Grey Day.

I am continuing working on my theme of Change, Transform, Disintegrate using images from the rabbit’s skeleton. This piece uses bandage, a piece of grey commercial felt,tea dyed muslin, with merino tops and other bits and pieces.

Here is a page from my sketchbook.

It is a very grey and miserable day here in Hampshire UK with little to cheer up the gloom except the green shoots in the almost flooded field opposite.

I had fun finding various ways to fill the squares.

Stacks and Stashes

Wading through.

Feeling the pressure.

Quick kip.

Determined.

A little worse for wear.

Not waving but drowning?




A few bloggers have added some lovely photos of their almost forgotten stacks and stashes in response to this post by Jennifer.
Unfortunately mine are not so scenic and I am often knocking stuff over and wading through it. I agree that sometimes one just stops noticing those stacks of crushed cans or sketchbooks, and its good to have a look round and see with new eyes.

Tea and bandages.

With the embellisher you can make your own fabric, here I used an off cut of curtain lining, tea dyed muslin and bandage from a First Aid box cleared from my late father-in-law’s house as the base fabric.

 Other bits and pieces added included merino wool, felt and brown silk thread. I am enjoying experimenting with my embellisher and finding out the different things I can do. As you see the theme is still linked to the rabbit’s scull.

 I like how a line of stitching can be ‘knocked back’ with the embellisher and then brought back into clearer focus again. Mixing colours is easy to do as well.

Felt

Unfortunately I forgot to take photos of the work which I took to City Lit for the textile exhibition. Life has been really hectic for me recently.  The centre of this piece has muslin added during the felting process, ‘nuno’ style.

 The machined black line is rather heavy here but prior to taking it to London I embellished it which served to ‘knock’ it back and to give it a furry look and feel, which I liked, particularly as it fitted in with the rabbit’s skeleton theme.

I am so pleased with my new embellisher and only wish I had more time to play with it. This is a picture of my current set up, I am fortunate in that I can leave both my machine and embellisher up permanently. You can’t see the fields beyond, but I am lucky to have a lovely view. The field has just been sown and lines of green shoots are appearing.

Transform

These are some of the samples/pieces that I started working on during the ‘Change, Transform, and Disintegrate’ course at City Lit...

 The person next to me was doing a Felt course and when I saw her working on felt it seemed a good way to go with my theme of the Rabbits’ skeleton.

 For once I feel pleased with the results and I think this is going to give me the incentive to stick with my theme. I imagined them displayed rolled up and looking like the layered beads one sometimes sees intricately carved out of bone.

 Louise Baldwin suggested the idea of vessels and this is another way to go. Everyone’s theme and the work they produced was unique and it was an interesting group of people with a good deal of varied experience.