"I begin with an idea ... and then it becomes something else"
~ Picasso

Saturday 28 February 2015

waiting for tiny stitches and marks

almost two weeks have passed since my last post
 
it's been rather busy on all fronts with work progressing in my new home
a new en suite bathroom is underway but not without an incredible amount of mess
and at the same time I've had family staying with me for the past two weeks
 
misty in Mousehole
 
we've managed to get out and about a little ... not helped by the weather at this time of year
some days misty and other days bright and sunny (but very cold with sleet and hailstones)
and most days ... grey and big blobs rainy
 
nevertheless ... I find myself grabbing the camera most days
because even when it's grey and misty ... it provides a great
neutral background offering lots of potential for creative photography
 
I really hope to become a better photographer with time and love to practice new techniques
so I've just bought "a master class in digital photography"
so that I can work through the step by step processes
and play with some of the things you can do to a photograph
 
I will dabble throughout this year ... but really it's going to be my pet project for 2016

turnstones on St. Ives pier

yesterday I spent the morning "pottering" in St. Ives with my mum
she was very patient while I took hundreds of photos for creative play
 
for me, photography is a really quick way of capturing inspiration for my textile work
plus the images give me a lot of pleasure to create
 
on one of the piers in St. Ives (the lifeboat pier) the turnstones were fun to watch
I think, perhaps, these are babies as their plumage was very soft and fluffy


above is an old postcard of The Sloop Inn on the harbour in St. Ives
which I photographed from a different angle with red fabrics reflecting on the image

the original image was mainly white with ochre and umber tints
but I think the touches of red lift it and shift the focus

I enjoyed playing with the image (which sits on my mood board in my studio)
and this is the same again ... but with a "cine" landscape frame and sepia tones with the red
 
I wonder if these boys went on to be fishermen when they grew up ...


back to textiles ... and here sharing some more little landscapes in progress
it's nice to work with warm tones ... which will turn into fruit plots and allotment pieces


there is quite a little pile of them now ... waiting for tiny stitches and marks
I haven't forgotten that I promised to practice new stitches
and once family have gone home I will get more time to concentrate on them



I did think that the placement of fabrics on this one looked a little like an allotment shed
with a sweep of green silk field



also quite liking the bias and frayed edges on the silk
the rich blend of colours ... "late summer ... into autumn"
the ideas are coming through ...

soft pink berries in my garden
I photographed these berries in my Cornish garden
a garden that is new to me and one that I am just getting to know
they are like pale pink snowberries ... does anyone recognise them?
 
the colours in my piece below are similar
I'm obviously drawn to the warm pink gold tones at the moment


 the bases of these small landscape pieces were put together on my last Crow Day with Jo
and, actually, I am looking forward to some peaceful stitching time

the metallic fibres were ironed and bonded into a fabric on which I have added
metallic paint and gild alongside painted papers and silk snippets
 

so pretty and shimmery
 
there hasn't been a lot of time for anything much the past couple of weeks
any spare time I had was used to organise samples into sketchbooks
but I did quickly get a largish piece of silk (ponge) space dyed
 
this piece started out as an eco dyeing experiment but it went horribly wrong
I caught my silk on the pan and burnt three small holes through the silk layers
 
as I had no preconceptions of how the experiment would evolve I wasn't put off ...

 
I just threw the silk between two jars of dye that were already on my worktop
the colours were green in one jar and rose madder and gold in the other
and I painted on some gold on top


the "interesting" marks on the pan are where my tulip dye boiled away :o(
(I was multi tasking at the time!)


the colours are rather lovely in real life and I hope to use
the pieces of silk in more landscapes, hearts and small pieces for cards

 
this looks just like a pond or rock pool full of coloured seaweed
so perhaps a few pieces of silk may find their way into a beach inspired heart too
 
I left the silk piece in the dyes for 4 days
and yesterday I added some pink mauve to the rose pink end of the silk
it's come out beautifully ...
 
and already my head is swimming with delightful stitchy thoughts



I'll be back soon with a few photos of St. Ives and a seaside post
thank you for reading my textile rambles
have a good weekend everyone ♥

11 comments:

Carol Rigby said...

Such beautiful subtle colours. I can see them giving you lots of inspiration for future projects. I don't know if you have any formal training in photography, but I think you must have, as you photos are always so beautiful. I absolutely adore that pic of the Turnstone.Sooooo beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Sweet and soft and charming. Wonderful photos. xox

Julie said...

I wonder if the bush might be snowberry? Your silk is beautiful, such lovely colours. I like the effect of the accidental burning.

Diane said...

A veritable feast for the eyes and mind Carolyn. So creative. I can't wait to see how your photography pans out. I love taking photographs xx

TwinkleToes2day said...

Like Carol above I always think your photographs are wonderful; positively professional.
The fabric colours are gorgeous the subtle shades made me immediately think of sugared almonds; maybe I'm hungry for something sweet, haha.
Looking forward to the next steps :o) xx

A bird in the hand said...

Beautiful, just beautiful, all of it. I wish I could teleport to Cornwall for the day and watch you work. xxx

Sandies' Patch said...

I'm with Bird in hand on this, teleport down to you for a day to watch and learn!
I think your shrub might be a member of the Cotoneaster family of shrubs/plants?

Anonymous said...

I do look forward to your posts and beautiful photos of Cornwall and your dyeing experiments, such beautiful colours, it encourages me to play about more but mainly to use all those bits and pieces and turn them with stitch into something special, as you do. So pleased that you are on the UP and look forward to your further postings. Thanks Sheila

Amelia said...

I love your experimental photos! It's always good to have a camera to hand and capture snippets creatively here and there :) Very busy too with the textiles! I'm envious :0
Amelia.x

Linda Vincent said...

Lovely photos and artwork Carolyn....I especially like the delicate touch of pink.
It was good to know I wasn't far away from you last week and I could share all those sights that inspire you.

Magpie's Mumblings said...

I'm happy to read your rambles any time! There is always something of interest and such inspiration to be found here with you. Looking forward to seeing what you do with that marvelously dyed fabric. I, of course, am 'seeing' roses, but that's most likely because I've been on a rose kick lately.