One of the things I'm always trying to teach master Nilo, is to be economical in his craft work. He is a big fan of the TV shows "Mr. Maker" and "Art Attack" and it drives me crazy - just as it did my mother - the sheer level of waste on these types of programs! "Now we're going to cut a circle of card for the sun...." And what do they do? Cut one measly 2" diameter circle from the absolute center of an A4 sheet of card! It's the same with paint. They need to paint something the size of a postage stamp, and prepare a half gallon of acrylic paint!!! End of rant. We lead by example! So I showed him this, which comes from part of what I'm working on at the moment. It may seem obvious to many of you, but it's surprising how many people still don't consider the need for us, as humans, to economize, in all areas of our lives. And so I'm thinking, as I write this, about the relationship between waste and wastfullness.
Leaf outlines drawn out onto a small corner of one of my recycled fabric scraps (yes, one of the ones dyed with Neurosa Yellow, which is the name I've decided to give the dye from the native plant Neurolaena lobata (Asteraceae), known locally as "Gavilana".)
The backside of my work (talking of which ;} I've been up since 2:15am this morning with more of the same plumbing related issues that I've been experiencing recently - I have an inkling of what that might be about). I'm rather proud of how neat this is all looking. Usually the back of my stitching is as inpenetrable as a Malaysian jungle (I'm not sure that they are, or are they? I just made that up).
The arty shot. Always remember to throw into your portfolio at least one or two of these types of on-the-slant images, which always seem to make things look so much more interesting than they might otherwise be ;}
The work so far. Believe it or not this has taken me the best part of 12 hours to stitch! As you can see, there are 4 rows so far, but today I hope to add another two. More and more, (currently... 'coz you know how I have a habit of zipping off into a completely different direction with little advance warning, if any), I'm thinking how much I like the idea of creating an all-over print effect using applique or stitching or both. And if you're thinking that this reminds you of something else... you're quite right. It's a new angle on this.
Over the weekend, Arlee sent me this link, and I wrote to the lady responsible for the project, Fiona Wright and she responded last night and is opening a dialogue between us by writing this.
It sure is exciting to connect with the world!
Look at that, it's still only 4 am! ZZZZzzzzzzzzz
Opps! Forgot to mention these. I can haz niz shuz! *:)
3 comments:
Glad to hear you got a positive response from Fiona!! YAY!!!!
I like the idea of creating an all over print that way--and then *tons* more stitching on top :}
Well, I don't know about the *tons* more stitching... Ha! That's *your* domain!
Yes, I can well believe it took 12 hours. I think I might have lost the will... The effort is well-justified; it looks stupendously good. And great news on how word on the new project is getting out there. You've really started something ;-)
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