Class Reflection....

...and my love of fireflies.

At end of the last lesson in "From Sketchbook to Wall" Tansy told us the course wasn't over....but the content was.  We would have access to the video lessons until the end August and I knew I would revisit them all again and get back to my class projects....and maybe start new ones. So I set my pieces aside for a few weeks to get some perspective and mull things over.  It was time to tend to other things.

The class was challenging and wonderful. Working with painted fabric was a revelation.....and I've embraced the charm of deconstructed post consumer textiles.  I may not love my pieces....but I loved the layering and storytelling process....and the techniques I learned can be applied in so many ways.

Tansy's name on her Instagram page is "Palimpsestparade."  Palimpsest means "something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form" ....and in our throw away society I'm loving this more and more.  (remember the coffee table?)

https://www.instagram.com/palimpsestparade/

As I've mentioned....the woods and the colors of my summer gardens were my inspiration for the class projects.  All through the course I pondered the reasons why I love living with woods right in my backyard. It seems like such a gift.

The first summer we owned the condo when I discovered fireflies in the woods....I knew I was home.  We always had fireflies on the farm in Wisconsin....and I didn't even know I missed them until I found them again here. 

I was worried about that stark purple strip on this piece on top of the pile....I had to figure out something to soften it. And just recently I thought of the fireflies.

The painted recycled sheer curtain reverse applique circles as a nod fireflies completely changed it for me. (Yes, I wanted the description of the circles to be that long because it tells a bit of the story.) 

The purple strip is a piece of a linen shirt I've had for years and never wore. After painting it purple I traced some images of ferns using carbon paper....then stitched the tree image over it.  You can barely see the ferns now but they are visible traces of its earlier form. And the ferns are always tucked in the woods so it seems to be fitting.

A second firefly story:

A few years ago when I was on a visit in Wisconsin I was driving to Becky's house in the dark. I went a different way than usual so I plugged her address into the GPS so I wouldn't get lost. It guided me to make a turn I was pretty sure I didn't need to make...but I did it anyway because I was confident the GPS would get me to her house. The dark country backroad actually creeped me out a little....I've always been a little afraid of the dark.  But I rounded a bend and there it was....the reason I I was supposed to take this dark detour: a large open field absolutely full of fireflies. I stopped the car for a  few minutes and just soaked it in.  

I had another idea for fireflies I wanted to try.

Angelina Fibers kind of looks like tinsel.  You can spread them out and iron them under a protective surface and they melt together into a shimmery textile.  You can make the fused piece as big or small...and as dense or as thin as you want. 

On another one of my class projects I used a very thin piece of the fused fibers and stitched little circles.  Then I snipped away all the extra leaving little bits of sparkle....or in this case...fireflies.

What better use for a 4 x 6 chunk of this piece than for Becky's round 12 card...I will always remember that gift in the dark on my drive to her house.  And...since she grew up in Wisconsin too....so most likely shares my love for fireflies. 

I'm almost done with Brenda's "From Sketchbook to Wall" card from another one of my pieces....but it features something other than fireflies.

In the Woods

I raked some of the leaves away along the rock wall in the woods looking for some of my early spring woodland flowers and I found some some of the snowdrops I moved from Lexington. Needless to say I was pretty excited! Being forgetful so I can surprise myself is one of the advantages of getting older.  

Our homework today was to anchor all our pieces with stitching....in a somewhat decorative kind of way. Tansy showed us several different ways to use machine and hand stitching to connect the pieces and create cohesion.  I spent quite a bit of time at the sewing machine today...and will do a little hand stitching this evening.  This has certainly been an interesting journey....I think there's just one lesson left.

I'm not sure this is the best one on top....but it's the one with the little image of the snowdrop there in the middle.  You might have to zoom in to see it. Kind of fitting that I found this new patch just today....right there in the woods.  

A Man and His Little Boy Books

Paul is working is way through his Big Little Books from his childhood....he's on number 8 of 35.... Popeye, Ghost Ship to Treasure Island.  Of course this is in addition to the 6 hours a day he spends reading his big boy books.

In case you were wondering....he's enjoying retirement.  It's Holy Week...and he has time for Popeye.

"Keep creating. Let the process teach you what it needs to teach you." 

Morgan Harper Nichols

Today we started cutting up our altered fabrics and assembling 4 base collages 

inspired by our sketches. Mine are 8 inch squares and it was challenging but also satisfying. They all have parts I like and parts that are so so....but we'll have the opportunity to improve them as we go on to the next steps. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

Layers

What a whirlwind of a day....it had so many layers it was hard keeping everything straight.  But since you are not likely interested in the updated condo "Pool Policy" or how excited I was about finally learning about "Google Docs"....I'll share a little glimpse into today's "From Sketchbook to Wall" lesson. It was, by far, the most colorful layer to my day.

