Razzle-Dazzle Transformation

I had a therapeutic evening yesterday firing bits of plastic into sequins to transform a piece of dyed papers started in Amanda Hislop workshop a few weeks ago(below). Embellishment isn't usually my thing but stitching wasn't enough and I wanted to test out my new toy!

This microstitch gun was the the 'must-have' gadget of the CQ summer school. Having seen it in action on pieces by tutor Karina Thompson, I had to have one. I bought one of the larger basting guns back from the US many years ago but it kept jamming and I went back to using safety pins - my favourites are the bright coloured anodised ones.


This gadget is much better behaved - the tacks are only 4mm and much softer and look like stamens in the 'flowers' of the sequins. There's also a lot of movement as the sequins are not as tightly secured as they would be with stitch.

Transformation was the theme of the BQL challenge this month with these twisted strips. I used 2 different scale black and white/cream wavy lines fabrics set into another black and white print. I decided the title of this should be 'Dazzled Zebra'

And continuing the 'dazzle' theme ,had a lovely day on Sunday with quilting friend Diane who was visiting from the US and brought these gorgeous beaded brooches for Sue and me . Only trouble is choosing which one to keep!

Stitching Dyed Papers

With head down working on piece for FoQ and visiting relatives and friends over the holiday weekend , haven't had much to show and tell here. While I was away I did however start stitching into one of the paper collages I'd started on Amanda Hislop workshop. The joys of variagated threads - I only took one skein , needle and thread with me! Big stitches emphasise the colour changes - have to be decisive as stitching leaves holes in the paper.

I hadn't been very happy with the initial results (above ) of collaging the dyed papers - first of all too pastel and patchy then too gaudy using Koh-i-Nor watercolour dye palette. I've had a couple of goes at it since I got home with Neocolour crayons and layers of acrylic medium, trying to unite the different areas, losing some of the freshness and textures in the process but improved overall. I like the ridges where I embedded dyed hemp string

I backed the piece with a fused piece of cheesecloth, mainly to give stability to the edge when trimmed and stitched with a zigzag (variagated thread again -machine one this time). I liked the raggy edges but it didn't work compositionally so trimmed it to CQ Journal size (6" x12"). I'm off to CQ Summer School tomorrow with Jae Maries , so it may get superceded as my June piece Looking forward to seeing everybody and making a mess with inks!

Layers in the Landscape

For my birthday present this year from Ian and his parents, I chose to have a 2 day workshop with Amanda Hislop at Art Van Go . I'd only seen her work on websites but I like her approach to landscapes. 'In the flesh' her pieces recently displayed at the 'Prism' exhibition are even more interesting and textured.

During the workshop we tried 3 different approaches:dyeing different papers and tissues then layering them on muslin; painting a calico surface with acrylics then stitching into it and building up layers; tearing a variety of papers into strips and assembling them with PVA. It was interesting with this latter technique to see how differently the papers absorbed the dyes, especially the torn edges. Dyes (procion but without soda and salt)were painted on afterwards. I loved how intensely a torn Colour Catcher (below) absorbed the dye - I'm glad I wasn't too neat with the PVA as it acted as a resist!

I concentrated on dyeing and layering papers as acrylic painting was something I'm more familar with while I don't readily have access to dyes

Art work and dyed papers drying

For inspiration I used a painting from the Dales that I did last year on a course with Katherine Holmes. Katherine also incorporates papers, grasses and leaves into her paintings.

After a morning dyeing papers (and fingers- guess who forgot her Marigolds!), these were torn up when dry(ish) and applied to a backing of scrim muslin with lavish amounts of cellulose paste, with a final layer of conservation tissue and then left to dry overnight.

I'd tried a similar technique on workshop with Cas Holmes at Cowslip workshops a couple of years ago. Whether it was the strength of the glue, the openness of the backing or that it was just papers topped off with tissue rather than a mixture of papers and fabrics , but it seemed to hold together better. The downside was the initial disapointment in the toning down of the bright colours because of the top tissue layer (above left). I'm glad a took a photo then before I started spoiling it by digging out bits with a scalpel and applying acrylic paint too heavily in attempt to recover some of the more intensely coloured areas. I was able to retrieve it in some measure by glueing further layers over the top (above right) and then giving it a layer of acrylic medium to seal it.

I now need to get the croppers out and select the best bits for further work and stitching. It's in two halves at the moment - a more traditional landscape (above) and a more abstract area at the bottom with fibres and kozo (below). I particularly like the sky area which is crumpled dyed Indian rag paper with some white acrylic paint scraped across. I really must complete my notes before I forget what I did !
The back also looks rather interesting.

We finished off with a review session of everyones work - such a delightful mix of people and variety of styles. I'm looking forward now to the CQ Summer School.