African Water Lilies Revealed

African Water Lilies

Today is reveal day over at Viewpoints 9 check it out.  This is from my post.  Don't miss Martha Wolfe's earlier post!

Lisa-Marie's challenge to search our stashes and create a piece from discarded and unwanted items was a teeny bit un-welcomed and worrisome for me.  I was concerned that I wasn't going to create a piece that would be interesting.  Surely, if I had discarded something, it wouldn't work now.  Wrong.

But a challenge is not to be trifled with!  I dug into the piles knowing that the discarded and forgotten "stuff" would be a the bottom of each.  And, did I find a lot of treasures! (another woman's trash perhaps)

African Water Lilies:   Created with pieces of a hand-dyed/stenciled shirt bought in an outdoor market in Ghana several years ago, already cut and fused linen lilies (tho' I think they originally were daisies), seven red seeds (also from Ghana) that look like ladybugs to me, beaded flower centers, and some vintage abalone buttons.

It's Viewpoints9-3 Reveal again!

I guess my blog would have been retired by now if it weren't for my Viewpoints9 posts.  This rotation Lin Hsin-Chen posed her challenge:  Employ text.

Apparently several of the group don't 'do' text and for them it was a bit of a 'job' to find the joy in this cycle.  Not so much with me.

I like text, especially foreign text.  Text that doesn't necessarily mean anything to me, it just looks interesting.  Because of this, I collect text...so far the collection is fairly limited to English, French, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

I am working on a series within this V-9/3 cycle:  Exotic.

This past several months the news has been full of extraordinary, very disturbing images of failed attempts by masses of individuals and families trying to flee war and poverty, no matter the perils.  The image I can't erase is a beachside on a Greek isle, mounded high with piles of color-filled clothing, sprinkled with life-vests.  Detritus washed ashore from failed attempts to cross out of North Africa to hoped-for security in Europe.

With this imagery in mind I searched my stash of text.  It was from this collection that I found a piece...a vintage, rough linen sack with cursive French.

Jumping off the fabric was 'le journey' and I knew where I was going.

Combining African fabrics with this linen, I built an island based on the traditional log cabin quilt block to underscore mankind's most basic and longed for right:  HOME.

Be sure to hop over to Viewpoints' blog to see how the others answered Hsin-Chen's challenge.

detail

Greek Isle: Le Journey 40"x42"

Viewpoints 9 reveal was two days ago!

Just to illustrate how my tunnel vision works, I have not posted on this blog for a month!  Yikes!  I used to be so much better at this.  Other people seem to be able to multitask SO much better.

I wasn't late with my Viewpoints 9 challenge though.  In fact I finished really, really early.  The challenge resonated so much with me.  My post follows:

I have to profusely thank Kate for this challenge!  I was so wrapt in the idea that I felt swallowed whole.

For decades I have collected yukata, a Japanese un-lined garment generally worn in the summer or after bath....and mostly the more traditional indigo-dyed.  I have also collected much smaller pieces of vintage yukata.  Now was my chance to actually use many of them in one piece.  Admittedly it did take time to go through the lot of them to decide whether I would choose the blue with white designs or the white with blue designs.

In the end I chose blue with white indigo dyed cottons, largely kasuri  Only one piece has its design printed on it.

I also decided to continue my 'kimono abstract' series.

This challenge and my stash naturally resulted in using the 'boro' style.  For generations, beginning with frugal farmers, indigo especially has been re-sewn in patches to prolong the life of a garment.  Referred to as 'boro', it is of the forgotten idea "too good to waste".

That is an idea that finds residence in my studio!

Indigo Abstract 40"x21"
Vintage indigo cottons, hand stitched

Indigo Abstract

Japanese Boro

Indigo Abstract detail

Quilting Arts, Thanks to Martha and Sue

Martha Wolfe's article on one of Viewpoints9's Challenge

Coincidentally both Martha Wolfe's article about Viewpoints9's Challenge of Nine article and Sue Bleiweiss' about writing an artist statement appeared in the same issue.  Someone is a lucky girl ;^)

Alicia Merritt's  and my contributions

Sue Bleiweiss' article on writing an Artist Statement

Reveal Day for Viewpoints9-3

What follows here is my post for my answer to the current rotation of Viewpoints9-3 This latest challenge is to use natural dyes, tints, colors, stains...whatever you like...just natural.

This challenge was posed by Australian member Sue Dennis  Do yourself a big favor and go to her website.  Her work is wonderful!

Then if you continue in the 'treating yourself to wonderful', continue reading for Betty Busby's answer to the challenge.  I was gobsmacked!

If you go right now you can read it all ;^)  This challenge might be my favorite...but then I haven't posted the NEXT challenge's answer.  Hint:  Monochromatic.  Two months exactly to wait. 

Still Dry:

Still Dry detail

 Sue's challenge was, indeed, a challenge for me.  I avoid dyeing.  I support others who dye so brilliantly, and therefore, I have a wonderful stash and I don't worry about my immune system's uncanny ability to find strange, unheard of, crazily random reactions.

The challenge was posted while I was on holiday on a small island in San Pablo Bay, opposite Vallejo CA.  When the island was developed in the 1800's it served as the first US Naval port on the west coast, in response to Russia's trade in timber, moving from Alaska into N. CA.  Mare Island served as a military station and a ship building and repair yard until it was de-commissioned in the 1990's and became the property of the city of Vallejo.

