What a week it has been! I am officially home and everything seems to be healing up quite nicely. A big yeahhhhh! on that note. I have spent the morning poking around flickr to see what I have missed. I love some of the new favorites I have found. Organic forms in rich colors and textures.
Now I am off to take a nap. Don't want to overdo!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Bobolinks and Red Winged Blackbirds
I think anyone who follows my work knows that I love birds. I have started doing these table top birds. The redwing blackbirds and the bobolinks out back of my home was the inspiration.
I love how it looks and that there is some slight movement capable from a breeze. It is sturdy and not tippy at all. I have a couple of versions that I want to do. Right now they are just on paper. The fabric on this bird is vintage check with an overlay print of cherries. It is from a dress of my mother's. She made it when she was in her late teens, possibly early twenties. She would be 79 now.
The fabric collage used in these pieces gives them their underlying layers of meaning. Fabric, paper, words, paint, images and all of that is tied up with an internal personal history. Manmade pieces that incorporate natural forms and shapes and images. I live rurally and sometimes crave things that I associate with the city such as gold and fancy fabrics. Layers of history, layers of meaning, layers of texture is all about life. It really does mix and peek through here and there.
Fabric and mixed media really caught my interest because it has all of those elements.
The fabric bowl has started the wheels turning and given me lots of ideas. I did try being more structured with the bowl. I am not sure if "structured" is the right word. Less freeform is perhaps what I am looking for. I started and it just didn't feel right. It didn't move me. I wanted the ripples and waves of a nonconformity. So I am stitching and collaging other pieces of fabric to see if I can get more control without showing it.
I love how it looks and that there is some slight movement capable from a breeze. It is sturdy and not tippy at all. I have a couple of versions that I want to do. Right now they are just on paper. The fabric on this bird is vintage check with an overlay print of cherries. It is from a dress of my mother's. She made it when she was in her late teens, possibly early twenties. She would be 79 now.
The fabric collage used in these pieces gives them their underlying layers of meaning. Fabric, paper, words, paint, images and all of that is tied up with an internal personal history. Manmade pieces that incorporate natural forms and shapes and images. I live rurally and sometimes crave things that I associate with the city such as gold and fancy fabrics. Layers of history, layers of meaning, layers of texture is all about life. It really does mix and peek through here and there.
Fabric and mixed media really caught my interest because it has all of those elements.
The fabric bowl has started the wheels turning and given me lots of ideas. I did try being more structured with the bowl. I am not sure if "structured" is the right word. Less freeform is perhaps what I am looking for. I started and it just didn't feel right. It didn't move me. I wanted the ripples and waves of a nonconformity. So I am stitching and collaging other pieces of fabric to see if I can get more control without showing it.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Mixed Media Paper Mache based Fabric Bowl is Finished
I did manage to figure out how to edge my fabric collage/paper mache bowl last week. It all started here. It took some doing but after a couple of false starts the orginal raw edges were softed by a padded one. Wire wrapped with batting sewn to the edge was the solution. I ended up using a combination of glue and thread to attaché it. I then used some heavier colored cotton thread (perle) to attach it further. The inside then got a final coat of red tissue for contrast and strength.
I definitely learned some process things along the way. My next one will incorporate a few of those ideas. In fact I think I may end up doing an outside skin and an inside skin. I will have to do a sample to see how well they fit together.
While I do like the wild and wonderful unsymmetrical shape of this I want to have more control. I want it to be less free form or less willfully freeform. But that initial trial phase things tend to take on a life of their own. Who knows I may end up wanting to get that back. (After further experimentation and a much more evenly shaped form I think I like the freeform much better.
Overall I do think it turned out well. It is not water safe (duh!) and it it can hold many different things from balls of yarn, potpourri or maybe some fruit.
I definitely learned some process things along the way. My next one will incorporate a few of those ideas. In fact I think I may end up doing an outside skin and an inside skin. I will have to do a sample to see how well they fit together.
While I do like the wild and wonderful unsymmetrical shape of this I want to have more control. I want it to be less free form or less willfully freeform. But that initial trial phase things tend to take on a life of their own. Who knows I may end up wanting to get that back. (After further experimentation and a much more evenly shaped form I think I like the freeform much better.
Overall I do think it turned out well. It is not water safe (duh!) and it it can hold many different things from balls of yarn, potpourri or maybe some fruit.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Green Thumb
My challenge for the past several weeks has been to keep the garden going. Even with all the rain we had to keep going to get it set up and protected. The last bit that has gone up is the 7 foot deer fence around it all. OH did I mention all the rain. I hope the tomatoes don't get blight. I hope that the six inches of standing water on the right end gets sucked into the soil.
In that process we did manage to really discover where the foundation was for the barn that was on this property years before we came. All along the right hand corner is stone. We hit the edge of it when we rototilled the new area added on from last year. This does mean that now to get bigger means moving back not to the side. If I want to get bigger that is. I think I do. But that means reclaiming more field. Raised beds are the answer. I just have to make enough compost and soil amendments to make that feasible for the size we want.
The other protection was from the massive amount of slugs the rain has made comfy. Well that and the help of the black plastic construction clothe I laid done to keep the weeds down. It does work to keep weeds down but it also assists in the moist environments that help slugs live long and prosperous lives. We even have SNAILS!! I haven't seen a snail in eons. I have tiny little snails carrying their homes on their backs. Need more beer traps! Heineken apparently is the beer of choice. It makes them turn their little slug heads away from the plants and crawl as fast as they can to slurp down all that beery goodness. They die happy.
One the other hand the rain has made the beautiful fuscia Steve bought me very happy.
The hummingbirds also find it quite lovely. They don't seem to mind the rain at all dashing back and forth from the feeder to where ever their nest is. The hard rain does make the blossoms drop off. I find my back porch littered with these beautiful blossoms that are from another world.
In that process we did manage to really discover where the foundation was for the barn that was on this property years before we came. All along the right hand corner is stone. We hit the edge of it when we rototilled the new area added on from last year. This does mean that now to get bigger means moving back not to the side. If I want to get bigger that is. I think I do. But that means reclaiming more field. Raised beds are the answer. I just have to make enough compost and soil amendments to make that feasible for the size we want.
The other protection was from the massive amount of slugs the rain has made comfy. Well that and the help of the black plastic construction clothe I laid done to keep the weeds down. It does work to keep weeds down but it also assists in the moist environments that help slugs live long and prosperous lives. We even have SNAILS!! I haven't seen a snail in eons. I have tiny little snails carrying their homes on their backs. Need more beer traps! Heineken apparently is the beer of choice. It makes them turn their little slug heads away from the plants and crawl as fast as they can to slurp down all that beery goodness. They die happy.
One the other hand the rain has made the beautiful fuscia Steve bought me very happy.
The hummingbirds also find it quite lovely. They don't seem to mind the rain at all dashing back and forth from the feeder to where ever their nest is. The hard rain does make the blossoms drop off. I find my back porch littered with these beautiful blossoms that are from another world.
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