the creative primeval soup

i am happily swimming away in the lovely primeval soup of creating that goes on before i make something. dyeing fabric, experimenting with different techniques, chasing down references, catching ideas

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
textures - gibber of the desert, swirls and rough escarpments of rock, spinifex circles, the wave ripples of an ancient sea
and so far the techniques i have been trying out - eco dying with gum leaves on silk and wool (using india flint's amazing book eco colour), fabric manipulation such as ruching, pleating and gathering, painting fabric and khadi paper with red ochre gesso

i would love to able to dye some fabric using this i saw some wonderful eco dyeing at centre craft in alice springs - i can't remember the name of the artist but she had an exhibition of wool quilts that had all been eco dyed including puffball. a fungus that literally pops up all around alice springs. i saw them at emily gap in the east macdonnell ranges and then one morning on my walk along the todd river.

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.....