White: A Work in Progress

     I have been wanting to sing up for an online workshop with Jude Hill for quite a while now. I have been a huge fan of hers for even longer. Well, I finally treated myself to "What If Diaries 1". This month we are exploring white.
     This piece was born from consideration of all the hands that lovingly stitched pieces that I now treasure. Many of the stitchers are with me only in spirit--Aunt Virgie, Mammaw Inscoe, Mama Williams. Some of the pieces have faded, developed spots, grown threadbare and worn. But they are still precious. And they will be precious to my children. And their children as well. And so, this piece, "A Work in Progress" is a tribute to them. To the legacy they have left me--a love of pieces stitched together by loving hands.
    

(Wow, it has been a long time since I posted. Still no internet at home, but it is coming soon. And, in case you wonder, the maple is still there; we just went with another provider thus the dish will be in a different location.)    : D
 

Seven Moons

on the edge today,

working with some of my indigo shibori

to create reverse appliqué moons,

inspired by Judy's work...

playing around with confining the edges...

ready to dive back into the water this evening...

working on the moon

my best half worked this weekend

clearing the roads for those

who just have to be out and about in all sorts of weather

I stayed in and worked on the moon

making lots of running stitches lined up across the face

perfectly imperfect

setting the moon apart from the sky

I realized the appeal of the slow cloth

is the meditative state of the stitching

that lets the mind wonder at will

yet pulls it back to the task at hand

when the wandering becomes less than pleasurable

(the wonderful little box was gifted by my daughter and her woodworking husband)

indigo dragon also got a little attention

working on integrating his breath into the rest of the fabric

still needs more stitching but it's getting there

used the recycled jeans thread on these knots

I tried some running stitches with it as well

but it kept kinking and tangling

so I put it aside

will figure out what to do with it later

Jude suggests weaving with it

that might be a possibility

Dividing a circle

Judy has me thinking about dividing a circle

Judy Martin's Manitoulin Circle Project
photo from
http://judys-journal.blogspot.com/2012/01/lower-half.html
beautiful and inspiring work

...two halves of the infinite...begining and end inseparable

i need some time
with this inspiration
for
thoughts and images
to coalesce

resonate

evolve

quoting Judy "when a horizontal line divides a circle, the lower half is like the ark and represents water, while the upper half is like the rainbow or heaven or sometimes called the upper water"

I had never considered this concept, but I find it resonating in my mind

 conjuring images and symbolism

in which the ark stands for redemption/absolution but ultimately for LOVE;

the rainbow being a covenant represents COMMITMENT.

Without one the other is somehow incomplete?

 Like the way the bottom of the circle would rock/teeter

and the top always wants to pour out its contents?

Am I making any sense at all? I feel as if I am rambling!

All these whirling thoughts and images need some time to settle and coalesce in my mind.

Thanks Judy for the mental nudge.

 I needed it today as I have been in a bit of a brain fog!

sassafras wall hanging

i promised someone a bit ago that i would post images of this leaf pounded wall hanging

 done as a demo piece for my appalachian arts students a few years ago

 

young tender sassafrass leaves

 a single-, a double- and a triple-lobed

 were pounded onto a piece of prewashed muslin

after the piece dried it was soaked in salt water for about an hour then rinsed

a micron pen was used to add details to the leaf pounding

everything was ironded to heat set the colors

 a patchwork border of stash fabrics was sewn around the leaf pounding

 and then the entire panel was hand quilted

both the leaf contours

and concentric pattern around them

the color has survived

several years hanging on my hearth

as well as hand washing

and line drying

with no signs of fading

Magic Feathers Flying Away to Jude

our magic feathers are ready to fly off to jude...



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Location:School

Carolina Wren--coming to life

last night I spent some time with the wren

working in long and short staggered stitches

filling in color

brush strokes interpetted in thread

enjoying the meditation of quiet work

after a long day

with busy teens

on a full moon

I really need this right now

Stitching Again--One for Me

over the weekend I started a new piece of stitching

feather tree backdrop

for one of my favorite visitors

carolina wren

barred russet tail

cocked in the air

this time right side up

though he usually creeps other way around

chittering and churring

making a general fuss

- iPad photos, Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Progress Report--Magic Feathers

busy working on feathers

applique and embroidery

needles in and out of fabric

sometimes into fingers as well

learning as they go

experience is the best teacher

One Down for Magic Feathers

finished my first feather Friday while the kids worked...



....closer detail...



...second feather in progress...brighter...different but similar...

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and the fun begins..

...and the fun begins...

...from paper to fabric...

...piecing ideas together...

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Location:school

Ideas MadeVisible

today the kids were thinking in paper, marker, colored pencil...

watching thoughts become tangible is fascinating stuff....

some think very literally.....

some examine relationships....

others tell stories...

while a few examine their culture symbolically...

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Shibori Stitching into the Walnut Vat

pulled up the stitching today

and tied it tight

and into the walnut vat they go

now we wait

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:School

Bang-Up Project

We have a new project in the works with my Appalachian Arts students...quilted leaf-pounding wallhangings. Cotton muslin was mordanted with alum and hung to dry overnight before being pressed.

 

A walk around campus yielded a variety of leaf specimens...wild grape, sycamore, dandelion, willow, walnut...some I knew would do well, but others were experiments. We layered a newspaper pad, white paper, muslin, leaves, and waxed paper (bottom to top).

And then the fun, and the noise, began. This was their favorite part. But, thirteen hammers going in one room needed frequent time outs. Or maybe I just needed them.

The waxed paper let them see where they needed to pound. It was also possible to see which parts of the leaf hadn't been hammered because as it is pounded the leaf sticks to the wax paper and changes color

Sometimes you just have to take a peak at what is going on in there. Wow, there really is a leaf print on the cloth!

When it is finished there are little bits of leaf left on the fabric. Not to worry, after it dries they flake right off. If patience and care is used a very clear image of the leaf is made. Past success with grape leaves was easily repeated.

 

Walnut is such a good dye plant we felt it was a good candidate for pounding. We weren't disappointed.

Some dye books include references for dandelion root. We discovered that the leaves work pretty well to. After the poundings cure for a few days we will rinse, dry and heat set them. They will become center panels for quilted wall hangings.

The next part of this project involves creating some shibori fabrics using walnut and indigo, and overdyeing some stash fabric as well to use for patchwork borders around the leaf pounded panels.

Some of the students have done very basic stitching before......

But, for most of them this is their first time with needle and thread. It all looks so simple, but even stitching can be illusive. It's good that running stitches are easily removed. And then you just try again until you get it right. Just like life.

And then all goes on hold for pep rallies and football Fridays......