Short and sweet

I haven't got a lot done this week, but have still had fun. 

I managed to visit the Edwina Corlette Gallery with my friend Trish, who is up here for some R and R.  We respecially liked Hannah Cutts's display of "deer skulls" featuring bicycle seats attached to antlers, and her patchwork displays made out of old linoleum, but were very surprised that her series using red sea coral hadn't sold as well as they were wonderful too. 

I have continued experimenting with my ink paintings and finished off the two I showed you last week. 

This is a little one  which I think is quite sweet based on a mobile I saw:

And this is one I did is based on holidays at Walkerville and Sandy Point holidays in Victoria.

I didn't like this one so much, so I think I'll use it for a book cover or something besides a painting.

And, I have been knitting away, and getting backgrounds ready for new paintings, so I hope to get some more pieces finished soon.

Dabbling in ink

With a feeling of relief, I have finally finished and posted off the latest AK doll made for a grandchild.

The final doll is quite sweet, but it took me about 6 months, and in the end the guilt of being a bad grandma forced me to actually get back to it.    I used to love knitting.  I knitted lots of jumpers for the children when they were young. Why does it seem such a chore now?  I think it is because my tension problems change all the measurements.  When I have the chance, I really need to get some knitting therapy from an expert to help me solve my knitting issues.  Given all this, imagine my horror when instead of putting the needles away, I picked them up and started a different doll. And this one is bigger and needs clothes! Talk about self -flagellation!

I have been enjoying a lot of my other projects a lot more.  Mainly because I am more confident about them.

I have been examining the remaining eco- dyed papers, trying to think of ways to use them.  I embroidered one, but am still vacillating about the others.

Also, I have finished joining my Japanese fabric strips for my quilt, and the ironed result is rather smart, if I do say so myself. 

 Next, I need to back it, line it, quilt it and border it.  More decisions! And more money! And more work!  But, I still have some fabric left over.  I could make cushions or a small knee rug from the remainders later.

In addition, I have decided to finish off the sampler quilt I showed you last week as a wall quilt.  I am adding a hanging sleeve to the back. Then, I think, I might enter it into the members' exhibition at the BIA at the end of March.  I am looking at other pieces to enter too.  No idea what the limit is, but it is worth entering ( and visiting the exhibition if you want a piece of original art straight from the hands of starving artists).

I am loving playing with ink.  Inspired by the work of  Gus Leunig and Rosetta Santucci, I have been working on this painting.

 It still has a way to go, but I am enjoying the process of layering colours, textures and images.   I started with a layer of wax and masking fluid, then used different inks  textured with salt and various tools like gladwrap and bubble wrap, and finally added a layer of gouache.  I am trying to decide what to do to finish it off.

 I have also started a different style of ink painting depicting a beach village we visited a few years ago in Portugal, Peniche.

Again, I am not sure how to finish it off.  I'm enjoying this new media so much that I think I'll try a few more paintings while I think about the problem of finishing off the two pictures.  Are you getting the idea that I have a tendency to work on lots of things at the same time?  Stops me getting bored and jaded is one way of looking at it!

Lastly, I am waiting for the weather to change so I can dye my fabric that I intend to use to make my new fish.  Good fun is coming up!

And!  ( sound of trumpets) I have decided to start a new food blog. It is going to be called Patapan Food and will be found at www.patapanfood.com.au.  Stay tuned!

Art and farming combine

I have so many projects on the go that I don't feel bored these days.  Plus, I am getting a sense of completion from many of them, which makes me inspired to do still more.

I have finally finished my sampler quilt!  Yay!  I decided in the end that it looked better without a border and with just very plain crosses for the quilting and I am happy with the decision.  Anything else, I felt, would have taken away from the dyeing and the embroidery.  So, here it is, folks:

and here is a detail:

I have also finished knitting the doll.  Now all I have to do is make the lining and sew it up. Such a relief!  Knitting and humidity don't go well together.

As well as that, I have got all the strips finished for my Japanese string quilt.

 I have ironed them too, so the next step is joining the strips together to form the quilt.  I was surprised at hoiw much of my fabric stack it took up.  I've just about run out of blue and brown Japanese fabrics.  Oh well, a good excuse to buy more!  I have put aside a small stacks of blue and white fabrics, plus the little rust  animal fabrics, so I still have a few more Japanese fabric projects to keep me going.

I received my dyes from Batik Oetero - gee, they are prompt with their deliveries!- so I have been applying rubber bands to calico in preparation for another bout of dyeing.

But, best of all, classes have started again at the BIA.  I changed my original choice of etching for more working with water media and Mia, and am delighted with my introduction to working with inks.  So far, I have just played with the inks, but I am planning a more ambitious project in the future.  Stay tuned.

Apart from projects, I had a lovely day out last weekend.  A friend suggested a visit to the Allora Show, so off we went.  The drive is delightful.  We went through flat farmland which is still recovering from the recent floods.  Those poor farmers!  Some crops were rotting in a layer of mud, and some fields were covered in silt from the rivers.  There were fences down and tractors coated in sludge.  It is truly amazing to see the devastating effects of what is usually a little stream when it floods. Even higher country was badly affected by the cyclone.  The beautiful Cunningham Highway when it runs through Cunningham's Gap and the Main Range National Park still has its impressive views, wonderful craggy, basalt mountains which are the remains of volcanoes, and lush rainforests, but with all the continuing landslides, it was impossible to stop, take photos or sketch.

 

The Allora Show was a real country show.  Mandatory uniform for visitors seems to be a very large hat, preferably a well loved akubra, and blue and white gingham or striped, long sleeved shirts with jeans or moleskins.  Officials wore jackets over their clothes. 



