Persistence in method and material

This is "Skin Keeps Us In" from 2006 and at the bottom, one of my "Ornamental Innards" a foray into soft 3D also in '06.

I've decided to call this compositional process "cat herding" for obvious reasons. Comes as no surprise to me that it's a place I like to go - organizing a group of small and not necessarily compatible elements.

We spend a lot of energy in this household doing just that. Who's in, who's out, who ate or not, who's fighting - and that's only a herd of 3.

Both of these pieces have a lot of a large damask tablecloth that I ripped into quarters and dyed.  I can't recall the larger motifs but the tiny dots woven into the cloth are everywhere in my work.

That little patch of blue on the piece I'm working on now came from that tablecloth and "As Yet Unbaptized" has some of it too.

There is almost nothing left of it.

replacement player

 

I found a tiny scrap of pale blue green  like the one that went into "Memories Feast" and carried it around in my pocket all day until about 10pm when I dismantled that false start and worked with what was at hand, all in support of this little piece of sky. 

Is this a color from nature? some ocean somewhere no doubt. I am possessed by this one. It's past midnight and I spent the afternoon hearing, among other entertaining tidbits,  how someone could crawl under a desk, ostensibly to check on some connections, and wind up sticking his tongue into an electric outlet. That should be fatal but it wasn't . I should be tired but I'm not.

WIP tuesday

As I knew it would as soon as I basted it, and as quickly as it's namesake has disappeared, "Georgia Snow"  has bored me and I'll set it aside rather than trash it for now. If any knows where I can by a spool of Sulky 12wt cotton, Brite White, let me know. The web has let me down. I really like using it for hand work and since Country Quilter in Somers closed I have no source for the solid colors.

  I was craving to use some of the silk scraps that M. sent me so I knew another grid piece was in the wings. This is very prelim. I'll stick it up on the cube wall today and spend a shift eyeballing it and moving things around. So far, it's not saying much beyond "oooo, yummy silk colors".

PS - dark and stinky, I took it all apart and started afresh

It's going to be a long and complicated day. For some of us life is so much simpler. Sweeties only question is "why don't I put out more birdseed so she can sit at the sliding glass doors and watch "the Squirrel Housewives of Lawrenceville".

Georgia Snow

...is quick and dirty and makes you long for summer the day after if falls.

except for this

The Grid Forgets Itself

 "the grid forgets itself"

10"x10" mounted


SOLD












closer

Something made me put down the needle and take this one to the mummification chamber for finishing. The sun is playing peekaboo through late afternoon clouds so this is a quick shot..kinda strong on the blues but I didn't want to tinker with it.

Quick - take a picture

because it will all be gone by lunchtime! Not your everyday business in this part of Georgia. This is the most snow (that's stuck around) that we've had in several years.

All told, maybe three inches but the trees and ground were cold enough to hang on to everything. The second after I shot this one a cloud of falling snow got me.

When I lived in NY, I worked as a telephone operator for AT&T and we were expected to be at work even if it was day one of Armageddon so a little snow on the road was no big deal. You learned to drive safely, brought your jammies & breakfast with you, just in case. More than once, the State Police closed the roads and all I had to do was wave my company badge outside the window to be waved through a police blockade. Power tripper, me and my Honda.

Our turn

The forecast is for 87 flakes. In two years not much has changed regarding winter in Georgia. Except for the cold, it's still just like this except today I have to schlep off to the office for more tales of woe. I'll pack extra scraps and hope for a slow evening. By now, after this weather week, do you think folks will get some sense and STAY THE HELL HOME for a minute?

For this moment, I'm having fun with Blogger's PAGES feature. Up there under the banner. Have to figure a way to insert images instead of type.  Thanks to several web friends for pointing it out. How are you taking advantage? Mine are under construction.

Once you log into Blogger, go to Posting tab...one of the tabs is
Edit Pages..do it right there.

WIP2

These are the parts I'm liking which means 3/4s of this piece is undergoing heavy revision. It's still not working as a whole so I won't bother with an overall look until one actually emerges.







Geez, you would think I was working on the Sistine Chapel and not a 10" square of scraps.


And speaking of spectacular and inspirational, take a look at this
 and this

hearty

It seems in all other hands this shape is sweet and tender. I have never been able to render it to my satisfaction.
This one may get some words if I can stop being snarky for just a minute.

M.Valle over at Instant Poetry is having a deleterious effect on my writing. She says out loud what I have on my mind all day at work.

"I love it when people say stupid things out loud and it's on tape"

kitchen chemistry

I find myself running out of spots, or holes, depending on your point of view, so it's time for a little kitchen table chemistry. Still too cold for any order work but it's amazing what a little Soft Scrub and a spray bottle of water will do.

Finding things are you?
Me too.

