red rose and madder

 red rose tea bags and madder

I cooked frozen used tea bags with soy beans and water, drained that off and then added linen cloth (right) and silk-rayon velvet.  I added madder extract then and the fabrics turned a pink-tan colour.  I brought them to a simmer,  (not boiling) for at least an hour and then steeped them over night.

In the same potion the next day, I added alum powder from the grocery store plus madder powder from Maiwa and dyed some wool, silk and silk-rayon velvet cloths.  On the line, velvet on the left, and then wool, wool, and finally silk.  (a little pinker)

On the third day, I added a procion mx conectrate of chinese red to the mixture and dyed 4 more pieces of cloth a true red .  From the top, silk hemp, wool, wool, velvet.  Truly a gorgeous red  - the method used was with heat as for natural dye.  Bring the liquid with cloth immersed to a simmer and then steep overnight.

Also, I am still adding red edges to hankies embroidered with circles.

A cardinal came to our feeder and stayed calm while several chickadees flitted in and out and around him.   I admired his redness and stead fastness.

spring red

spring melt, mid 80's watercolour by moi

We are having an early spring and the red dogwood is blazing. Seeing it, loving it, remembering early spring paintings I did when the kids were little. Railway Street, 1986, watercolour

These images are from slides. All I have left of those paintings. Above photo is from the side of our road.

heart to heart

I feel that it's necessary to completely cover a surface with hand stitch. This takes an extra ordinary amount of time. When people ask me "what are you making?" I say "art".
My hand's caress, a lasting mark. I keep stitching until it feels right. Here is the blanket stitch, done with red thread.

Have I made a protective covering or revealed an open wound?

red dot

I have returned to my quilting projects, put on hold for the last two months while I rushed through the fine art embroidery module for my degree.

I love quilts. Quilts have all the layers that I tried to show with my black dress embroidery. Quilts automatically have the metaphors that I want to refer to - protection, woman's hand as work and caress, meditation, story telling, political statements. I love the size of a bed quilt, ample as a modernist painting but much deeper, softer.

red sky, red water

I think we might save ourselves from destruction by admitting what is close,
what is intimate,
what is real.
By perceiving the world with greater intimacy,
which in turn,
leads to kindness.


David Hockney

red cloth

900 - 600 B.C. - Germany
A textile was unearthed in which silk was both woven into the garment and embroidered into it, done with overcast and stem stitches.


from The Surface Designer's Art

Red stitching

Last night I spent some time with Dorothy Caldwell's work on the CCCA website. I am impressed that she is able to use the same technique (wax resist discharge) repeatedly for twenty years without duplicating her imagery.
I am inspired to add more time (and thread) to this cloth book.

better photos

Q: What would be important enough for me to put a parka on over my robe, drape a new quilt over the railing of our deck, and stand out there in the gray cold light for twenty minutes? A: I needed better photos of this piece in order to enter an exhibition.

bias binding

I love all things about making a quilt, even hand finishing it with bias binding. For this quilt, I'm using dupioni silk, bias-cut a generous two inches, sewn and then pressed in half lengthwise before attaching to the edge of my work. The doubled fabric will then be folded over and overcast by hand invisibly to the back. I still have to do quite a bit of trimming away of the batting. A thin line of ruby red silk that edges dark purple velvet on the front and red rayon on the back will be the reward.

Julia Caprara

The textile world mourns Julia Caprara , director and principal of Opus School of Textile Arts who passed away Friday morning. When I was considering the degree program at Opus, Julia was the one who answered my questions on the phone and encouraged my enrollment. She was always professional, generous and kind and I regret that I did not get to meet her in person. Many Canadian textile artists have been inspired by her as she and her husband Alex have visited this country several times. Truly exceptional, she will be missed by so many of her students from around the world.

My friend and fellow Opus student Joanne Young informed me of this sad news by email early today and I've not been able to think of much else. Joanne also told me that Julia was able to put together a new book about embroidery and that it is excellent.

My heartfelt condolences to her family.

My quilts

My quilts are protection blankets.

Somewhere, there are heirlooms

Why do we embroider? Here in Canada it's a way of making our personal mark. The texture and weight of the thread is interesting for the eye and the slowness of the act seems thoughtful. Thread is familiar to everyone and so there's an intimate connection with the viewer. Each embroiderer has her own style, and those of us who love to look, can recognize makers without having to read their names just like we can recognize painters. Embroidery is more like drawing than it is like sewing.

In 'world' textiles from countries like India and North Africa embroidery is more like a tattoo. It marks out who you are, where you come from, and what your social status is. Specific colours in certain stitches identify and also protect the wearer. Embroidery is used in ceremony for important life passages. Red is the most common colour used in folk embroidery around the world.

I gather my thoughts and materials together for my trip to London, Ontario on Sunday. My workshop about the power and beauty of hand stitched textiles is next week. I'm looking forward to the ferry trip and the drive through south western Ontario. I'm looking forward to meeting the women who will be taking my class - and getting to know them each really well over the five days.

I'm over preparing again. I don't teach that many workshops, but I could not give up this opportunity to meet Jane Dunnewold, who is the other teacher. I have learned so much from her book Complex Cloth over the years, and last year I heard her speak in Kansas City at the Surface Design Association's conference. She's a really lovely human being.

Red Lake

I continued to work on my red lake painting this evening, inspired by the view we have of Manitowaning Bay at dawn. There's a town (and a lake) in North Western Ontario named Red Lake. I wonder if some one named it that because of the beautiful way the water turns red at dawn?

Little packages

Recycled wool, hand pieced, slashed, mended, blanket stitched, little folded parcels of wool attached with cross stitch.
Two months of late night TV.

Warm reds

I've mixed up twelve dye concentrates to play with and four of them are in the red family.

late as usual

I make quilts, books, and mixed media drawings. I use cloth, sequins, thread, and old clothes. I dye, paint, photograph, and draw. The content of the work is autobigraphical, I suppose, but I've stopped thinking about that aspect and just keep making.

Boldness and Simplicity

Many women in the 1880's and 1890's artists made abstract thoughtful spiritual quilt art. They fulfilled their socially prescribed role at home yet they were still able to be artists.

Thesis

That the shapes used in traditional quilt patterns are "first shapes". These shapes occur in textiles around the world. They have ancient meanings and are part of what Carl Jung called the 'collective unconscious'.
Even though we might not know the meanings any more, they continually call to us and we are drawn to their pleasing forms.

red painting on cloth

"We (I take the liberty of speaking for others as well as myself) revere primitive work. Things created by nameless artists let out their voices, singing vigorously of life and revealing to us a world of calm and ease. Such works are universally beloved. The spirit of their makers takes them over and dwells in them, living on and on." Jun'ichi Arai

Painted fabric today. Inspired by Australian aboriginal aesthetic.

two studios

I'm cleaning the wall of my home studio this weekend. It's been covered with antique family linens and baby clothes for about a month. So beautiful.
My new studio has works in progress (or maybe they're just ideas) pinned to its walls. I spent the afternoon there today, and it is a wonderful space.