so i’m winging this aspect. I also need to think how i’m going to add more dimension to the flower area on the left side of her face: it seems a shame to cover that with something, but it may have to happen.