Candle Screen

Torn silk, coated w/rsg for stiffness, stitched on tulle.

Installation

Created an abode for little felt figure. Used silk chiffon, coated with rabbit skin glue (to make it paper-like), and stitched the walls to pegs in the base. Hung chandelier, design cut in paper, and placed the needle felted figure in the center. Embroidered a door, as figure must have means of egress. Placed candle behind for photograph..imagining nearby campfire.

People Felt

Playing with a project...felt person..."On The Edge"

Flax Paper

Made "paper" out of flax. First piece was sheer (in front of statue), as I had limited supply of long staple flax (not dyed). The white piece was made from dyed flax with a shorter fiber, and made it thicker (3 layers)...also made "lace" pattern of flowers on it by creating space with pin (pushing around fibers in wet stage). The last picture here shows dyed flax fiber, after it has left the living plant, but before it is woven into linen or used to create paper.

Technical: Lay out fiber on screen, cover with screen, paint diluted (1:4) white glue/water mixture on top, let dry while lifting screen to prevent sticking, but keeping integrity of "paper" you are creating.

Musee Rodin -- in stitches

Assignment was to create something on handmade paper inspired from poem, song or story. I chose story, and my new found joy in making French knots spurred me to use embroidery, those Fks being roses.

Roses brought me to Musee Rodin story..traipsing about it with my sister. Great roses around The Thinker, but, the story of that venture was of the empty pedestal...kind of tall, but with sculpture out for repair or something. A girl (14?), having fun with her large family, jumped up on the pedestal and posed as sculpture. You kind of had to be there. Was so nice to see such spontaneous art, especially in the somewhat proper Paris garden setting.

Enchanted with looking, I didn't get my camera out fast enough. That lead to a discussion with my sister about participating and viewing. Great photographers seem to do both at the same time, but that takes skill and practice. The story also relates the ability to see a sunrise, a wave, or another beautiful moment and hold it with you, without a physical recording.

I chose to stitch a map of the garden because of a few hand drawn "from memory or creation" map pictures I have enjoyed...one from Jirinia's son Jan, and another of an artist at Creative Growth. The perspective of a map, and all the paths one can travel.

So, the french knot brought the rose, the rose brought the garden, the garden recalled the story, and that reminded me of beauty of all of it, including the lesson of the day.

Technical details: Transfered map onto Solvy, a water soluble material. Pinned Solvy onto my "paper" (silk georgette coated with glue..one rabbit skin glue, one white). Stitched with sewing machine (a lot of hand movements, back and forth with machine). Added flowers with hand embroidery. Tore off the Solvy (didn't want to risk adding water to my paper concoction) Yes, calling it paper is a stretch, at least to me, but that is what it was called in class, so, I am sticking (glue pun) with it...though may add a bit more coating to the silk to make it more papery hand.

Somewhat productive, but non-post-tive

Hmm, post-tive and positive are close, but no cigar. Have been doing things, but, not much to post. Found a new fabric store, which has led to a few new projects...hopefully helping with the project that I should have top in my concentration.

Did have fun discovering my new boots here -- reminded me about how much fun it is to create something that delights people. So much out there, how come much of it is ho-hum? Know it is often in perspective, but, believe the design heights in much of retail remain somewhat unscaled.

Some of the new fabric, along with the boots, pictured above.