Tag Archives: silk dye

At A Crossroads…

At  a crossroads…to be at a point where two or more roads meet.  Or..at a point of decision or a critical juncture.  And consider…Overlap, convergence, intersection…

I have found myself in school again after many years.  It is a privilege and a pleasure. Now my identity as an artist is undergoing deep change.  And my silk work is as well.  I truly don’t know where this road will lead…

I believe there is meaning in the work itself.  So- I am continuing to practice.  Here is a beginning in a series of daily meditations on silk.    Meditation on silk

Winter Tree Series- Three Completed

Following last week’s setbacks, it was hard to tell how close these paintings were to completion.  A few  more steps on each, and I called them done.
Winter Tree Series- Orange SkyWinter Tree Series- Grey EveningWinter Tree Series- Yellow Sky

 

I’m linking up to Nina Marie Sayer’s Off the Wall Friday here.  I am ready to check it out for my weekly inspiration!

New start

New start

Sketch cat completed

My drawing developed into a painting I chose to finish by cropping it close, for composition sake.  This color palette is not so familiar to me- out of my comfort zone for sure.  Not a jewel tone to be seen…o.k., that is not strictly true.  I do have a bit of bright blue… but still, I did find working with the earth tones of the cat and blanket unfamiliar enough to feel unsettling.  As I worked, the cat had been a darker hue than the blanket, but I felt there was not enough contrast, and went much darker with the fur.

Finished painting under contemplation

Also, I DID challenge myself earlier this month to work with creating shapes, as well as work linearly.  My attempt to do this was the tuxedo area under the cat’s chin.  I do like the results there…

In retrospect, I feel that the drawing was stronger than the finished painting… both in terms of the initial dye sketch and the gutta lines creating the space of the blanket.  Still, I count this painting as successful.  I am happy with the realization of a painting from a live sketch.

Silk Quilt project begun!

New project:  pieced silk quilt!  This will be my first pieced silk quilt, a new and challenging experiment for me.  I am following the design plan of Mod Quilting, created by Sherri at Daintytime, a fabulous artist who created this method.  I will be attempting to link her information to my blog for reference.  She has been a major inspiration since I discovered her blog about four months ago.  She has provided some major creative fuel for me- thank you Sherri!

The idea behind Sherri’s quilting method for this is that it is improvisational.  Being hungry for a more intuitive approach to textile work, I have responded to it with a flood of creativity- but it has been even more challenging than I have anticipated.  My limits on this project:

1. I complete it!

2. I use fabrics from my scrap pile- all ready to go and previously hand dyed by me.

3. All fabrics will be silk.

4.  Quilt top will use the Mod Method, as created by Sherri.

This quilt top actually began life as a more tentative, strip pieced plan that I was using as a “warm up” to then do a mod quilt.  When I lost steam and inspiration about one day into it, I realized that I simply wanted to go right into the Mod Method, and changed gears.  Instantly I felt invigorated and inspired.

The strips I had pieced became what Sherri begins with, the wedges.  Because mine were already pieces, the effect is more choppy and disjointed, with small individual squares making up my wedges.  So my first big challenge to overcome is the overall color disharmony that the “birth process” of this quilt has brought into being.  However, I am committed to my rule number one- complete this quilt!

My attempt to lend some harmony to this is to try to use mostly blues and greens in the areas around the long tracks created by the wedges.  The process of the “background” will be the subject of my next post…

silk quilt in processSilk quilt wedge being basted in placeSilk quilt top in process