The navy blue piece at the top is a commercial print.
The large,crazed piece was a table mopper - a piece
of fabric that I use and reuse through one or more
dye sessions, cleaning up as I go. These pieces often
turn out amazing.

as yet unbaptized continues

I wish I could have spent more time with this one today (but I spent most of the day picking computer cooties out of my main machine and am now trying to resuscitate my son's laptop.Guess I know where the trouble started).. It's coming to life stitch by stitch  but I think I'm starting to stop.

Those little dark green rectangles had to go and that patch of blue just demanded to participate. Keep reminding me that french knots, as design elements, should be left to the end, like beading - and don't remind me that I have about 15 pounds of beads in a tub somewhere in the studio.

Folks are starting to settle in for the Stupor Bowl - I may watch the commercials, then again, why suffer through a game I don't care for to watch commercials for products I won't buy. Jim just told me that the Who will be performing at half-time. I wonder if all of the hordes of CSI(insert city) fans know where their favorites shows theme music came from. Hoping for a medley....

(PS - Hurray for the underdog Saints, the Who and the Coke commercial with the Sleepwalker. )

afternoon light

Because I work from noonish to darktime I rarely get to enjoy the afternoon sun. Off today and the weather cooperated so I spent a quiet afternoon stitching with that great light over my shoulder. Makes one's tired old eyes happy.

Things are creeping out of the cloth.




This treat was in the mail today - a whole boodle of silk snips and bits. I have to find a good plastic contain because a lot of jostling around will reduce this beauties to bundles of thread. A gorgeous trove - thanks Melissa, for this wonderful gift.

stitching at the lavanderia

I'm going to the laundromat in a bit to wash all the blankets in the house - they are too big and too many for my washing machine and thanks for the hurk, Sweetie, and I plan on sitting in the sun and working these two.

I continue to go back and forth between these two as the mood moves me. If I finish a thread and no forward path jumps out at me, instead of dashing on and doing anything ill considered or altogether blind, I'll set it aside and take up the other one.

In both pieces I am hinting and layering images and find myself clipping off pieces of fabric to see what is getting buried, what could be revealed.

New month, new day

I'm torn between working on this current piece and taking advantage of the morning light to work in the studio getting pieces of dyed cloth ready for sale.  That stack up top is next. Colin will be shooting them today for me.






I keep finding things that I'm going to keep for myself.One in ten will be staying home.

This was a tablemopper that has a lot of gold metallic acrylic smears . Many of my most successful pieces have been based around the clean up rags!

It's a keeper and speaking to me of getting back to larger pieces, my bigger, louder (more natural) voice.

mad purple flannel

I just finished housekeeping in the store over at Random Acts of Dyeness. Took down all the sold pieces (everything shipped yesterday!) and put up some new ones. I've hoarded this luscious hunk of flannel for a long time and I'm finally letting it go. 

I've put the Preview photos here until I can finish posting. If you see something you like that's not got it's own post at the store, send me an Email  and I'll get it done with sizes, prices, etc. I'm also willing to cut a piece in half if it's too big, just let me know.


Speaking of hoarders..have you seen that show on A&E? Now that's  a car wreck I can't stop watching even as  I skeeve! The lady whose false teeth were under the debris with the dead cat was the freakin' limit.

more on the whitework

Working on this one has claimed me. I was sitting at a traffic light on the way to work and actually glanced at the sewing bag thinking about the 8 or 10 stitches I could manage before the light changes.  *slaps self*

I scored a huge Mountmellick tablecloth years ago with thoughts of hitting it with the rainbow but I could never quite bring myself to violate it's purity. Until just the other day, I never even noticed a tiny worn spot that probably got it  demoted to a "cutter" on Ebay. Here's a better look.
I wanted some white and decided to take another bite out of the corner. You'll be seeing a lot of this cloth in my work in the future and I'm sure some color will come into play eventually, for now it will have to pass for winter snow. So far I think we've had six flakes...not that I'm complaining but I still miss a New England winter even after all these years.

whitework to go

I'll be working a stretch of days coming up so I started a second "to go" piece last night. Darn thing kept me up late.   
Arlee and Jude have inspired me to some white work to balance out that other dark, intense thing that I'm working on but I'm lugging around about five pounds of threads.

break time

I spent the whole morning folding, sorting, measuring, photographing and posting these great big pieces of fabric for sale at Random Acts of Dyeness. These were pieces of cotton that I was dyeing back when I measured my work in feet rather than inches.

