Fabric Collage again

Well, I wanted to go to my Free Motion Machine Embroidery group today with something to show and tell about. So I beavered away yesterday and have finished the piece. It is only A4 size (about 21 x 29cm). I had envisaged the background fabric being visible but then I sewed it and some edges were complete and some not, so that wasn't going to work. I had to make it a bit bigger in spots so that it would wrap around the edges. Now it is a fully collaged piece.

I cut a piece of foamcore to slightly less than A4 (that was the size designated by the online group that inspired the piece). 

Then I sewed it on the back with the trampoline stitch (I really must look it up and check that I am actually using the correct term). Then I sewed a piece of calico onto the back to hide all the strands. 

I will put it in the upcoming Embroiderers Guild's Members' exhibition. It also fits the challenge for one of my online groups. Then I might put it in the Christmas (so soon!!) exhibition for the Alcove Art Shop, at the Box Hill Community Arts Centre. So, even if it doesn't sell at any of the exhibitions, it will have been useful. 

I have not used any sticky products to assist me with the collage. I cut the tiny pieces of fabric, laid them out, steam-ironed them to the background - a piece of linen with interfacing on the back, not sewn. Then I free motioned the pieces on. I find that the steam iron helps to hold them in place so that I don't need to use pins or any product with glue.  I learnt this from Kathryn Harmer Fox. I have done a couple of her workshops. And I hear that she is coming back to Australia again!

I haven't been feeling all that creative recently, so am pleased that I have finished a piece. Yay me!

September already!!

Today is 1/9/19. I was reminded that I had to blog because of the interesting numbers. So here I am, blogging.

I was going to put in a picture of the hydrangea sprouting leaves and say something about Christmas coming but every time I think of it, it is dark and I don't have a picture, so I will have to leave that till another day.

I did take some pics of the Silver Princess in our garden. The bees were busily humming (that song about Spring coming, something to do with daffodils - which are not up yet) and I saw some that went RIGHT INTO  the centre of the flowers. You have to look closely.

I have been doing some more bits and pieces for the Farmyard theme. I may be the only person in my group doing it - we had a smaller than usual group today because it was Fathers Day and some members were absent. I think there are a couple of others still doing it but they don't always bring them.

Not to worry, I am being inspired, if that is the correct word.
I recently attended another Kathryn Harmer Fox workshop and have been influenced by her techniques and advice. I did a Pademelon and was advised to let the fabric talk, not to sew it to death (my words, not hers).

I have done a cow, which needed to be knocked back in the body and I used tulle.

The horse didn't need as much stitching as I had planned, I liked how it was turning out so have done minimal stitching. It has lots of small pieces of fabric laid out as a collage. So the fabric speaks a lot in this one.

Now to work out how to mount and, possibly, frame them.

Random exhibitions.

Just noticed this in my unposed list!! Need to post it because ... it is September!

 It is August already!! Where does the time go?? I have this theory that when you are 5, a year is a fifth of your life, a long time. When you are 50, it is a fiftieth of your life, not so long. So time is relative!

Anyway ... I have been to a few interesting things lately. I attended a workshop at Threads and Tangles that was taught by Kathryn Harmer Fox. I have done a workshop with her in the past and didn't want to miss out, so booked in February.
It was a three day workshop. I felt exhausted every day on the drive home, thought it must be me. Then, on the last day, people were commenting on how tired they had been each evening, so now I feel better. It was from the great concentration and creativity that we had been doing.

As usual, Kathryn was encouraging while still challenging. There were kits that had been prepared for the participants but I had missed some of the messages so took my own image. It didn't matter much, everyone did their own thing anyway, even if they had a kit! It is always amazing how people can be at the same class, using very similar materials, and come up with entirely different works.

Mine is the Pademelon (looks a bit like a kangaroo)

Each day we had to pin up our works in progress and Kathryn would do a crit for us, all positive but with suggestions to challenge further progress.

After that workshop, I went to the machine embroidery group at the Embroiderers Guild and there was only a small group. Lo and behold, many of our usual members were at a class being held by Kathryn. She was teaching at the guild also. So I got to take pictures of her works displayed around the room.

Then, the same day, the teapot exhibition had its official opening at the Stonehouse Gallery. Seeing it is not that far from home, I attended. It was great to see works by people I know, as well as many whom I don't know. I also caught up with a few friends and acquaintances.  I really admire the judges, the works were sooooo different!
There were functional and non-functional teapots. Ceramic, textile, wooden, felted teapots. Probably some other techniques that I don't remember at present. It was lovely to see so many creative ideas.

My two at the front.

Then, today, I went to the State Library - after walking around the block to find an entrance that was open, there is a lot of renovation and building going on in the city!!!

I saw this amazing tapestry on the wall. I had seen posts about it on the ATW website and had actually seen it being made but hadn't taken much notice of where it as going to be hung. So it was lovely to come across it today, in situ.

