The carding strap was the object that I really focused on in the workshop –
for its lovely spiral shape and lines. Earlier this week I cut some stencils of the spiral shapes, and today did some fabric and thread samples, some of which I photographed. I added a couple of the cut and paste exercises I did in class, and assembled these into a collage to show the variety of possibilities I have been thinking about so far.
Yes, seated opposite this chest height window the view is boring, unremarkable, barely worth a glance; but turning to the left, I can see a past the receptionist’s desk through sliding glass doors to a patio with glass balustrade overlooking the SE part of the city. From all the treatment rooms there is a gorgeous panoramic view of Montevideo from about Pocitos, with Parque Rodo in the foreground and around to Buceo in the distance and the River Plate stretching beyond which is great – as that’s where the patient does spend more time, after all.
I’ve been here many times, but the other day I ‘saw’ something I hadn’t ‘seen’ before – it wasn’t the clear graded sky. but that interesting edge formed by the building profile, as featured here-
Finally, the cables are gone and its been fiddled with in other ways to reflect what I am thinking about in relation to that edge, and the subtle textures on the walls. If ‘do’ something with it there may even be something textural that ‘grades’ the ‘sky’ area. Maybe not – and the proportions might vary – but its tthat edge that grabs me…
Just as well I always have a camera with me, as I never know what I will come across to pop into this visual diary!
Known as “Purnululu” to the indigenous people of the region, and later known by Europeans as “The Bungle Bungles”, these ancient landforms are located in a remote region of Australia’s north west known as The Kimberley. It’s hard to get to, distances are long and rugged travelling, and though very expensive, flying over it is a very popular way for some to experience it. I haven’t been there yet though I have travelled over a lot of the Kimberley region, including all the towns mentioned on this location map.
The Bungle Bungles have long been depicted in Aboriginal art from the area, and the formation has become a familiar motif in collectable art in formats ranging from paintings to Tshirts, graphic logos and 3d sculptures.
I’ve been inspired myself. Back in 1993 I finished a quilt called Nightfall In The Bungle Bungles 155cm x 148cm part of which is shown here on the left. When finishing off this quilt, I went to a workshop by Nancy Crow at which I learned the basics of improvisational piecing which changed the whole way I piece fabric. If I’d left making NITBB until a month later, it would not have looked like a row of Egyptian pyramids 😉
The idea stayed with me and in 2002 I had another go, and the result, above right, was Kimberley 2, 70cm x 110cm.
Wherever you go in this area it is impossible not be be impressed with distance, remoteness and dramatic scenery including waterfalls gracefully falling over over towering cliffs into the clear refreshing pools at their base. Such cliffs inspired Kimberley 2, 1996, 110cm h x 70cm w, an irregular shaped peice photographed against a black background.
This morning I came across a call for entries for a textile art competition to be called ‘Kimberley Dreaming’ to be shown in Australia later in the year. The required format is 30cm x 30cm. I have some ideas gelling and enough time to put one or two into effect before the closing deadline – so I’m off to dig through my scrap bag for suitable fabrics to begin putting something together.
With arrows, stars, words and comments, this is a typical sketchbook page. They’re always in pencil, but I re-did this one for you in pen to get a clearer scan. I understand my own handwriting and abbreviations in this aide memoire, and even if it doesn’t mean much to you I’m happy to share these marks as part of my process. You’re welcome to anything else you glean of the ideas they encapsulate 🙂 There is much reference to several previous works or things I’ve been working with in sample form.
I regret that my hand writing has deteriorated, partly age-related 🙂 but even more a sign of the times. It is the nearest I ever come to journal keeping, but of course it is definitely not that. I really don’t know how the beautiful artist journal keepers keep it up 🙂 This morning I was casually googling around holes, sheers, grids and marks, when a couple of ideas struck. Not wanting to lose a second, and with the sketchbook upstairs as usual, I took a sheet of waste paper from the printer and jotted them down. I’m a diagram person, and when epiphany strikes like that a simple diagram+words, stars and arrows captures it. One just might solve a nagging problem to do with using sheers that has long bothered me, and I must let Rosemary Claus-Gray know ….
On how I transform something from an idea into some form, this pic says much. I have always thought any ‘line’ can be a cut, a seam or a line of stitches. So using a pic I’ve taken of some pattern, and using some form of my very, very basic, tech tools – in this case PE11 (Photoshop Elements 11) – I will choose to resize, manipulate, re-draw, change colours, whatever . Those photo-editing programs are wonderful, but as I say I just go ‘basic’, more or less one or two steps up from the lead pencil and simple diagrams+lists I’ve always done. Here I have collaged a sample with part of a sand pattern photo on which I drew with PE11 to show how my brain takes an image to a form via fabric and thread.
I was recently asked where my ideas come from. All over the place ! is my answer. Right now ‘holes’ and ‘lace – widest interpretation of’ are on my mind as I am focus less on The Quilt itself, and more on wherever exploration takes me with mixed media and stitch. Since the late ’70’s the wheel has turned a full circle, I think.
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