Almost creative!

 I am feeling a bit chuffed because I am having some creative thoughts!! 

I belong to a group of people who meet fortnightly to do paper collage. I got into it sort of accidentally because I had met the person who runs it - Anne Warren- several years ago at the Alphington Open Studios. 

Years later, we had some books to throw out and, being unable to just put them in the rubbish, I contacted her to see if she thought she could use them. The answer was yes!! 

She was just starting up a social get-together of interested people and invited me to attend. I went along, thinking I would only go the once but it has been a great social and creative meeting. We are very fortunate that the cafe that we meet at allows us to take over quite a few tables and do our thing. 

Anne has mentioned that we come from different backgrounds (artistically) and whether we could share some new ideas. I have been thinking about it and would like to contribute. Then I remembered a workshop I did with Kim Thittichai, years ago, and have been going through the notes from the class and the book that is related to what we did. (experimental textiles by Kim Thittichai). 

So this evening I have been trying some basic stuff. So far, I have used a stamp I made at the workshop and have printed with it, using acrylic paint, onto cartridge paper. 

I have then found some ink dye and gone over the background. Not great art but something to play with. I will probably tear it up into strips to make a new piece of paper. 

And I have done another piece of cartridge paper, also with acrylic paint and may try some Procyon dye on it tomorrow, when it has dried out enough. Don't want to push too hard tonight! 

I used the remains of the paint on the stamp, on the left, and it is much fainter. But I don't think it matters as I will be tearing or cutting the paper later. I think. 

Bird Art

I have been interested in Faces in Places for a long time - not sure if it is still an online blog. 

Here is a link to a post I did a while ago, in case you're interested.

It is spring here and the mulberries are out, giving us some interestingly coloured bird poo! (It can be very annoying when you hang out the washing!) Today I saw one that had a face in it, so took a photo, as you do. 

The other day I took another photo - bird poo Man in the Moon!

 

Getting closer

 I have done some intermittent work on my small tapestry and it is getting closer to being finished. 

Only one more round of the labyrinth. 

Then I'll, hopefully, finish the outside in the coming week. 

Only another hour or two to finish off the warp ends, etc! Hmm, that sounds like 4 of 5 more hours, at a minimum, given the speed at which I am currently working. Not a quick process. But I will have completed it and that is a plus!

A chance to see some textile works.

 I had some spare time today in the city. I had heard that several people I know, or know of, had works in an exhibition at 45 Downstairs, a gallery in Melbourne. Here is a link to the exhibition.

So off I trotted. Yes, it was downstairs and I was able to get down and up again - not always a comfortable proposition lately. I am glad I could get to it!

It was textile-based, quite a large exhibition. 

There were works by people I know through my tapestry weaving group, the Embroiderers Guild of Victoria (Australia) and some by people whose classes I have attended at various events. Plus others, of course. 

Nette Frost

Juliet D Collins

Freya  Hillier

Sally Hutchinson

There was a large range of techniques and ideas. I think I am feeling inspired to try some techniques - once I get over the current inertia. But it was a good sign that I even went, so here's hoping. 

I am still working on my tapestry weaving, so that might take precedence - but now I might actually get on with it so that I can try some of these other ideas. Not that I expect to produce work of the quality I saw today, just that I was inspired to try. 

Changing weather

 

I was out walking the dog the other evening and had to take this photo - sunset over Melbourne. 

Our weather has been changeable recently. This had been a warm day and I had waited till the sun was going down before we went out. The temperature was in the high 20°s and we have not had much time to adjust to that yet. It is especially hot for a furry dog!

Today was in the single digits for a while - it did reach the double digits later in the day but it also rained on and off. Ah, spring in Melbourne. 

Slow progress - but it does't matter.

 It has been a while since I have posted - quite a while!!

I have been going along, slowly, with my tapestry. It is turning out to be much harder than I had anticipated - to say the least. 

It is only going to be about 20cm square but I have 14 bobbins on it at times. The design looks flowing but turns out to be very fiddly. Each bit of the lines of the labyrinth need to be done separately, sometimes only for short distances. Curved lines that look like they could be done with one bobbin can't! The curves depend on the nearby areas being done at the same time, it not being possible to weave over thin air. 

However, it is going along. I went away for a couple of nights and took the loom with me. I forgot to take the yarns!! But there was enough on the bobbins for me to put in several hours' worth of work, due to the fiddly nature of the weaving. Luckily, I have until February for it to be finished. 

The theme is Between the Lines - my idea is that you walk between the lines to meditate on the labyrinth. And don't take any notice of the bumps, irregularities and textures around you, just go with the flow. 

Another labyrinth

 I am playing around with another small tapestry. I am using a different style of labyrinth, more fluid and it is turning out to be more of a challenge than I had thought - if I had actually thought about it properly.

I had a couple of ideas of how to colour the piece. (I originally thought I would use my yellow warp - that didn't happen, I used some green warp that I bought at the same time and it has greatly influenced my colour choices.)

Then I started weaving and it is not at all like the original plan!! So now my cartoon is simply black and white. 

The main colours are grass and weeds and dried up plants - very Australian. I see some labyrinths in reality and they are not lush and well looked after, not the ones I have visited. So I am claiming to be inspired by local labyrinths. 

I am going for rough ground around the labyrinth and a smoother path inside. 

As I drew up the design, I wasn't all that careful - I am still in that mode of having to be doing something rather than wanting to be producing a perfect piece. The making is more important than the product. 

So the lines outlining the path are a bit wonky but I think that is ok, just part of the journey. The design is curved, not something I am all that good with in tapestry weaving. 

It is turning out to be a challenge to have enough bobbins for all the different sections. I hadn't realised that that nice continuous line of the pathway isn't actually going to be doable when you are working in horizontal lines - I need several bobbins to do each iteration of the walls. 

I am also using up some old bits and pieces of yarn that I have had for years, trying to use them up. 

It is a small warp, only three bits of ATW yarns as my main measure. Seine twine 12/6. Some of the novelty yarns are a bit thicker but I just go with the flow.