Trying to work it out

I took a day off today, sort of, and did some sewing. A day off all the other things, sewing should have a bigger priority, I will try to give it that in the New Year. Maybe I will have to break my New Year's resolution from a couple of years ago - to never again have a New Year's resolution.

Anyway ... I have made a piece that could be one side of a vase-shaped vessel.

I used Kathryn Harmer Fox's method - to a degree.   I didn't want to make the piece too thick to sew onto the felt, so just did the flowers.

I found an online tutorial Kathryn has done, using a sunflower. I will have to have a closer look and do it with more care - in the near future. I am in a group that has a challenge to be inspired by an artist and I am being inspired by Van Gogh and Kathryn, I am also in a group that is growing sunflowers, so I am able to take photos of the development of the plant. I think I am meant to be working on a bigger sunflower piece soon.

For the time being, I used an image from 123RF as my inspiration.

Copyright: number168 / 123RF Stock Photo

It was just the inspiration, I traced the basic outline and then flipped it, then just cut up random pieces of tiny yellow pieces of fabric that I had. I think I must like yellow, I have plenty of tiny pieces!

Today I did the sewing. I had thought to cover the background with fabric but ended up not doing so.

Now I have the back of the vase, if I decide that it suits. I am not convinced, yet, that it will go with the front. 

I also have to work out what I will put on the piece that will keep the front and back, and bottom, joined. That is for another day. 

Then ... I will have to work out how to join it all together. I have an inkling of how to do it, I am just not sure I will have the hand strength to do the hand sewing. Time will tell. 

Drawing - who knew?

As one of my many fans has reminded me, it is 17/11/17, so I need to blog.
Actually, it would be better if it were 17/11/71 (I like symmetry) but I don't see me living that long - thank goodness.
So ... what to think about.

Well, I have been throwing out some old stuff lately, trying to make room for new stuff, of course.
I have been going through old class notes from my course at RMIT. I started in 2006, which doesn't actually seem that long ago.
I came across the artist's statement for a piece I did in about 2011 and I am very glad I am not still in that headspace! My statement was about how people are putting on endless (seemingly endless) art shows about the environment and how we are (and still are, unfortunately) ruining it.

I was OVER IT. I felt like I should feel guilty for being alive, for using up precious resources.
Fortunately, I don't feel that bad about it now. Maybe it is closer to despair about what people are doing and not doing, about the amazing number of deniers who seem to get so much air space. But I am hopeful that it is more to do with the fact that I am doing what I can and so are others and that is all we can do. And there seem to be plenty of people who do care, despite the politicians.

Whatever the reason, I think I am in a better mental space now.

Now to my header: Drawing - who knew?
I often go to workshops and say that I don't draw. (I attended a workshop with Kathryn Harmer Fox earlier this year and she said that we shouldn't say we can't draw, just that we don't, hence the don't draw, not can't draw.)

Then I came across these old visual diaries and discovered that, when I am made to, I can draw. Who knew??

These were for a screen print assignment, base on insects. Once upon a time, I knew how to do repeat patterns.

I was quite surprised by some of the images I had come up with.
Maybe that person saying that we should draw every day had something going for him. But I don't see a revolution coming upon me - yet.

Trying to draw every day leads to rather mundane subjects.

These were from a trip to Turkey. I couldn't bring myself to draw in public (still can't) so I have quite a few drawings of my feet and fingers. And one of my roommate (which I actually recognise as her!)

It was fun going through old visual diaries and folders of notes. I threw out some techniques that I am definitely never going to do again. I discovered some that could be useful now, in a slightly different way. Then there were the ones that totally relate to what I am doing now.

But the drawings I did were a bit of an eye-opener.
Perhaps I will try to draw more often - one day.

Finished - sort of.

I am preparing this in advance, so I don't forget the next interesting date - 17/7/17.
I also have to post to one of my online groups on Saturday. The piece is almost finished, not mounted as I can't decide how I want to do that yet. But it is finished enough for me to post my picture.
I have made a textile art piece, rather than a quilted piece. It is all sewing straight onto a piece of linen/cotton, with interfacing on the back. No hoop was used, it is strong enough to go under the machine as is.

Then I can put it up here, on another site. After the big 'reveal'.
I am looking forward to seeing what the others have done.

This is it on the floor, loosely attached to the mount board. I need to decide if I want the rough edges to show or if I am going to put a frame around it and hide them. Decisions, decisions. 

We are working on being inspired by an artist - any artist, any medium. At first, I though I would be inspired by Van Gogh, again.
As I was working on it, I realised that I am also being inspired by Kathryn Harmer Fox and her technique.
Soon I will have to decide if I am going to continue with both, or just with one. But I have a few months till the next 'reveal', so I can take my time, fortunately.