Will it be the Back Up?

The dress in progress - mostly pinned together here!

          I know it's been a few weeks since I last posted and I can hardly believe I let so much time go by. My excuse is extreme busyness and many nights of falling into bed exhausted. You see summer finally arrived up here and there were so many outside jobs to tackle, although Bob does most of the really hard stuff:-) But, also, I realized time was slipping by very fast and I needed to get started on making my Mother-of-the-Groom outfit. I had planned something similar to a design I liked a lot by Ivonne Dome, a designer for Mon Cheri. I ordered Peace Silk (they don't have to kill the silk moth!) and began a long, tedious process of relearning how to dye silk and how to make it into something to wear other than a scarf or shawl.

          I started with many drawings and little watercolours. Then I had to find a pattern that was reasonably close to what I had in mind and then alter it to meet my requirements. That is a long story in itself...long and boring. Anyway I then moved on to figuring out how to stretch such large sections of silk and getting the pattern onto the fabric without having it move all around, mark the area with a special pen that has fade-away ink, draw Gutta resist around those lines, let it dry, then apply the dyes. That meant experimenting with dyes on fabric samples first since I wanted this to be fairly subtle. The dyes are quite strong and intense so I ended up adding a lot of distilled water to them and only had to mix the colours a bit - the turquoise had a bit of royal blue added and the leaf green had a bit yellow added.

          

          I decided to go with a seaweed theme since there are so many beautiful specimens of these plants and you can play with the shapes. The above photo shows how the colour looked when first applied, and it was just what I wanted; soft and subtle.

          This, however, is what it turned into when dry. All the green migrated to the edges of the gutta and left the yellow showing. You see, I had painted the blue first and didn't steam it, I just let it dry and then painted on the green seaweed shapes. That made the dye mix in with the underlying blue, and thus the migrating green occurred. At this point I was days into the project and very tired. I decided to go with it. I just didn't want to be dying and steaming the same pieces of fabric twice. I just use a big canning pot and cook up the silk on a hot plate sitting on my studio floor. (Silk isn't just crammed in...it is carefully wrapped and placed on many, many, many layers of round cut newspaper and a shield of foil). Steaming for wearables is approximately four hours. Check that water level every half hour or you could end up with ashes to wear...

French Seams are Good! When you turn them over they disappear!

          The next phase required some sewing tutorials. I have sewn a lot over the years but don't have a lot of experience with such delicate, slippery, fussy fabric as this. I was getting very frustrated with puckering and snags and general this-is-so-home-made looking I could die syndrome. Finally found an article that discussed my problem and voila! French seams and other techniques that allow you to sew delicate fabrics beautifully. All the puckering went away and I felt rejuvenated, because, you see, I had almost decided to GIVE UP this effort and go with another option - namely, to wear an outfit loaned to me by a friend. 

            Ok, I'm not there yet, there is still a ways to go but I stand a good chance of actually coming up with a decent result, something I, and more importantly, my son, won't be ashamed of. As I progress I will post the further efforts. And that picture at the top is not the finished product...that is still just a partial finish. Most of it is just pinned together so I can see what is happening.

At least I have a backup outfit and I strongly believe in backups.

          

          

         

It's raining good luck in work and actual water!

          Completed (I think) and leaving me ready to go back to the other two small floral works I started two months ago! I still might go in and pull a few more petals out into the foreground, but for now I am reasonably happy with this. I can't think about it any more.

            I received some excellent news on thursday...all three of my entries into the Sooke Fine Art Show have been accepted. Considering there were 1335 entries and only 163 artists made the cut, and only 19 of those had all three of their entries accepted, I feel especially honoured and pleased! Now I need to pull together 12 copies of my bio (they have bio books about the artists laying throughout the gallery display area) and print up some new art cards (we are encouraged to have cards and prints of our work for sale in the gallery gift shop), and pack up the work to deliver next saturday. It is about a 4 1/2 hr. drive and I was so happy that Bob immediately suggested we deliver the work in person rather than shipping it. It is a chance to visit daughter and grandson who live down that way; maybe even pick up Tyler to bring back with us for a few weeks. Here are the three pieces that are going into the show:

          I am also taking Debbie Reusch's piece "On the Gauntlet" (she is my neighbor up here in Sayward valley) for her as this was accepted into the show. Due to some misunderstanding about the dates of production on two other of her works they were disqualified, unfortunately, as I think they stood a good chance of also being accepted. Debbie does beautiful watercolours. You can see her work at http://www.debbiereusch.blogspot.com; I know she would love you to visit. Her work is delicate and sensitive but with a very strong underlying feel; each of her pieces is carefully thought out and constructed yet not static or cold...they offer a sense of quiet satisfaction and appealing comfort.

