Distortion through stitching for eco printing

I am not a hand stitcher--usually in too much of a hurry for that.  I use my machine for free motion quilting and my embellisher for felting.  But in the recent workshop with India Flint we were given some beautiful silk/cotton thread and told to do some stitching in the cloth prior to bundling.  We could create pleats or gather up the fabric.  I chose to create a couple of spirals that were gathered along with some curved pleats and darts in a piece of flat crepe.  I photoshopped the original path of my stitching -- I could still see the needle holes.

I pressed the gathers flat before laying on oak leaves and rose petals along with some thin leaves that turned to mush in the simmering pot.  The fabric was bundled and wrapped on a copper spike like one of those below.

Actually the one on the far left is not copper, not sure what the metal is as it is not rusty.  Picked these up at an antique shop nearby.
The cloth was simmered for a minimum of 30 minutes, probably longer.  Then cooled overnight in the pot and unwrapped the next day.  The yellow was unexpected--probably a reaction of the oak leaves and copper together.

Love these spikes!

I'll be posting more pics from the workshop soon.

BTW--visit my friend Elizabeth Adams Marks' lovely blog 2ndhandpaper.  She is a paper maker and book artist and teacher who is currently traveling in Cornwall, England.  She arranged quite a surprise for me in two blog posts this week when she and her hubby visited Port Isaac which stands in for Portwenn on the PBS show I love--Doc Martin.

Having the time of my life!

Learning to eco print with India Flint this week. 

Top: wet sample still holding the stitches I made before bundling with rose petals, eucalyptus and other leaves.

Bottom: stiches out, pressed dry

Collaboration: Reaping and Sewing

My collaboration with five other artists for Innovations 2011 mentioned several posts ago is progressing.  Time flies when you are having fun.  As curator of the exhibition, I am honored that they all accepted my invitations with enthusiasm and embraced the possibilities that come from such a teaming.  Our common link is that of teacher/student/mentor.
 
Nina Ganci was my art student (in the mid 80s) at the high school in St. Louis where I used to teach.  Nina marched to a different drummer then and now.  She founded SKIF International in 1994.  Laura Strand was my professor and is head of textiles at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville where I earned my MFA in 2003.  Laura introduced me to her grad student Erin Cork in 2006.  Erin spent two summers with me learning composting and solar dyeing techniques before getting her MFA so I claim her as my student too.  Erin also studied book arts with Erin Vigneau Dimick, an adjunct professor at SIUE who works closely with Laura and considers her a mentor.  Rounding out the circle is Jo Stealey, head of the fibers program at University of Missouri Columbia, and Erin Cork's undergrad professor. 

Below are some of the snaps I’ve taken at various monthly meetings since the collaboration began back in December.  Part of the fun is that we are meeting at SKIF headquarters in St. Louis which is a riot of color.

Jo Stealey (L) and Erin Vigneau Dimick are discussing Jo's scroll book

while Laura Strand looks on.  Erin Cork, who lives in  Virginia now,

looks on from Skype on the laptop perched on the stool.  Jo has used some

of my shibori rusted silk to construct the book.

 





Above:  Can't meet without feasting!  L-R:  Erin Vigneau Dimick, Erin Cork, and Jo Stealey.  Erin Cork is getting married this summer and has made a couple wedding related trips back home.  We try to schedule our meetings around that and when she can't be in St. Louis we catch her on Skype which has been very interesting.  Above left--Nina Ganci (R) listens to Jo as she comments on Nina's quilt in progress.  Nina is using some of Jo's paper shifu to embellish her quilt.



Nina dangles a piece of plastic that has been used for stencil painting on her clothing and sweater designs for SKIF International, her fashion company which is headquartered on "The Hill" in St. Louis.  This plastic and many other stencils will probably find its way into the quilt.



I realized after looking through all the pictures that I wouldn't be in any of them--so while I was trying on my new SKIF sweater, a gift from Nina, I snapped myself in her "still life" of mirrors.

None of us can walk into SKIF without trying on some of Nina's latest creations.  I've got some fabulous shots of the store, and I sat down recently with Nina to talk about her life and business which I'll share with you soon.  BTW, I hope to give you some background on all of the artists in the next few posts. 

Erin Vigneau Dimick, Laura Strand, and Nina Ganci are listening to Erin Cork on Skype as she comments on Vigneau Dimick's work in progress.

In January each of us brought a collection of things from our personal studios and then took turns selecting items that we wanted to work with.  The swap meet was great fun.  I came home with at least one thing from each artist, although not everyone did that.    Two big pieces are well underway.  I have plans for at least three more.  So I better get off this blog and get to work! 

Collaboration: Reaping and Sewing opens August 26, 2011 at the Jacoby Arts Center in Alton, IL and runs through October 2.  The reception is 5-8 PM on August 26.  A talk by the artists is being scheduled sometime during the exhibition.
  
Jacoby Arts Center is on the October 1 bus tour of Innovations galleries.

This is a prototype for our showcard.

Detail

Getting back to work

I reopened my outdoor studio several weeks ago and took these shots of some new work on the clothesline as well as the studio itself. 

Wish I had the energy to get the weeds under control.  The ivy is doing pretty well.  My oakleaf hydrangea is getting huge.  I love it.

Weather is still changeable.  It was cool and rainy today--though for the holiday weekend it was supposed to be in the 80s.  Maybe tomorrow...

Probably should have posted these images before the previous post.  You can see the dark piece I discussed already, fresh from rinsing and drying on the line.
 

I took down the old clotheline and installed a new one that continues at right angles to another tree so that I can see things on that line from the house.

Darcy

Detail of one of the pieces on the clothesline.  This is sueded rayon and unfortunately takes the rust so well that it damaged the fibers.  I have multiple holes in the rustiest parts, so this piece is destined for collage or quilting. 

Full view of a dupioni piece that is about 55" square.  I really like the dupioni fabric.  Bought some more last week although it wasn't the wide version that I'd wanted. 

I have a piece almost the same size as this one that I unwrapped too soon.  Very weak design.  I plan to rerust it soon.  Hoping for deep dark results as on the piece in my previous post.  Wish me luck!!

Before and After

I recently began a series of horizontal pieces.  One of them can be seen in the previous post.  This second attempt resulted in a wimpy design without bold contrast, just lots of tiny details.

I decided to re-rust the piece at the urging of a friend.  It's not that I've never considered re-rusting, but I was making assumptions about the outcome, speculating that the results would be confusing.  I should have known better.

I did make a change however--I prepared the silk for a vertical transformation.  Could not have been more surprised at the unwrapping.

Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana...New Work

My "Innovations" collaboration is taking a lot of energy right now which is partly why I haven't posted in a while.  I've also waited a long time for the weather to cooperate.  It's now warm which is better for rusting, but lots of rainy days have kept me indoors.  Here is a recent experiment.  Hope to get many more done. 

I'm working horizontally which is new for me and continuing with using leaves as a resist.