 Needless to say, I didn't fit in.

We admired the beautifully groomed cattle.  It was great to see the pride people took in their animals.  And it wasn't just older people.  There is a very capable generation of youngsters who are professional and enthusiastic about their animals.

 The horses were beautiful too and we, marvelled at the control of the riders- some of those horses were very feisty, trying to "pig root", buck and rear to knock off their riders. 

 

I had fun visiting all the dogs and met some lovely Tibetan spaniels and yearned after a Bernese Mountain Dog puppy.  We sniffed our way through the sheep and goats- not as warm and comforting a smell as the cattle and horses, I am afraid.   Bob thinks they smell like their cheese and I think the cheese smells of them.

But I was absolutely inspired by the patterns of the feathers the ducks sported.  Really incredible.  iridescent blues and greens, intricate patterns, wonderful impressions of textures.  Unfortunately, my photos didn't come out so I think I need to go to another show.  The chickens' combs, feathers and faces were also pretty inspiring for an artist.

 I don't know how, but they will both appear in my work one day. 

The cakes and crafts were pretty uninspiring, surprisingly, but the town has a good photography club and the range of shots was very good. 

Plus, I met a bloke who prints 3-D models of his drawings.  I didn't even realise that you could get a printer for the home that makes what you design......horses, wheels, torsos, machinery, jewellery, tools......Amazing! Apparently the models are made of cornstarch which can be painted with acrylic paints.  If you are interested, google MakerBot.   Googling Thingiverse gives you lots of digital designs to get you started.  Have a feeling it is too technical for me, but I thought it had lots of potential for an artist with the right temperament.

After the cyclone, life goes on.

This week has been me acting like the tortoise in the story, " The Tortoise and the Hare".  I have been very slow and steady in my work.  This has partly been because of the cyclonic conditions up here, which had us all experienced heat, humidity, rain and wind,  then some poor souls also coping with the effects of rising creeks and rivers, destroyed businesses and/ or homes, and, for some others, suffering death or injury.  I am very lucky in that I live in a fairly sheltered part of Brisbane, but I realised how easily tragedy can hit anyone when a pregnant woman and her three year old son were hit by a falling tree in my neighbourhood park.  The child died and the woman is seriously injured.  This cyclone once again empathises how helpless we humans are in the face of nature, in spite of all our achievements.  However, it also brings out the best in people.  I have once again been awed at the efficiency, selflessness  and cheerfulness with which Brisbanites approach the ensuing clean up.  Australians are often seen by outsiders as laid back and easy going.  What is less well known is how often Australians volunteer to help others, frequently, and usually, without being asked.  Without these volunteers, the country would not be able to operate as well as it does.

While working, I usually listen to music, the radio, or a recorded book, but this week, like last week,  I also watched the final episode in the three series on Grayson Perry 's making of the tapestries depicting the social classes and tastes of the social classes of England, " All in the Best Possible Taste".  I found the series absolutely fascinating as it gave me an insight into how he developed an idea into a piece of art, but also because it made me think a lot about  class, taste, individuality, and society.  I loved his  comment,  " Google is the great tool of the modern artist".  It is oh so true!  I get so many of my ideas, techniques and encouragement from Google!

As a result, of my watching and listening,  I  finally finished embroidering my sampler quilt, and am pretty stoked with how it turned out.  I am just about to back it, quilt the joints and finish it off as a wall hanging.  Then, I'll either sell it or exhibit it.  Or both.

I also cut out and started arranging some scraps I have left over from another project. Still can't quite
decide what to make them into. Baby rug? Bag? Cushion? Scroll? Suggestions anyone?

 

And, I have started cutting out the strips for my string quilt.  Again, there are decisions to be made now that I have chosen the fabrics from my stash of Japanese fabrics.  Single bed quilt, double bed quilt or throw?  Probably depends on how long it takes for me to get bored!  One of the side effects of this cutting has been the ribbony scraps left over.  They look so good tangled together that I have gathered them together to make into another art piece later.  I am thinking of  fusing them together by ironing them onto a backing cloth, then embroidering on top.  We'll see.  Probably, they will end up as part of my stack of UFOs ( unfinished objects).


While cutting up the quilt stips, on the spur of the moment I decided to make this wrist cuff/ bracelet/ wrist band/ sweat band.  I like it so much, I have been wearing it a lot - in spite of the heat!  It actually isn't hot to wear because it is made of light cotton.  And it is fun.

I might make some more!  And I wonder what head bands would look like?

Lastly, I have ordered my dyes from Batik Oetero.  Can't wait for them to arrive so I can get dyeing again!

As well as working on my own, I had a lovely morning with my 2 cronies, when I attended a knitting session run by Jennine Birrell ( of Fibre Arts Road) and her partner every Thursday morning from 9 to 11 am at The Crosstown Eating House (and Uptown drinks lounge)  in Woolloongabba.  What a great idea!  You can have coffee and muffins  ( this week it was white chocolate and pineapple, which was apparently delicious), or whatever you want to eat, while you knit, and there is an expert on hand to help if you run into trouble.  As patterns, design,  crochet and fibre arts are part of their skill sets, you really get value for money.  Plus, the group is very welcoming and friendly, and you can chat as you work.  It all managed to re-ignite my interest in knitting, so I am actually progressing with my latest knitted doll!

I enjoyed the venue so much, and the staff at the eatery were so nice, I stayed for lunch.  I had a beautifully refreshing pineapple and mint chiller, and a cold pork, Asian style salad which was very tasty, and made me feel virtuously healthy. I'll be back!

Speaking of food, I have been wondering whether to start another , this time, food based blog, instead of letting this one be diverted from its made purpose of art and craft.  Do I have the energy?  I'll let you know.