          We continue to live in our rain slickers over sweaters while the rest of the continent seems to be baking and thirsty. Sick as I get of so much wetness I realize we are actually lucky...I could not work in all the heat and humidity and I very much dislike air conditioning. Today, Canada Day, a bit of sun maybe? Hard to tell at 9:52 am, but at least it is not currently raining! Good thing we live on the lower slope of the mountain as all the water slides past us rather than filling our basement and it is not at flood stage in the valley floor although the river is quite high. It's hard to find a wetless enough day to cut the grass  and soon it will be kneehigh again if it doesn't dry out a bit soon. My gumboots are holding up well at least.

Hydrangeas and Seafoam Outfits

          I know, I know, it's been quite some time since I last posted. I suddenly kind of lost all my momentum. There has been a lot of activity in my daily life, but not much of it centered around my studio or painting. It always feels like there are endless chores to be done once decent weather arrives and while much of it is actually enjoyable some of it is, also, tedious, and backbreaking. 

          I finally have returned to working on the florals that my collector back in Ontario has requested, including this hydrangeas painting. It's is very similar to the smaller one I did a few years back but it has some looser, softer edges, and is not so geared to photographic rendering. I intend to paint a false frame around it and allow a blossom or two to come over the edge of that frame. One of the things that especially attracts me to hydrangeas is the variety of colours and tones that can be found in even the same blossom group. Depending upon the maturity of the blossom the colour advances through a series of fascinating changes, and these are also dependent upon the chemical makeup of the soil. It can get finicky, however, and I seem to be losing my patience for fine detail. That is not necessarily a bad thing, in fact, I think it is a sign of my own maturation artistically speaking. In any case, Joanne, if you read this, I will let you decide which hydrangea version you prefer and that will be yours! (Every artist should have a Joanne in their life!).

          Another side tracking effort has been designing and considering how to make my Mother-of-the-Groom outfit to wear to my son's upcoming wedding in late August. It has almost come to be expected of me that I will make something of my own design and I find it challenging, exciting, and also tiring. The designs are not completely original...they are based on outfits I have seen elsewhere that I think might look ok on me and then I reconfigure and alter to work with my own ideas. I had wanted to take a pattern making course when I was in my early 20's but it wasn't feasible then so I had to learn by trial and error how to modify existing patterns. Now it is possible to take pattern making courses quite easily but at my age I don't feel the inclination to get too involved. Haute couture is an art form in itself and requires a great deal of time  to properly develop, time which I don't really have any more. I have made outfits for others, even redesigned and remade an old wedding dress once for someone else with lots of hand beading, etc., but I never wanted to go into the business of fashion design. 

          Silk is my absolute favorite fabric but as a vegan I have begun to have some serious qualms about the boiling alive of the silk worm cocoons in order to reel off the silk without breaking the cocoon.  Thousands die this way in order to make a single yard of fabric. I found a company called Aurora Silk in Portland, Oregon that sells silk that has been taken only from cocoons where the moth has allowed to break free and live it's short, but happy life. Cheryl Kolander is the company founder and uses a method that can still weave a beautiful, smooth silks from the broken cocoons and offers a variety of weights and weaves. She also deals in cottons and hemp fabrics and all products are fair trade where families in Asia are encouraged to use no-chemical methods and are fairly paid for their work. Some of the silks are the traditional type from unbroken cocoons. More details and information are to be found from her website: www.aurorasilk.com

