Archive for July, 2016

Crows

July 16th, 2016


Ink sketches of crows

Been wanting to combine my rust/tea dyed fabrics with bird images in a larger project – mainly crows and or hawks. So I’ve been researching and sketching crows as a start.


Drawing with thread on my sewing machine was my first idea.
Playing with tensions, stitches and rough drawing with machine

This was fun but… even though I want a rough sketchy line, I quickly saw it will take a while to gain control of this as a drawing medium. At the same time I’ve been stitching patterns and marks in the small dyed book I’ve been working on and thought I’d try this. More what I want and I can work more free form with out preliminary drawings on the fabric. But still have a ways to go…


Stitches in small book and first go at hand drawing crows with stitches

My other idea is to block print on fabric but I really want to have various drawings rather than a repeating image. The work forming in my head is about layers of experience, the passage of time and changes to our lives. The birds are currently observers in this process of life and decay and rebirth.

Book

July 8th, 2016

Still working with dyed cloth…this time small book – still in the works… Once a graphic designer – always a book somewhere…
Still slow cloth – hand stitching…


Small rust dyed fabric book to date. Still working on it!

Obsession

July 3rd, 2016

OK, it’s official- I’m obsessed with rust dyeing old fabrics, cutting them apart and hand stitching them into square designs.


Patterns with small left over bits applied.


Close up of stitching and design with escaping square.

Not sure what I’m doing or where this is going but with all the other work I have lined up for this summer I keep returning to these squares. The hand sewing is slow and meditative. There is something about taking something, especially the linens which had previous elegant lives gracing tables for special occasions, distressing them and repurposing them as visual statements that is very compelling! Even the small bits that are cut away as the squares are joined get into the final act as they tumble down the finished piece. “Just let me try this one other thing…”