Today Officer's Row, a splendid eucalyptus lined street boasting gorgeous mid-1850's homes, which serve as an inn, offices, a wine-tasting facility and private homes.  Nearby, also eucalyptus surrounded, is St. John's Chapel with 23 beautifully maintained Tiffany stained-glass windows.  Recently new homes have been constructed, a building was converted into a elementary school, a VA hospital moved into a new location and a large private university converted Army/Navy buildings into classrooms, labs and dormitories.  In short the place is hopping and will continue to develop with it's new ferry service directly to San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf.

The part of this story that is relevant to Sue's challenge is the 150 year old stand of eucalyptus.  They are grand things, and while we were on holiday they were shedding their thin bark strips.

The timing was perfect.  Sue's challenge and my affection for eucalyptus.  I harvested armloads of bark, packed them up and shipped them home where I tried my hand at "non-invasive to my immune system" dyeing.  I decided the best tack would be to boil the chips in a big vat for several hours outside on my grille.  After sieving the broth into another vat, I boiled a cotton sheet with black printed leaves that I'd found at a thrift store and a piece of bright gold cotton for several hours.

My results were not flashy.  Indeed they were dull.  The white turned meh, a tad cream,  and the gold turned brass.  But I did like change.

Still Dry's color will probably not be permanent, surely could not stand up to repeated washings.

My theme, Exotic, continues to look at global warning and subsequent climate changes.  This piece is pieced with the dyed and commercial cottons, It is machine and hand stitched.

Yep, yak/silk roving

It's a real thing!

Maybe it's only new to me.  That could be.

Check out my post on Viewpoints9-3

I'd love to hear what you would do with yak/silk roving...besides stroking it..it's SO silky!

Viewpoints9-3 Reveal Day!

 oops forgot to post on the 27th, the real reveal day....

The current edition of art revealed today was posed by Betty Busby, who challenged Viewpoint9 members to use unconventional or unusual  materials in our work.  Sorta  depends on one's definition of 'unusual'.   My "unusual or unconventional"  materials are certainly not that unusual to several of my colleagues.

I have included found objects before, acrylic painted directly on the face of work, printed, dyed.  Heck one time I threw a piece of white fabric on my local art centers cracked floor and rubbed charcoal and pencil all over it.  Then I poured dye over parts of it and created an interesting landscape. Stitched it.  And Voila!   It was juried into two exhibits!

Promised Land

Oil pastel is very unusual for my work as I am unsure of its control and I am also wary of it's permanence.  So, throwing caution to the wind, I combined it with some other uncommon bits:  discharged images and textiles from far-away places.  The piece is densely quilted with added hand stitching.

Home of the Exotic Blue Crow

Now I have a test subject for permanence of oil pastel in my work.  Fingers crossed.

Viewpoints9-3 Reveal Day!

Honey Bee Armageddon has just been posted on Viewpoints9.  The current challenge posed is to use neon colors...a stretch for sure.

My personal theme for this rotation of challenges is 'Exotic'.  As I have been interested in the honey bee colony collapse and it's various suspected causations, I chose the honey bee as my exotic.

I imagined what the world could look like without our honeybee pollinators.  And, after I saw Dr. Maria Spivak's TED Talk on "Why Bees Are Disappearing", I decided to look at that period of time just as we all learned that they had, indeed, become non-existence.

Imagine..........

This report just in from a time not too distant in the future.

In response to the recent honey bee colony collapse across the US, Congress, sitting in emergency session,  has authorized the use of drones.

Reporter
Diane  Wright
Honey and Pollen News Times

HoneyBee Armageddon

The QRCode links (with permission) to Dr. Maria Spivak's TED talk "Why Bees Are Disappearing".

Viewpoints9-3 Reveal Day #1

Viewpoints9-3's first reveal of it's new rotation of challenges is today!  Check it out...nine posts will fill today.

This time each member has chosen her own personal theme, developing a personal series which will relate to all the others by the challenges posed by the 'chief' of each challenge.  hmm...not real clear.  OK.  The bi-monthly challenger will pick the height dimension and one other facet required.  For instance, this time the height required by 48" and the challenge was to incorporate stitching that you had never done before.

My personal theme for the next 18 months is EXOTIC.

While considering my approach to my personal theme, I realized that I myself had been an exotic of sorts for most of my life.  e.g. not from wherever I was.

"I'm Not From Here" depicts the eight states and two foreign countries that our family made our home. California (4 times), Texas (3 times), Colorado, Missouri, Maryland (2 times), New York, Florida and Connecticut (2 times).  Japan and, later as an adult, Australia.

I'm Not From Here
48"x45"

 In keeping with Martha's Challenge to make a piece using stitching or a stitch type that we had never done before, I floundered.  I'm old.  And I dabble.  Ergo there's not much I haven't done (My Granny taught me to knit, crochet, embroider,  sew and tat.  Yes. Tat).  I decided to go with something that I have rarely done and not for a very long time.  Free-motion script.  The stitched sentences and phrases sketch our family's journey.

First acceptance of 2015 :^)

Flying Geese Variation

I was SO happy to have Flying Geese accepted into PAQA-South's ArtQuiltsReminisce!, which asked participants to reminisce a little, then share their story in art.

Today is also my turn to post on Viewpoints9-3.  Since 'conflating' is the hot new journalism word, I thought I'd conflate my two posts.  Hop on over the catch the whole, unadulterated story.

Killing two birds with one stone.  OOOH, sorry for the really bad pun. ;^)