          I worked up some quick watercolour sketches after finding a design from Mon Cheri that I really liked, designer Ivonne Dome. Basically a loose fitting dress with layers in the skirt (she uses three) and some cut at an angle and on the bias. These include a lightweight soft jacket, which those of us "mature" women need to cover the upper arm which is often less than firm, shapely, or attractive! I am considering going with only two layers for the skirt as I am short (and getting shorter with age...sigh) and don't want to be overwhelmed by the skirt. One layer of silk is the l.8 oz weight and an overlay is the half oz. weight, so the whole thing is floaty and soft...I hope:-) I made a quick mock up after spending days altering the two Quick Sew patterns that I found to be closest to the design I want. The dress is just in broadcloth I had in my stash and I used cheesecloth to work out the jacket drape, not bothering with the sleeves at this point. The cheesecloth is the perfect weight! The mock up is, of course, kind of stiff and heavy so does not represent the nice soft drape that I will get when I use the silk. 

       

       I've pretty much decided to go with the undersea design, using a pale turquoise (my friend Diana calls it a Seafoam), blending into a soft and light version of Sap green. The light overlay will have carefully painted wavy seaweed like shapes coming up toward the light turquoise and just painted fairly free form on the jacket. Light, light, light I have to remind myself since dyes on silk can be incredibly potent and bright, which is beautiful, but not what I want for my outfit. You can see the picture I am basing the design on, the lovely mauve dress made by Mon Cheri. 

          For anyone interested, the black and red scarf design above is an idea I have for a gift to give my son's future Mother-in-law, MaryAnn, as I will be staying with her and her husband when I am back in upstate NY for the wedding. I think I'm going to change it to some blue lilies with gorgeous green stems and leaves on the black background as I have noticed that she wears a lot of black and blue clothes in her FB photos (she is very elegant looking) but also has a wonderful, easy going personality so I hope the scarf will reflect these things and that it will be something she will enjoy wearing.

          I am very lucky to have an alternate outfit to fall back on. My artist friend, Diana, has kindly offered to lend me the pretty dress she wore for her daughter's wedding a couple of years ago, (that Seafoam colour she noticed in my watercolour sketch) and since we are about the same size I will take her up on it if for any reason my creation turns into a disaster and I have no time to make something else. It's always good to have a plan B.

You Can't Always Get What You Want...

"Spanish Shawl"  oil on canvas  40"x16"

       

       Completed this painting by the May 25th deadline, but haven't entered it yet as I had a connection problem for a day and a half with my router/computer. I think the lush new growth of all the trees, including a large willow and several fruit trees between house and studio have gotten in the way. Bob says that shouldn't be the case since he gets his connection in his office at the other end of the house through two walls from the kitchen. I still maintain it isn't quite the same. The studio is a good 150 feet from the house and the connection just isn't making it through now - it had up until the trees filled in. At least it isn't a problem with my computer as I really cannot afford a new computer or even a repair job right now. So I sit in the kitchen at the table, but that will have to be temporary...where can I set up here without being in the way? I use the computer in my studio quite a lot - my printer is also out there and my camera, etc.  These are the times when I wish I had gone with a laptop instead of this desktop - but the desktop was so beautiful and the screen so large, and it called to me! I love this computer! But it is a real pain to cart around...

view from kitchen window and router to studio (way back to the left)

View from studio window to house and kitchen window

       One of my paintings in the FCA Still Life show in Vancouver has been purchased but I don't know which one. Bob took the call while I was in my studio and can't remember if they told him which one it was. Doesn't matter, the extra income is very welcome and I will know eventually when they send the unsold one home in a few weeks. Here are the two entries:

"Apples in Red Bowl"   oil on canvas  14"x18"

"Fruit and Jug on Lace"  pastel  19"x26"

       This is the first time I've sold anything from being in a FCA show in Vancouver. I was beginning to wonder how much traffic the FCA Gallery actually gets as I don't many who do sell in the shows, but then, I don't personally know that many FCA members either - they are from all across Canada. 

           The timing is good since the same day this work sold our Rural Property Tax bill arrived and is approximately the amount of renumeration I will receive after the gallery takes its percentage. I still hope to get a new camera eventually but I have to remember that you can't always get what you want but, if you try, you get what you need...and it's one of my favorite Rolling Stones tunes.

Back in the FAV15% - is three times a charm?

