Oh, What the Heck!

Our 15 x 15 Group has its next "reveal" at the end of this month.  The theme? "Architecture -- with a Stencil".

As you know, Gentle Readers, I've had little or no time to devote to the topic since it was announced at the end of May.  Just a wee distraction... which came to a close a couple of days ago, and from which I'm still winding down.

(Digression: Is it me, or my age (early sixties)?  I seem to find it harder and harder to disentangle emotionally from either 'highs' or 'lows' -- especially involving family and close friends, recalling sweet memories and making new ones.  I need to snap out of this so I can get some work done!)

This afternoon I thought I'd tackle the vision I had for this project, and see if I could actually finish it in a condensed period of time.   I've had something rolling around in my mind for some months now, and this theme seemed an ideal way to capture it.

My inspiration is this Taize worship piece that I've performed countless times with the trio in which I sing at church:.

The Kingdom of God is justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Come now, and open in us the gates of Your Kingdom.* 

*Ateliers et Presses de Taize, France 

I had this picture in my mind of gates opening onto a celestial Kingdom...and when I remembered these photos I'd taken on my visit to Stratford, Ontario in May, I had the model for my gates -- from which I thought I could make a stencil.

Ha!  It wasn't as easy as all that.

Sure, I traced the shapes I wanted, got 'em on to printer paper, enlarged 'em...and then tried to actually create a stencil.

You'd think I'd never done it before!  But I have --  or so I kept reminding myself as I wasted piece after piece of the laminate off-cuts my daughter gives me (recycling from her workplace).

I have a wee problem with perception, you see...some of which is attributed to my wonky eyesight.  I tend to transpose images...and I have trouble differentiating depth (as in trying to parallel park a car) and positive/negative space.

I knew what I wanted to be the "empty" space on the stencil -- the space in which I wanted to either paint or apply resist while I painted the background...or both -- but I couldn't for the life of me cut it out without destroying the materials and ending up with gaps.

I went online for help and I confess, it was hard to find.  There were plenty of videos and articles on how to make stencils and what tools to use to make it easy...but precious little on exactly what to cut and what to leave intact.  I finally found this one from artist Amy Pearce...and the light went on.  As a result, I managed to cobble together a passable stencil, tape it down to my work surface, put the fabric over it and apply blue glue gel resist where I wanted it to go.  (I ended up making the stencil out of paper, and for this technique; i.e., with glue, based on Enid Gjelten Weischelbaum's article, "Drawing with Glue" in the August/September 2015 issue of Quilting Arts magazine, you place your fabric on top of your traceable design):

As I was laying down the glue, I thought to myself, "Oh, what the heck if it doesn't get done in time; this is fun!"

It has to dry 24 hours (which is fine -- I work at The Shop tomorrow)...and on Wednesday, if I'm able (I have 3 appointments), I'll play with the background colours...and Friday...might be able to stitch...

Blessedly, the 15 x 15 Group have forgiven me if I miss this particular challenge...but I'd like to try to get there on time.  Our "reveals" are always so much fun, and I want to be a part of this one too.

Wish me luck -- or say a prayer -- or both (whichever appeals to you)!  See you later...

EB, Interrupted...

In my last post, I'd just done my "depth" sketches and sent them off to EB.   She observed that I had a tendency to raise the horizon line from it's original position in my photos.  Hmm... Still, she liked what I did with overlapping, and making things smaller the farther away they were...

I knew I had some work to do, but I had another visitor from out of town -- my friend-from-university-days and former bridesmaid, P -- so with the exception of a bit of working in glue resist on fabric, I did nothing in my studio for almost a week.  Instead, we toured the hamlet, took in the Innisfail Quilt Show at the Heritage Village there, enjoyed delicious food and wine, celebrated my 40th anniversary with another couple at church, visited my sis at her cottage, slept in, read, took naps...and simply enjoyed each other's company.

That left me pushing the deadline for blocking my piece, as well as working on commissions that also have deadlines.

First, I finished the medallion quilt top.  I had to spread it out on my back lawn to get a full photo, as it's 116" W x 98" L:

The backing has arrived and been washed, so all is ready to go.  My daughter, who commissioned it, and I will visit the long-arm quilter later this month to discuss the quilting design and thread selection, and then leave it in her capable hands!

Next, another commission...for a selection of small Maritime pieces, based on photos provided.
I decided to try out a couple of techniques that -- serendipitously! -- were written up in the latest issue of Quilting Arts.

I wanted to make 6" square pieces I could mount on stretched canvas, and I wanted them to look like pen-and-ink-and-watercolour.  The long weekend (Aug. 1-3) when my Calgary friends were playing with me (we did indigo dyeing of silk, cotton and wool batting/roving), I made some samples.

First I tried "A Wholecloth Quilt With Color and Stitch", which had the look I was seeking.  Desiree Habicht gave very good instructions in her article, but it was clear I didn't have the variety of water-colour and InkTense (R) pencils on which to draw, because I couldn't get the colours blended the way I wanted:

I liked the look of the black stitched outlines...but it was tough to work on the quilted fabric, and the depth of colour just isn't there.  Pretty, but a bit stiff.

So...I tried "Drawing With Glue", using Elmer's blue School Glue Gel and SetaColor paints. Again, another great set of instructions, this time from Enid Gjelten Weichselbaum. 

The first time I made the sample, the paint was too dilute, but I loved the clear colours.  I also discovered that I should drawn in lines to define the clouds and trees, rather than trying to 'wing it'...

The second sample worked so well that it's turned into the first finished piece of the triptych.  I combined the glue gel resist technique with the black outline stitching and just love the whimsical. colourful interpretation of this Maritime Canada city (sorry, no further details lest the intended recipients read this blog!)

Here's the piece finished, faced and affixed to the stretched canvas:

The other two pieces have been painted, and will be finished after they're washed -- yes, in the regular laundry!

Triptcyh Piece #2, with source photo

Triptych Piece #3, with source photo

As an aside, while we were dyeing with indigo (the natural type, from MAIWA in Vancouver), my friend Sha suggested I try a glue resist design quickly dipped in the indigo vat.  I did a free-hand drawing of cone flowers, imitating one of the examples provided in Ms. Weichselbaum's article.  The results were a delightful surprise, and I'm going to do it up as a small stand-alone piece.  Here it is drying on the line:

And now back to our regularly-scheduled program...

The Master Class assignment for August!  Based on EB's comments about my rising horizons, I decided to do another set of sketches, focusing on only one of the landscapes I'd submitted originally.  My choice: "Driving East On Hwy 12"

Much better, but how to do this in fabric?!  Perhaps if I made it more 'geometric'?

Re: the vertical lines: I toyed with the idea of another triptych...but in the end, I blocked it out as one large piece.  There are some details to add (more highway lines) but for now...

When I finished, I realized that for me,
"It's Still About the Sky"
Materials: snow-dyed fabric, commercial cottons & batiks
Size: 30" W x 26" L (unfinished)

And I hafta confess... I love it!

Linking this to WIP Wednesday over at The Needle and Thread Network...and waiting for EB's feedback...

All for now!