I have always been seduced by the cloth. I “see” shapes and images in swirls of color and rust. As a child I created my own alternate reality to entertain myself.
This was a narrow hand dyed cloth that was cut and stitched together. I saw the river and trees at sunrise. Is it a pieced art quilt now or is it a whole cloth quilt? You decide!
Isn’t this glorious???? More than a year ago , and if I’m honest probably two, I eco printed this large piece of wool challis. And it was miserable. Meh! So it was stuck on the back of a shelf and forgotten. Moving into the new studio space I found it again. Can you believe I nearly tossed this out before? It was patiently waiting to be the star of the show.
There are always lots of projects beconning to me. One that hasn’t had any up close and personal time lately is natural dyeing. I told myself I need to use the dyed fabric from last year so I would walk by the dye studio and wistfully whisper …next year. But then the flowers and leaves are ending their cycle for the year and I caved in to the magic of nature. It had to be now or way too much later.
I don’t chase a perfect leaf imprint like many natural/eco print artists do. If they happen amid the marbling of color created during the process, that’s a bonus.
Ron decided to help me out with a piece that was sandwiched for quilting. He has never stitched with one of my machines before. I am a little under the weather right now so I told him to go for it. He did a great job and since this was one of the shibori pieces we worked on together it is only right that he helps with more of the work. Of course little LuLu decided right away to lay claim to the newest piece of cloth. More in a few days as the work progresses. Linking to off The Wall Friday
This is my worktable this morning. All dyed pieces waiting for the grand finish. What does your table look like today?
JP Dawes Contemporary Artist 