       "Listening For A Nightingale" was selected as one of the Bold Brush competition FAV15% on the FineArtViews site for last month. This is the third time I have had a piece chosen for the FAV15%. Keep hoping for being a finalist someday when I grow up:-) Then return to ideas about never entering anything again...what is the point, I ask myself, even knowing as I think this that I will be entering another competition sometime soon. Actually today; I entered it in the  Artist's Magazine annual art competiton. 

            The current work is very close to completion now, sitting on my easel awaiting ministrations but I'm finding it hard to do this last part for some reason. Once again the fringe is driving me a bit crazy. I want to add the embroidery on the shawl and that might even be fun, but can't get started. Maybe it's that I'm feeling hungry right now. I don't work well when I'm hungry. Maybe I should go back to the house and make some lunch, although it's after two...ok, early supper? It's so gratifying when a simple solution to a problem presents itself.

Cameras are not edible.

       A quick posting today; just found out that the deadline for entering the Sooke show has been extended into June! Good news, although I am fairly certain I will have this done by the May 25th date they did have, but at least I can breathe easy about this and not feel rushed. So much to do outside right now - and inside too - feeling pulled in multiple directions. No time for sitting in the sun with a good book and a big glass of lemonade:-) It's still a bit chilly up here for that sort of thing anyway. And the wind! We have had major wind for about three days even though the sun is out, no clouds in the sky - gorgeous really but kind of hard to work outside with stuff blowing around. It happens up in the area some years and I'm told the wind can last all summer! When I traveled down island yesterday it was calm and lovely but up here in the mountain valley, well, make sure things are battened down!

       Yesterday I went to meet with my art group friends in Comox. We were at a lovely home overlooking Comox Estuary, with snow capped mountains in the background. We were able to be outside to paint and socialize. Needed that!! Vicky has a new DSLR camera and showed me all its great features...couldn't help but covet just a little, even though I have decided I don't really need a full DSLR. A good Canon bridge camera would do for me I think. Been researching this for two years but still using my 12 year old Canon G2. At least I HAVE a camera. Get over yourself, Karen...

       So you can see I am making progress. I redid that background three separate times. This painting will have a different feel from the first version but that's ok. It's time to concentrate on legs and fringe stuff next, and the bottom section of the shawl needs to be reworked a bit. I feel too distracted though by all the chores needing to be done. Bob had 10 yards of beautiful, black soil with fish compost delivered for the newer, bigger, higher raised beds he built in the vegetable garden and it has to be shoveled into those beds before we can plant. Growing some of our food in summer definitely saves on our small budget. Ah, the money spent on soil and delivery could get me a lovely new Canon G12 camera - but you can't eat a camera:-)

Progress on the new version...

       First two days of the new version of Kim wearing the shawl but I felt very blank about the whole thing. I put off working more on it for two days and wondering if it is worth doing. Then I got back to work yesterday and saw it beginning to gel for me. I think it's going to be ok. The variation of my moods is sometimes a wonder. Is sanity really a push-pull machination? Just interacting with other living, breathing souls seems to help all the confusion I often feel; yesterday I got a call from an artist friend whom I haven't seen or spoken with in a few months and felt elevated and upbeat all day. This morning I felt the need to hear my son's voice and when I called we had one of those wonderful conversations that goes all over the spectrum. Keeping it together is really pretty simple when there are others you care about to connect with. I have to remember not to become too insulated up here in Sayward.

     I began yesterday's session by premixing skin tones and then slapped them on in a very general, unfussy manner. Allowing my hand to do it's own thing often works well for me but I do have to be in the correct frame of mind. 

       I'm a blender by nature. I know many artists who lay down colour and tone and leave it alone. Can't do it myself. There is something sensuous and deeply satisfying about combining the colours smoothly together attempting to have the blend so perfect that it is impossible to see where one colour/tone begins or ends. You'd think the airbrush would be my tool of choice but there is a slickness from that technique which I do not care for. Somehow the use of my own hand and a tiny fan brush and all the imperceptible squiggles and overlappings give the work a one-of-a-kind look that is very appealing to me. 

       The painting of "Listening for a Nightingale" arrived safely in Orangeville Ontario at it's new home just before a major storm passed through the area. The storm actually damaged the wall where it was supposed to hang so for now it will be placed elsewhere. 

       Still have to think about a title for this new painting.