Continuing into Last Fall

Last fall my youngest son moved to Vancouver and while hiking I came upon a tree with charred insides that looked to me like a woman walking in a black robe.  With thoughts of an empty nest and womb I called this dyed silk and wool piece 'Crone'.  I entered it in the Sidney Fine Arts Show but it wasn't one of the pieces selected and I'm just as happy to have it up on my wall!

Feeling further into my process, I called this dyed, felted and stitched piece 'With Every Ending Comes a New Beginning'.

And this one was inspired by Hundertwasser - I wanted to see if I could combine silk and wool to show layers.  Just one bird now - in a 'nest' of joyful colour - a mirror for more time to create with fibre ahead!

When Twigs was a puppy and I had limited periods to work, I would felt or dye small pieces and I combined some into a journal cover ready for a journey to Saltspring Island for Felt Feutre - Canadian Felting Week.

Shows Last Summer

Most of the pieces I've been posting were included in a fibre art group show put on by the Mark Makers -  which I'm part of - last summer at the Victoria College of Art.  'The Texture of Blue' is indigo dyed, felted and hand stitched wool, cotton and silk.  It's a response to my experience of  blue: sadness, grief and loss encompassing deeper fissures, hidden pockets, fraying, unraveling, wearing out and fading over time.

'Seeing the Grain' is machine stitched on silk and was inspired by the grain in a sheet of plywood surrounding a construction site.  Beauty is everywhere waiting for me to notice.

'Reaching the High Notes' was in the Sooke Fine Arts Show last summer - and its name captures how I felt!

More Work From Last Year

 'The Book of She' is a monoprinted, indigo dyed, handstitched linen, cotton, silk, satin and velvet book I made about the creative process -

 from dark void to seeds of ideas

 moving into a spiral line of direction and emergence into shape birthing

into form and expansion of the inner and outer world before the return to the space of the void in preparation for the process to begin again...

Some Work From Last Year

 

 'She Rules the World' - the Goddess Isis - a gift for my sister.

 A response to a dream I had - reflecting on a feminine version of power as a healing, creative force and the deep desire for life to continue; the power of love, generosity, kindness, support and truth telling, and the fierce devotion and protection of loved ones and the earth.

'New Pathways' was inspired by the work of Anthony Thorn and is about pushing into new territory with a sense of determination, adventure and discovery.

I asked what to make next before taking a nap and awoke with this image.  'Freedom' is being conscious I have a full spectrum of possible choices to support me in creating my experience.  This piece is over 5 feet wide, although you might not imagine that, given the small size of this photo!

Out of the Dog House

After a very long blog break, I've decided to post regularly again.  Last year, 'Twigs' came to warm my lap and heart. Most of my studio time was spent felting and I'll post some of what I did over the next few days.

                                      

Backyard Bounty

 It's been a grey day out and while I was in my yard to pick a colourful bouquet, I noticed some of the flowers are fading.

 I returned for my basket, thinking to gather fallen and fading blooms and put them to use colouring silk.

 The peonies are just beginning to show themselves, but I luckily had petals of the same kind ready to use from a bunch I'd  been given and here is a close up of the result:

 And those orange poppies?  They gave a much subtler hue.

Here is the peony piece and the one beneath was a mixture of  azaleas, rhododendrons and a variety of others.

I would like to make another garment using some of the flower fabric.

Indigo Mandalas

I've been dyeing a few more mandalas - but I think the indigo vat needs some adjusting as I'm not getting the darker blues.

The one I like best so far is the one below - but it would look much better with some darker blue - there's an inner star in the center that didn't come out clearly.

 I have signed up for Glennis Dolce and Richard Carbin's Indigo Mandala on-line workshop, which begins tomorrow.  I'm hoping to learn more - maybe I could do a daily dyed mandala as a sort of meditation.  I have explored multi-coloured mandalas before with dye, coloured pencils, felts, fabric, and paint - and maybe I will combine the indigo with other natural dyes to see what that's like.

This is a close up of a piece of a lace shirt that no longer fits that I dipped in the indigo.  The threads that stayed white must be polyester, and look like the sky today which is an overcast white with no blue!