Then I took a break and sat in the sun for a while stitching with the help and I realized that I might not be the only one working smaller these days and wonder if I should be hacking all these acres of fabric into little sampler bundles? Take the whole inventory and feed it into an industrial shredder? Rip, tear and roll. When I was taking the pictures I kept spying little pieces of the whole that I wanted to cut out and keep, like this one:

EYE CANDY TUESDAY

While looking for something else, I came across the last batch of things that I dyed last summer. There are about 40 damask table napkins, most of them 20" square. The fact that they were ironed tells me I was hoarding them. I've pulled out the duplicates and will be posting them for sale at Random Acts of Dyeness.

cusspots found

Well these have been missing in action since the art fair back in October - the leftover cusspots that I was cranking out.  Still have a few undyed and half a cone of string so I know what I'll be working on today at work.     These were part of an early experiment in fiber Mummification. I wanted  them to feel like baskets so I dipped them in a water/matte medium mix, squeezed them out, shaped them by hand and let them dry.

There is something relaxing and reflexive about this kind of work. After a few, I start to wander from the original plan and get crazy. See that tail on the blue one?

a working Sunday

With youthful exuberance, Sweetie will draw blood no matter how quick you think you are.I couldn't resist adding those little touches of red in this piece - a little bloodshed has to happen when chaos reigns. Maybe I watch too many crime dramas on TV.

It's time to put this one to bed and start rounding up the fabric suspects for the next lineup.

I dumped out the two big baskets in the studio this morning and have put an almost dozen bundles of scraps up for sale on Random Acts of Dyeness.  I have to make room in the stash for new things, clear the decks to clear my palette.

as yet unbaptized....

...may become the title for this one. It's coming on fun but the color constraints are starting to irk me. I cut off a piece of screaming chartreuse from my rag tote last night and draped it here and there around the piece looking for a niche. No luck last night but that was far from the last word on the matter. It's a tattered piece of damask that wants to carry on. You can bet I'll oblige.



I got a response to the question of UV protective qualities of the Golden matte medium I am using on the mummies. Summed up - NO.. but Scott sent a raft of useful links and information:

Hello Deb,


Most acrylic mediums do not offer any UV filtering, as this requires special chemical additives. Both of our conservation grade varnishes do have UV filtering compounds in them, and one medium, Gel Topcoat with UVLS.


Gel Top Coat with UVLS:
http://goldenpaints.com/mixmoremedia/geltop.php


Our regular Matte Medium does not offer UV filtering.


Some of the confusion that arises in this regard, has to do with the fact that all acrylics are naturally UV resistant. This is sometimes touted as one of the attributes of acrylic, and is then sometimes confused with UV filtering capabilities. UV resistant means that the acrylic molecules are resistant to UV light and the various types of damage that UV light can have on many different materials. This is one of the main reasons that acrylic is used in so many coatings today, including most house paints.


Acrylic mediums can certainly hold fibers together, and can add a different surface. They can add a bit of water resistance, especially glossy sheened products, however, all fine art grade acrylic paints dry to films that are porous to water vapor and air, so they will not work to completely seal a material from moisture. In this regard, they may help to add a longer life to some materials, but they will not necessarily stop other factors from causing various forms of degradation. Oxygen is a major cause of some kinds of damage to materials, as are acids that might already be in the material. Things such as cardboard or newsprint will yellow and become brittle over time due to acids in the fibers. An acrylic medium will not stop this from happening.


Here are some links with more general information about acrylic, along with technical information about our varnishes, which may or may not be suitable for your fiber pieces:


Golden Acrylics on Fabrics:
http://goldenpaints.com/technicaldata/fabric.php


Aspects of Longevity of Oil and Acrylic Artist Paints
http://www.goldenpaints.com/justpaint/jp12article1.php


Will it Last?
http://goldenpaints.com/mixmoremedia/willitlast.php


Dont Fade Away article about msa uv testing on inkjet prints
http://www.goldenpaints.com/justpaint/jp14article2.php




Here is the varnish application literature :


http://www.goldenpaints.com/technicaldata/varnapp.php
http://www.goldenpaints.com/technicaldata/varnapp1.php


Here are the individual varnish product tech sheets:


http://www.goldenpaints.com/technicaldata/msavar.php
http://www.goldenpaints.com/technicaldata/archvarn.php
http://www.goldenpaints.com/technicaldata/solvcomp.php
http://www.goldenpaints.com/technicaldata/polvar.php


Creating a Brushable Isolation Coat - youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jS3Rjd5P1g


Brush Application of an Isolation Coat - YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gq9DJYJapE






If you have any further questions, or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us.


Best regards,


Scott Bennett
Technical Support
Golden Artist Colors, Inc.
607-847-6154
800-959-6543
sbennett@goldenpaints.com
www.goldenpaints.com

more mummies

I'm pleased to report that "Hollow Places" survived the mummification process with it's bright whites intact. The matte medium will make weave structures recede if you use the brush like a brayer and stroke the fibers in one direction. Here, that technique has enhanced the mottled colors of the hand dyed pieces. I've posted this one for sale.      I've written to the folks at Golden about the UV protection aspect (or not) qualities of their matte medium and when they get back to me, I'll post their response.

