Suddenly September

Happy September! I'm trying to be more frequent with these blog postings, so two in three weeks is a rare feat! 

​Pictured above is a 28"x22" piece that I started the same time as "Commune", but had  put it aside with all other things awhile back....When I began making again, I'd decided to focus on finishing up the two larger pieces first. So now that those are done (and both have been placed in private collections!) I'm back to these other PiPs (pieces in progress).

It's been fun applying what I've been learning about combining these different techniques....I've been trying to keep good studio notes for myself to refer to in the future. We'll see how long I can keep that up, ha!

Anyway, the photo above shows the different colors I've chosen to use for the hand stitching. Three are cotton embroidery flosses, and the ball on the right is a 30/2 silk thread. The photos below show a couple stages of the process since I posted  last month.

---

The image below shows the other 22"x28" piece that I've been working on. It is the baby sibling of "Return" that I'd put aside for awhile. This smaller one is a memory of a specific place and the feelings that come up when I think about it...And I have two photos from an old calendar that reminds me of this same place, so I kept those in my paper hoardings.

,while still monochromatic, it has a lot more color than "Return", so it's kind of veering in another direction more so than the smaller piece that is related to "Commune". For now I think I have the colors and textures where I want them, but I'm not 100% sure. I'm debating either adding some warm color via more paint layers or color pencil, or maybe even another layer of fabric. To that end, I did some painting on silk to potentially use...If not on this piece, then on another one in the future....Below are some other shots of the piece, along with the silk painting....

The last project I want to write about is actually a piece that I've just started. Because the two larger pieces sold relatively quickly for the fine team at Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery in Shelburne, I want to make another of that size. So it's a 48"x30" piece, and it's another in the ongoing 'Islands for Sale' series that I've been slowly adding to over time. They are based on  memories of family visits to the thousand islands region of Canada when my big sis and I were just dorky kids. Well, she wasn't dorky; I totally was...

So this first photo is what the piece looks like right now, and then the gallery below shows some images taken during the process. 

OK - I think that's about I can chronicle at the moment. Here's a photo of Wallace who woke himself up the other night with a startled meow, either like "Where am I?" or maybe "Whoa, how long have I been out? Krikey, that was a good nap!!" :) we love him so much! He's napping on the crazy crochet quilt I'd made for my Mom a couple years back. It's weird to inherit the things I made just for her...she saved just about everything I ever made her. Even the really bad ceramic cat sculpture from age? 4 or something...Someday I'll do a throw-back Thursday with old art. really old, the pre-fiber stuff... 

Anyway, Hope everyone has had a lovely summer, and thank you for reading!