Category: in progress

Posted in in progress, journal: lessons to learn, Residency 2017, Tabula Memoria

the heat is on

Posted on by arlee

Not really. The heat is OFF, damn it.

My third “batch” of fabrics are totally disappointing. The studio now is air conditioned, so things dry out much too faster. Every previous year i’ve been in there, i’ve sweltered and dripped, brought in fans while i was working, and didn’t worry about amounts of water on things. This year, HA. I’ve had to dump pints and quarts on things to make them work. Day three results are now actually day four results, because i had to leave things for 48 hours instead of the usual 24, and they were still SHIT.

Sigh. There’s going to be a lot of overdyeing. The largest piece was supposed to be for my res end exhibit piece, but i’ll have to rethink that now. I am reminded of my first res tip back in 2009: “Make a plan for what you’ll do, half it–and half it again”……………..

I guess i’ll be doing the majority of this technique at home in a hot sunny back 40, fighting the wind and bird poo instead! But there are other things i can do at the school stoodio, so with three months in this res, i’ll be trying a few different things. I have time to experiment and mess around, refine other processes, and just get dirty.

 

My deadline for Tabula Memoria is looming, the end of July, and while i have put in time with it, and am actually at a point where there technically is little left to do on it, it still needs to be worked on. (Phew, that’s one hell of a run on sentence…) I’ve been taking it with me to the fffFlower Mines (Day Job), and to the residency, so i can work on it—while doing the hurry up and wait thing!

The moon area was completed several weeks ago, and the standing figure is almost finished this week.

I can’t attach either figure until the other stitching is all done, because i don’t want to snag anything.

I started shopping around for a suitably sized stretched canvas to mount it on. The variance in prices is astounding! I’ve been quoted from $60 (seems way too low!) to $168 (way too high!) for a uniquely sized 41×43 frame, and might just end up building it myself. I do a wrap around technique, so though the actual work started at 48×46, stitch “shrinkage” had to be accounted for as well as the wrap around.

 

Posted in a collusion of ideas, Contextural Fibre Arts Co-operative, in progress, Residency 2017

res exhibit ideas

Posted on by arlee

At the end of every Contextural residency, we have an exhibit of work (hopefully) done through the summer. (Some people put whatever they like in, done wherever and whenever, which to me is pointless…….but we won’t go there.)

Being as this is the 10th anniversary for Contextural, and even though i’ve only been a member since 2009 (though i missed one year), i thought i’d look at my own work done 10 years ago.

Seriously? Very little i did then is show worthy really. Futzing about with mixed media, extraneous details, overloaded with technique and colour, the only value they have now is as samples and whatnottodo-whatthehellwasithinking’s! ICK. Fortunately (?), most of them are photos only, lost, tossed or given and flooded away (2013), so i don’t have to store them 🙂

But i did find this:

Above, the finished page, below, in progress shots:

A page i had done for an international fabric art journal exchange, i could work with this. I can incorporate the indigo, ecoprinting, rust and potassium permanganate and create something new. Looking back can take you ahead.

Posted in Commission, embrilting, in progress, Tabula Memoria

more heart

Posted on by arlee

Slopped around some paint and sketching in the Am to just get out of a major futz, and then picked up the second figure for Tabula Memoria. YES. “More heart” indeed: the first attempt was arbitrarily stitched, but i think the actual heart attempt on this, the second attempt, is MUCH better.

The first/older aborted start, below:

The new Valdani threads came in handy, but rather than dividing the 3 strands, i left it as a 3ply. Seems to be finer than DMC (though not as smooth), but worked like a dream.

And using the stretcher was actually much easier than i thought it would be. I left re-starting this one a (too long) while, as i hate using hoops of any sort at the best of times, so KERPOW to you Misconception. I wrassled ya down. This haremcloth behaved itself beautifully.

Posted in embrilting, in progress, journal: lessons to learn, Tabula Memoria

last man standing

Posted on by arlee

The second figure for this piece has been a bit problematic. The original sketch’s colouring (above centre right) did not translate well the first time to the haremcloth—too green, too dark. The sampling (above centre left) was actually done before the large attempt at the stitching, but i lost sight of what it was and didn’t go to the now aborted attempt with it.

I’ve gone back to the idea of the stitched sample (which will become a small piece on its own, as i quite like it), for the colouring and the “flavour”. Less is more.

I however DID like the stitching i did on the first, so will be doing that again.

The tapestry frame worked a dream for stretching the expletive deleted haremcloth, keeping it taut and 99% on grain. I’m sure any nun or lace maker would agree that the 1% should be more important, but considering the piece when done will be loosely attached to the main background, subtle stitch manipulation will true it up.

I stitched it to both sides, then flipped it over and stitched one end because there was enough overlap, but the other end had to be stapled because there wasn’t enough at the end to fold over. Poohpoohpeedoo, it worked.

Now we’ll see if i can work it this way, as i am unused to hooping of any sort, except on the very very rare occasion. I suspect i’ll be propping it on the edge of a table, and working stab fashion, instead of my usual fold, borgle, crumple method.

Posted in Commission, in progress, Tabula Memoria

recap, to remind myself

Posted on by arlee

I’ve done more than i thought, and less than i thought. Still 3 months to deadline.

Top centre detail, moon:

Left and right panels:

Tall figure mock-up, and seated figure:

Seated figure:

Right panel detail:

Right panel (tipped, as it actually is vertical):

Left panel:

Seam treatment:

The whole is 44×46″:

Potassium permanganate, brazilwood, iron on cotton.

Posted in a collusion of ideas, Commission, in progress, Moons, Sketchwork, Tabula Memoria

moon decision made

Posted on by arlee

So handy to live in a digital age 🙂 Hesitant to put needle and thread to the centre, i did this first, and am confident that the top right is the way to go. Some of the sketchies were dismissed immediately, some would work elsewhere on other work, but this gives me a clear idea of how to handle that centre strip.

It needs to be “filled” but VERY discretely, and more “openly” so it doesn’t fight with the rest of the moon, and the rest of the work. The moon needs to be emphasized, but not at the expense of the other elements: it can’t assume more importance than the figures or side work.

My order of threads had arrived last week, so i’ve chosen the Caron Wildflowers #171 Caramel to work that area. It “blends” enough with the colours of the fabric and natural dye processes, but is still alive enough to add a little interest, without being overly visible. There’s plenty, with 2 skeins, to do this and to add the discrete hexagons to other areas of the whole. I may also use it for the standing figure–which has to go on the frame sometime this week and be done!