We had one more day of making marks to create texture....this time with bits of fabrics and stitches. We keep adding bits and pieces to our painted fabrics that will eventually be cut apart and used in a final piece. And the best part is that not being very good at free motion stitching didn't seem to matter. 

I do love these little free motion wonky little lines....and the simple tree silhouettes.  They're subtle...but fun...and the similar, but unique lines will help create cohesion in our piece.  Or at least that's what Tansy is telling us.

Hopefully starting tomorrow we will begin cutting these up for our project. I've given up trying to predict what will come next....because I would not have guessed I would be doing this today....but I loved it.

I have a scarf I've loved...but hardly ever wore....so I closed my eyes and cut into it.  The colors are great and I know it will be useful....but maybe not until one of the next steps.  I love the crinkled texture and loose weave and the frayed edges are so wonderful.

We'll see!  I have NO idea.

Adding To The Story

At the beginning of the "From Sketchbook to Wall" course Tansy shared some beautiful little nature books where she draws some of her inspiration.  

I immediately thought of Paul's childhood Audubon Nature Encyclopedias......so we sat one evening looking through several books.  Not only are there beautiful photographs and paintings...but there are also wonderful sketches and illustrations of all things nature. At the time I wondered if somehow I would be able to use them as inspiration for my piece. 

Our homework today was making marks and adding text to add interest and texture.  Tansy showed us all kind of techniques....many I had never thought of. One of the techniques allowed me to use some of the images of the woodsy ferns and twigs I found in the encyclopedias. The images may get cut up....but they'll be there peeking through here and there adding to the story. And I don't think I mentioned that the stripes are all from some of Paul's tired Oxford cloth work shirts....yet another layer of the story.

I also found an image of snowdrops....the only thing blooming in my yard right now. 

Speaking of text....I'm off and running with the Hancock Church Project Group puzzle.  I'm going to take my time and enjoy every piece...it's going to be a busy week.

Viewfinder

"I do not know where tomorrow will lead...but I do know I am free to give my all with audacious hope for what could be."  Morgan Harper Nichols.

Without cutting our pieces our weekend assignment for the "From Sketchbook to Wall" class is to play with our painted fabrics under a viewfinder looking for compositions and color stories. A viewfinder (just a piece of matte board) was a game changer. I really enjoyed this process and I'm looking forward to the next step. And I'm absolutely in love with the grain sack cloth I excavated.

I deconstructed an old stained dollie...and I accidently tore the lace as I was pulling it off. I loved how it looked so I tore it all up into chunks and painted a few pieces I'm thinking it may have a use in my piece.....?

This is the linen part of the doily....the edge still has the hand stitching line from the lace. I have a whole new appreciation of how you can repurpose old textiles.

"From Sketchbook to Wall"

I am at the end of the first week of a two week class called "From Sketchbook to Wall" by Tansy Hargan.  We get a lesson and a video every morning and submit our homework on a Facebook page (optional) where there is lots of conversation and interaction with people from all over the world. The goal is to end up with an art piece from repurposed and altered textiles. We shall see!

I follow Tansy on Instagram and her layered and textural fiber art and thumbnail sketching fascinate me. I'm also going to take her "Mixed Media Thumbnail Sketch" course in May and I'm pretty excited about that too.

https://www.instagram.com/palimpsestparade/

Tansy's work is about connecting what you see and feel...to what you make. She loves working with fabrics that have a story....so takes apart old garments and repurposes found fabrics.  

I'm getting better at the seeing and feeling part....but don't really know how to interpret that into my art.  So I take classes.

So far we've spent a couple days observing, sketching, and collaging lines, shapes....and the spaces in between...which will hopefully provide inspiration.

Since our pieces will be made from repurposed textiles...I spent part of one day taking apart a linen shirt and a few other things....there are a lot of pieces in a cuff....and we're embracing the frayed edges and needle holes.

I love the pocket!

I found some vintage quilt blocks that Jane gave me years ago and took them apart and found the block had been pieced on a grain sack...I felt like I struck gold.  That writing will work it's way into my piece.

Next we chose a color palette....and started painting our fabric.  I didn't want to stick with just the greens and browns against the blue sky of my collages from the woods.....so this is how I explained my color palette choice when I submitted my homework yesterday.  

The woods behind my condo is where I did my seeing and sketching and will likely inspire the textures, shapes, and layers in my piece. But the color pallette is directly inspired by the gardens around my patio where I sit and enjoy the woods. I love the contrast of my tidy gardens and the untamed woods and I painted my fabrics from the memories I have from last summer. When I was finished I put together the thumbnail collage of some garden photos and found I did pretty well.  I loved this first step in the painting process.

Our job over the weekend is to improve on our pallette and fill in the gaps....I can already see I need more greens and some neutrals. Then we're supposed to play with placement and color stories and take photographs through a viewfinder.  Stay tuned.