I am a textile artist and this blog documents my work. I spin, knit, weave and anything else that adds to the unique nature of my work. From one-off yarns and scarves to sculpture, these all make up my practice.
Saturday 20 October 2007
Pictures from the Kimberley
Thursday 18 October 2007
What do you do on a holiday?
2. Aerial view of mountain ridges. These branched like trees which I didn't quite manage to capture. I used YO to create defining lines and k2tog to create ridges.
3. Mud flats. Large areas of st.st and rev.st.st. in wedge shapes.
4. Boab Tree nuts. This was a Creative Knitting Stitch, Bell, which created holes with hoods. Sort of round boab tree nuts!
5. Stairway to the moon, an interesting effect of the moon rising over mud flat at particular times of the month. I used the bell again, only larger, to create the moon and a knit,purl ladder on a garter stitch background.
6. Boab trees. They are striking and everywhere. Groups of odd shaped bobbles to form the bulbous trunks.
7. Ridges, always in the landscape. Knitted back and forth in a long line, slowly decreasing and increasing, folded and picked up starting stitches to join.
8. Bungle Bungles. Absolutely amazing scenery made up of rounded features/hills/mountains/monoliths, I don't really know what to call them. They're striped from different layers of rock and soil and weathering. I used the YO method to create rounded forms (well almost!) with knit and purl stripes.
9. Cockburn Ranges. Sloping rock fall/slopes topped by dramatic straight rocky cliffs. St. St slope, with a ribbed cliff top.
10. Closer examination of rocky cliffs with trees on top. Wrap yarn around needle serveral times, knit same number of stitches together. On next row, knit into each wrapped stitch - should end up with the same number of stitches! Repeat exactly, add couple of garter stitch rows, repeat with a shift. A fancy crossed throw for tree-trunks and little bobbles for the tree tops. (I really liked this sequence!)
11. Tussock Grass. Shell pattern.
12. Salt pan. St.st. areas with rev.st.st. between (2 sts, couple of rows) to try and create a cracked look.
I finished off with a garter stitch heading, and as you can see, it needs serious blocking....next job!
It didn't always work, but if you wanted to repeat the piece to get a more polished finish, it could easily be done. I learn't new stitches, created something totally free form and had fun!
It was a great exercise which I am determined to both use as inspiration and repeat the exercise whenever I can.
Wednesday 17 October 2007
Weaving at last!
I'm not as happy with this so far. It's wider than any I've done before but I will be doing a bit more finishing than usual, as this is meant to hang on a wall rather than a garden. I've also not woven for a while, so for a first it's not so bad!
Went into the city today, so I called in at Craft Victoria to see what their latest exhibition was. A very interesting look at gloves. Of most interest was a series of glove dolls, very quirky and some very naughty. I loved them all! Also was some most unusual pottery. These are the sorts of exhibitions which fire the imagination and give encouragement, especially when you're seeing really out there work. I feel that it just gives me permission to do exactly what I want! I love going to exhibitions.....must go to more!
I had a look at their shop, which is always full of interesting stuff and I noticed no small sculpture! Perhaps this would be my way into the Craft Victoria shop. I'll have to think a bit more about this. It would be interesting to try to do perhaps about half a dozen and show them. Of help would be more work with Paverpol, which started this whole blog. Must order some.
Tuesday 16 October 2007
My favourite magazine arrives!
Monday 15 October 2007
Return from the Kimberley
The market, however, turned out to be a success, with a lovely lady, also a great model for my scarves, who bought two of my scarves in the last hour and turned a very quiet day into a quite alright day. I have decided that for the Christmas and Summer period I need to turn my table into an Art table with a few scarves, rather than a Scarf table with some art, the latter would be for the Winter months.
So the plan, in terms of work, is to make a new range of silk scarves....they are a beautiful gift. More woven memories, but more substantial works. More textile pictures, with a new theme and for the fourth week...something else! At least I have a plan.
As well, I need to get some entries together for the guild exhibition. This week I think! And, of course, look at my photos from my trip, block the knitting I did on the trip and generally contemplate the whole experience.
I did manually blog when I was away and I'll do an extra post with some photos to deal with that. I did have fun. And, of course, photos will turn up all through subsequents posts.
PS It was a fabulous trip