Take a breath!

This piece is finally finished...

...I am so happy to finally be able to put down my needle!  I'm only giving a sneak viewing of the hanging as it is destined for a special exhibition back in the UK in May so I'd like to keep it under wraps until then.  The piece has taken so much of my time & energy, it is heavily hand stitched and every time I thought I had finished, my needle would say 'just a few more little stitches here!'  Some pieces just have a life of their own though & more and more I feel like I'm just the conduit for some creative force which is using my poor tired hands to do its work!  I'm sure I've actually worn down my middle finger since a thimble which fitted quite snuggly when I started this work now annoyingly drops off all the time!

So, it had its final light rubbing with a Markal this morning & has now joined the 'done' pile in my workroom - very satisfying.  I've optimistically called it 'Sunset over the Lake I' which of course hints at at least a second companion piece.  We'll have to see if that creative force strikes again! 

Detail

This week's love.....

This week's love is the exquisite work of artist Huguette Caland. 

Silent Memories by Huguette Caland

Influenced by textiles, Caland produces intricate drawings using paint and marker pens building up layers of colour and pattern. This little video of her preparing for a large exhibition in 2009 is a gem & I love that even well established, successful artists  still have doubts about their work; Caland declares 'I feel like demolishing everything!'  I think we all feel that at times!

Isn't is wonderful that her house is filled with not only her own art but that of all her friends?  You just know that her life has been filled with love and joy.  I'm going to make a point in 2012 to buy a few pieces made by my lovely art friends.  You can see more of Caland's work on her website http://huguettecaland.tumblr.com/ 

I for one will be rushing out to buy some marker pens!!

Tools of my Trade....

....vintage linens, foraged flowers & plants, a good stick for stirring, vintage threads.  These are the tools of my trade.

I've been doing so much hand stitch today that I've aggravated an old tendon injury so I'm taking a break to snap some pretty pictures for my website which is way overdue an update.  I also need to get some new business cards printed for an upcoming show back in the UK at the end of March.  I really don't enjoy all this marketing stuff so I have to force myself to keep on task, hopefully there will be at least one decent image I can use.

The eucalyptus is from a bunch of flowers given to me by my husband - very unexpected!  I couldn't help popping them into a dye pot today with a scrap of silk so the kitchen has been filled all afternoon with its heavy, heady scent - very healing. 

Sunset over the lake

Sunsets over Lake Washington are ablaze with colour,  the sky is on fire whilst the water turns into an inky, indigo dye bath with flecks of violet and gold dust.  We live across the Lake from Seattle so as the night deepens we watch the city magically transform into a  twinkling outline as if every building has been draped with fairy lights.  

Trying to create art which even approaches this natural beauty is impossible but the view has inspired me to work in a deeper, more vibrant colour palette than my usual.  I think indigo dye would be perfect for the lake colours but I'm more than a little scared by the indigo process and with exhibition deadlines looming I don't have time for experimentation, so I've used logwood combined with iron and tannin modifiers to give deeper hues.

 The piece is still on the work table, it still has alot of handstitching to add but I like the vivid contrast of the onion dyed silk against the logwood.

This is probably going to be the first of a series of  'Sunset over the Lake' pieces, a good excuse to sit by the Lake with my camera and sketchbook!