"Firefly" also came out as I hoped for. This time, I only used the medium around the edges of the piece - wherever the black with gold spotted Japanese print is. This piece has a lot of wispy textured elements that I didn't want to obscure or change, so this one is a hybrid of sorts.  "Firefly" is the last piece I worked with my cat Jinx and I'm keeping it for myself as a memorial to her.

I really appreciate all the interest and input you've given me regarding this technique and these recent pieces. It makes me feel like I'm NOT talking to myself when I talk about these things.

more about fiber mummies

...or fiber fossils as Jude called "Mayhem".  I was going to do a tutorial but there really is nothing more to it than fixing the piece to a bare canvas with white glue, allow 24 hours to dry and then brushing matte acrylic medium into the work, pressing the cloth into the canvas.  This is "Held On Tight" after the process with hard morning light revealing the texture formed by the stitching still evident. Catherine, they feel like sandpaper - the soft hand of fabric is lost but we didn't want folks feeling the art anyway, did we?

My pieces are built in layers on a base of Warm & Natural batting so when I apply the matte medium, whether thinned with water or straight from the jar, the surface become malleable almost like a layer of clay. I use a 1/2" short bristled, flat acrylic brush to work the medium into the fabric.  

The question everyone is asking themselves is "Why?" apply the medium.  I had to think about it myself.  I've decided that committing a piece to canvas brings the work officially home to the Painting ball park - I was a painter before I ever took a serious stitch -  stitches become marks, weave and hand recede and flatten, colors intensify and darken a bit. Different fabrics react in different ways to the process.
I encourage you to try it yourself and see if you like the results before committing a big fat mistake.

I wanted these pieces to be permanently considered as pieces of art as opposed to unmounted fiber pieces that sometime in the future might become potholders or place mats - believe me, I've done it. Right now there's a small hand painted quilt stapled over the outside of the cat door to cut the drafts. 

These little bits of slow cloth now mounted and mummified are another matter and will remain so.

Sweetie, studio assistant in training.

good weekend

It was a very productive weekend, artwise and even made a little headway in the studio mostly sorting through older pieces, UFOs and "wonder whys". Not making any firm decisions about what  next for these things but getting much of it ready for storage. My empty nest will be fully restocked come march and my overflow studio has been returned to it's original state as a guest room.

Jim hung "Shell Vapors" over the fireplace yesterday. It was at risk of  damage up against the wall in the studio. There's been a dreary mock-Turner print hanging there forever and this was a welcome change of pace.  I keep looking at and smiling.  

I was rummaging in the studio looking for a particular piece of a fabric that I made last summer with no success. It was late in the day when I realized that it was up there over the fireplace. I had forgotten that I used it.

I also made a find at Michael's getting 50% off  on some canvases to mount some of the recent things. I know I promised a tutorial for doing this but my time was short and I got three of them nailed down before I recalled that I was supposed to documenting the process. Really the only hard part about all of this is the will to sacrifice a piece of cloth that you might have spent hours stitching by hand.  Well, sacrifice might be a bit strong - it's not like you're feeding it into a shredder but glued fast to a canvas with white glue and then saturated with matte medium & water mixed 50/50 is a radical change. I recommend a test piece before you commit something beloved. You may hate the results. Me, I'm tickled.  

old botherations

While I was in the studio this morning stumbling over stuff and trying to shoot pieces on the design wall, I stumbled over this old troublemaker that I started this time last year.    I'm so ambivalent about this piece that I've decided to make a project out of rescuing it from UFO oblivion.                 I was inspired by Tricia McKellar's "Flowers - Still Life" series and bits and pieces of this one fall right in line, but on the whole, I'm bothered. I'm going to take it to work with me and hang it up in the cube and study it for a couple of shifts and see if there are any revelations.

Winter Solstice finished

I'm finally satisfied with this one after another long sessions of stitching, picking out and more stitching.  Once again, I can't settle on an orientation so I won't be signing this one anywhere on the front - a great way to stay uncommitted.  Now, out of sight, out of mind until I can find the right size canvas to mount it on.

My camera was unhappy being cold in the studio this morning but here are a couple of detail shots.

Winter Solstice almost finished

I may have to retitle this "Under the Influence". The doctor gave me several prescriptions with warnings about what you should NOT do while taking them. Stitching was not on the label but I spent an hour last night picking out a whole series of black borders that I put in around the red rectangles which completely obscured the pink glows around each one. Wretched. You think I would have seen how wrong it was as I did all the initial sewing. This one is closing in on done and will be mounted on canvas.

Market Day

Sunday  continues to be  the day I locate pieces in the studio, photograph them and post them for sale at Hand Music

Because I'm including small works that are current and a few going back a few years and one or to of the larger pieces from my main gallery, I wonder if a lack of cohesion bothers collectors. Then again, there's  a little something for everyone here. Maybe I should dig out some of those summer flings now that it's the dead of winter.