painting on silk and canvas was much more successful
Friday, August 28, 2009
today's efforts
felting
i can't recommend felting with emu feathers - they moult :( i might try adding them afterwards next time. the clumps of possum fur worked well though and this piece is ready for the nexct stage - a thin layer of synthetics, organza and stitching before a light toasting
painting on silk and canvas was much more successful
- this will be a triptych i think
painting on silk and canvas was much more successful
Thursday, August 27, 2009
and thinking (here over breakfast in sydney - note the unsatisfactory toast bottom left - it was warm bread - not toast at all)
i had 3 ferry rides (my favourite form of public transport), trotted around The Rocks and Circular Quay, hopped on and off buses, found great bargamoniousness in Newtown and went to a favvoloso exhibition at the gallery of 8 senior Aboriginal artists. Judy Watson was one of the featured artists - i have admired her work for a long time - when we were in Canberra in the 90s i used to soothe my soul at lunchtime by walking over from my building to the national gallery and just sit in front of their stunning Rothko and then in front of Judy Watson's 'heartland'. this would revive the inner me so that i could face another session of working in the Dept of Finance.....
so over the last 6 weeks i have made a couple of burnt quilts
Monday, August 17, 2009
welcome to trappism
i toyed with the idea of calling this post "the silence of madame's" but for once bad punnery lost.
as is my voice - still absent after 3 days, officially awol so off to le docteur went i. and the verdict - i have A Virus resulting in broncho-laryngitis. impressive, hein?
and i am forbidden to utter even the merest whisper or my voice won't come back. so i am reduced to communicating in a very marcel marceau fashion - a mixture of raised eyeborws, gesticulation, skipping and the old fashioned writing on a note pad.
unfortunately my handwriting is notoriously difficult to read so i have to print carefully, with extra tongue protrusion
this is not good for witty repartee but i think will make me a more polite communicator - swearing looks much worse in print
as is my voice - still absent after 3 days, officially awol so off to le docteur went i. and the verdict - i have A Virus resulting in broncho-laryngitis. impressive, hein?
and i am forbidden to utter even the merest whisper or my voice won't come back. so i am reduced to communicating in a very marcel marceau fashion - a mixture of raised eyeborws, gesticulation, skipping and the old fashioned writing on a note pad.
this is not good for witty repartee but i think will make me a more polite communicator - swearing looks much worse in print
Saturday, August 15, 2009
mute-ability
w has been asking increasingly querulously 'is your voice back yet?' and about half an hour ago was driven to ask me to please stop whispering as he couldn't HEAR.
and i look like the Dowager Duchess of Crap-on-Toast.... thank goodness the scrumpster is back tomorrow having completed his odyssey driving back from darwin.
thank you for the comments - mel i used pebeo setacolour and jo sonja fabric paints on that piece: i usually use kraftkolour's sun dyes as well but the last time i was at zart art their stocks hadn't recovered from the bushfires
and yes miss molly's favourite sleeping spot is on my sewing table - usually on the current work in progress.
and finally i thought you ought to see the result of my failed attempt at microwave eco dyeing in alice springs - i sadly overestimated the amount of time it should have cooked. the gumleaf btw was intact.....
Friday, August 14, 2009
sloth and a pouty muse
otherwise there has not been much activity chez seascrump - as soon as we landed at melbourne airport we all got sore throats and different levels of sneeziness and ear achiness. this was, i think, rather off putting for the muse who had had a lovely time in alice springs running around like a dog off the leash. but for the last couple of weeks she has been more and more pouty and disinclined to play.
one burnt quilt was the output until late yesterday (and i'm not sure whether or not to cut this one up - any thoughts?)
add some rough gathers and tucks (inspired by colette wolff's wonderful book 'fabric manipulation') and some fabric paint and it all started to flow. here is the piece wound up and wet with fabric paint
Sunday, August 09, 2009
the creative primeval soup
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i have just over 6 months to make 6 pieces for an exhibition - the theme is 'southern land' and my quilts will be about the country around alice springs.
colours - ochres, burnt siennas, umber, deep red, pinks shading into purple and the vibrant cobalt/turquoise of the sky
i would love to able to dye some fabric using this
i thought the family would baulk at bring puffballs home in their luggage and i wasn't sure which stage they could be harvested for dyeing purposes. maybe next time.....
Friday, August 07, 2009
ellery creek bighole
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actually glow is too quiet a verb for the effect of these colours - the oranges and blacks just about knock you down, they are so strong. they centainly have a powerful effect on me - i want to run into the desert and lie down in the red dust and just be in the land.
the paintings from this area have a similar effect on me - painters such as evelyn pultara, marymorton and janelle stockman napaltjarri whose work we saw in alice springs.
if you would like to see more rock photos (and who wouldn't?) go over to flickr where i'm gradually loading up some of the mumblety hundred photos i took.
as i was going through the photos it did strike me that i took many more photos of rocks than of the family. further evidence of my bad motherhood - underlined yesterday by young w's joy as he rummaged through the washing basket "yay - i've got matching socks!"
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
photos
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