A simple shape, unadorned, plain, unassuming, no clear path, unstoried.
Just a start. Some desire the fade into the background, don’t want attention on a personal level, but imperfect circling, coiled spring, comforting ensphere goes round and round only, nowhere. Just an end. Ouroborous unbound, the ultimate allegory.
We’ve been off work this past week, a holiday, though we didn’t get as far or do as much as we had hoped to. A day trip to Waterton Park way down by the border was a good de-compression though. I just couldn’t do justice with the camera to the MILLIONS AND MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of flowers in bloom–i’ve never ever seen so much blooming beauty in all my days! There’s an old home movie with the three year old self exclaiming “but where are all the flowers?????” Every story book i’d ever read had pictures of woods covered in colour and form, and the real thing was quite disappointing 🙂 (Never mind that it was autumn with red and gold leaves, when everything is going to sleep 🙂 ) This latest experience was a payback, or a pay forward? for that 3 year old though! Imagine meadows, roadsides, forest floors and mountain sides covered, and i mean COVERED in purple, pink, yellow, white, blue, orange and red, coral and peach, lime and emerald in every form and hue, in every texture and shape, and OH what a glorious feast for the eyes.
I’m still kind of stuck with actually settling on anything of any import, but heck, just get on with something then. Often the doing will inspire other ideas or get the blood and imagination going and flowing, so why not? 
I’ve been switching between weights and types of thread for this, as is my wont, from finer 12 wt to a thicker #5 perle in shades of violet and browns, changing the scale of stitch and motif, hoping to make her come alive. I tried the working of the second eye upside down, and it did seem to work! Her “hair flower” will have more of that lovely wormy jellyfish stitching, but in greys to add more depth.
And now i’m seeing more flowers, floral do-eys on/with her. I’m not about to go all gaga with them though–as much as i’m a flower girl in my garden and day job, there must be a balance of personality on this as well. She will be what she will be in the end.
Well, no *actual* burning yet…but who knows?
I like the lace but am not sure yet where it will go, as i have other “cracks” planned as well. Perhaps it will leak out somewhere else.
Day 9 (yesterday), today and tomorrow are the last days i am able to work in the studios at ACAD, so i figured i best get big, and buckle down. (And though i will miss her, Anne who was using the other “half” of the big tables, will be gone home, which means i get ALL of the space in the wet studio.) Since part of the work i do here is for future use in my own studio, i tried to think ahead with what i’d like to do.
I had planned on spending a major part of the day there, with a decent lunch and lots of juice to fuel me, something to work on while waiting, but ran out of room! I completely covered the area i had plastic for, and had to call it quits after 3 and a half hours, dang it! The results are worth it, but i sure wish i’d had more room! Next time i do this (2018, as it seems to be every two years???), i plan on taking more plastic and using the floor as well.
EDIT: July 12/21—-since she has featured in several years of what-ifs and some work, the above piece is the base for “Samara“.
I haven’t photographed most yet, and these above are also still in their wet stage, so another round of Mr DeMilles will happen once they are dry. (Some will end up in the shop, but most are for me, whether as “whole cloth”, or to cut up, for future work–which starts this week!)
I went as deep as i could again today, and tomorrow, my last day, will be rushed with only a few hours too as the afternoon is Day Job time. Everything has to come home on Friday, so the desk in home studio can be used by someone else. (The “official” last day of a one month residency would be Sunday the 3rd, but i just can’t get there on the weekend, with it being a Holiday weekend–YEAH CANADA DAY—-and household duties to attend to. Reality is so rudely intrusive 🙂 , as are the weeds in the garden i have to pay attention to in the next few days.
Can’t wait to get stitching on some of these!!!!!!!!!!!!
Back at it!
More circles on the large moon piece last night, and yes, the glowing rhubarb root yellow thread for clouds, but today i must also get the figure where she belongs too!
Several choices, reminding me of searching for the perfect background for “Mother’s Heart” in 2013. (Looking for that post opens thought processes again for more of those wonderful anatomical hearts….) I don’t want her “dancing” on this work–though that would be difficult with no feet!– but i don’t want her “standing still” either. She must float, wave, hover, but still rise from, if that makes any sense.
Weak:
It *could* work, but not in this context.
Better, but the borgles going under the figure would be problematic, even trimmed away:
Rather dull too.
AHHHHHHHHHHHH, yes.
Some movement, some areas of interest, a contrast in texture.
I’ll trim away behind the figure though, because i’d really like to use the textured area in something else as well, maybe another small moon piece.
Picked out most of the intrusive “WTH was i thinking” stitch areas (except for the bottom left still to be removed), and sticking to one slow circle a day. Well, actually a circle a twenty minutes…. I’m undecided yet about the cloud and mountain shapes–do i stick to the blue, or do i add that wonderful rhubarb root thread for the incredible glow it gives?
It’s going to be interesting to see if much distortion will occur when i stretch this one, or if the distortion will *be* stretched *out*–hoping it all works if that happens! I’ll just say it’s part of the “organic” process 🙂
I’m quite enjoying all this indigo work, but i’m ready for new stuff too–back to neutrals and rust? A different colour? Might be spending a month with some new sampling in the sketchbook and some different techniques. Or maybe a different medium. Time to ratchet things in a new direction. I love my work and my way of working, but i don’t want to be bored, stagnating or repeating myself.
Well, first i cut the bottom half off. The borgles are wonderful, but are doing nothing for this one as i had intended. That’s okay because it can be pressed into service in other work. You have to know when to “cut your losses” 😉
The moon is progressing. I shall have to pull out that bungled running stitch on top of the outer ring, looking more petal than sky.
I’m getting “blue-ed out” as well, and need to turn my attention to something else to pace myself and keep the flow going. Interrupting myself is one of the ways i actually continue.
My computer and keyboard are having issues, so that’s enough today…………………………………….
I was going to do just the indigo blue “crackle” stitching on this lovely figure, but decided that since she is a mother archetype for me, that the roots could strengthen the story. The moon will reflect on her, and she on the moon, and the mountains and river will enter the story easily as well.
This indigo dyed grevillea ecoprint could be one of my favourite fabrics now. Did i subconsciously choose the perfect layout for the roots across her? They twine across her body, cross over her breasts, even mirror her face. Only my subconscious knows.
I’ve wanted to start something else while i work on the Leighton Art Centre exhibit piece, as i have enough time before the deadline to implement other ideas for separate work. This one has sat in my sketchbook since 2012 0r 2013 (?), and i’ve been wanting to do something with it for a long time obviously.
And since i tend to alternate “natural” with COLOUR when i make things, first i wanted to do this :
(And i will, because that is lovely. Maybe even two of the figures as shown, on that parfait dyed cotton i did a couple of years ago.)
BUT, then i realized this might work with the Leighton thing too.
OO, if i flip the fabric, she has an eye!
Thread choice because it’s springy:
NOPE. Too dark, wrong flavour, thread choice wouldn’t work either.
Hey, there’s still some of the moon fabric left, and the indigo dyed silk thread as well!
Muchly better-er.
I think she needs a bit of enhancement as well, but not sure if i’ll add the safrrony-yellow-orange— or maybe a violet for shading.
And maybe i can add the long roots piece back as well, IF i space things out a bit more, so they don’t look so crowded.
I might do this one as well. Perhaps there could be a series of these, in different moods and treatments.
albedo too 
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