patchwork landscapes

West Gippsland - south of Warrigal. Click here for more photos.

Arabesque

Arabesque can mean either a geometric pattern or a swirly "S" shape. This was the theme of the quilts created by Filament which are being hung in St Vincents Hospital gallery corridor next week. They will stay there for a month, Here are photos of my pieces. They are machine pieced, hand and machine quilted, hand embellished and red and yellow quilt has a little paint on it. The yellow stars are raw edged appliqued as are the blue circles.

Both quilts are a play with tile patterns anfd the secondary patterns which are revealed when certian apsects are high lighted.

For want of anything better I called this Arabesque Red. The star patterns is very clear and, sadly, overshadows the tree of life I have machine drawn over the square red and yellow tiles.

The other quilt which is detailed above is called Arabesque Blue.

Now I have done these I will put all the patterns I collected on the back burner so to speak and let them peculate away. After a month or two of stitching these I am heading back to working on sea shells.

still looking at sea shells

This wonderful image is from the site created by Des Beechley, Senior Fellow at the Australian Museum. There is a fantastic collection of photos and information about sea shells of New South Wales. I have added a link here and on my "other links".

I am still working on sea shells (or bones of the sea) as an idea for some embroideries and art quilts.

Playing with paint and paper

I bought some cheap water colours and painted over a photocopy of part of a charcolal drawing I did some time ago. I have reworked copies of this drawing a coupel of times now and soething different happens each time. I will keep playing with it and reduce it to stitch at some stage in the future.

Sea urchins and sea shells -more drawings

I have been continuing to work on my drawings - the first is yet another sketch of a sea urchin (in charcoal), the second is pen drawings of a few shells. I am still playing with how I can express the shell form in stitch without creating a replica.

The shells are mostly white with a few markings so I find them difficult to draw.

I have just finished reading an interesting, small autobiography by a painter, textile designer and manufacturer Bernat Klein called Eye for Colour (Scotland and Collins, London 1965). I was particularly interested in looking at the paintings and how Bernat Klein interpreted the colours in his woven fabric.

In his book Klein attributed the following quote to Klee:

The object of a painting is not to reflect the visible but to make the invisible visable.

Pop Music

I spent Saturday last at the Guild with my friends from Stitchers Plus. Took all day to chat, catch up and lay out some fabric on felt to start a embroidered abstract wall hanging. At the moment I am thinking I will call it "Pop Music" It has that feel to it - much, much more work to go before it becomes anything. Already I am wishing I hadn't use cheap commercial felt as a backing and that I had made it smaller - it is about 75 cm square.

I have since done some big stitches in purple to hold down the purple line and stitched a purple shadow in one place - I will work it across the row and trust that it falls into place as I envisage. I have also done a couple of yellow swirls in the yellow area in the middle but they are lost at the moment - might need some grape or ruby to bring it out. I will add another pic when I have done more.

sea urchins

I have been working on a sea shell theme - patterns from the sea. Got plenty of source material from all those walks on the beach - and pleanty of shells to incorporate if I feel the need.

Buoyed with encouragement from Jean Draper (a wonderful woman with many positive things to say) I have managed to get myself actually drawing/recording ideas and sampling!!! Hard for me as I always want to jump right in with the idea and then wonder why I am not happy with what I have done.

Jean is a UK embroiderer who (in my mind) acts a mentor rather than a teacher. I first met Jean in 2007 when I did a class at the Embroiderers' Guild NSW and she came out to Australia again this year.

I have posted a few photos to show you what I have done so far.