narrowing it down

continuing on then...

finding a pattern in the way I'm working, a widening, where I gather ideas and materials freely, almost overwhelmingly

and then a period of looking and reflecting on what I have in front of me

and then finally a narrowing

again and again

it often feels like I'm just wasting time, reluctant to make a decision on the path I want to take

in recent days I've come to understand it is precisely the best way for me to find it  

in spending time looking at the work above and below I'm finding that for the ice I'm more drawn to the textured layers of tissue paper and other cloth than to the smoother folded papers below

and then a piece of English "scrim" with strips of torn paper, machine stitched and then folded along the stitched lines - another option for the ice

this is the "right" side

and below, the reverse

finding I prefer the "wrong" side

(seems to be a recurring theme these days, wrong over right)

and here laid against some painted water

it's alright, though in the original photo that inspired all of this the water is actually more of a silvery-grey in colour

and then I tried something else...

a massively cropped image of trees along the Yukon River with the machine stitched straight lines on crinkled silk piece laid over top

this intrigued me greatly

especially in the photo below... 

the trees at the bottom, as enlarged and cropped as they are

 at first glance they are almost reminiscent of a watery scene, a creek with it's banks maybe - a tangle of water and forest, light and shadow? 

or perhaps I'm just seeing what I want to see

it is giving me some things to think about though

 I'm beginning to lean toward the simplicity of the straight lines paired with the complexity of the "water" below it

it feels less literal, more of an abstract impression

a kind of "take the idea, the imagery, and see what you can do with it" 

 how far you can stray?

what's the range, before you're too far away for a glimmer of what inspired you to remain?

not sure, but I'm about to find out

I Went Looking

looking through drawers and boxes, for work done before that could inform work being done today

images of folded, painted paper floated through my mind

textured silk with machine-stitched parallel lines followed

as did those of rough linen

more stitched lines, this time with two strands of thread

first the back

below, the front

these are what I think of as "base lines"

a first pass with a thread that matches the linen

next will be another pass over top, this time with something different - a slightly different colour

to add depth and shadow

papers painted a while back

folded and stitched

by the time I basted them all I decided the stitching flattened the folds and if I add textured stitching 

(as on the fabric)

the fold lines may disappear and it will be as if they were never there

letting the idea and the thoughts sit for a while...

textured silk, with machine-stitched lines

 failed pin-tucks from a while back, kept just in case

not sure I like the straightness of the lines but when I'm developing an idea I like to consider all that comes to mind and this is more about using textured silk as a base fabric than the use of straight lines

though you never know

 looking at the textured silk made me think of some tissue paper collage I had also done a while back

the look is very similar to that of the silk though the paper somehow lends itself more to looking like ice than the silk

there is also a "fragility" to it that I like

but that also makes it more difficult to hand stitch

which then led me to did out a piece I made where I combined small pieces of scrim with the tissue paper

similar look, stronger result

much to look at, and to think about

I like this stage of the process but I can also easily get caught up in it and try all sorts of things and overwhelm myself with options

knowing that, I plan to keep myself somewhat on the straight and narrow

try a few things, make a decision, get on with it

before the ice melts and my interest floats away with it

expression

"we must favour simple expression of the complex thought..."

-Rothko and Gottlieb

that quote is taken from their manifesto, written in a letter to the New York Times in 1943

I was immediately struck by it, copied it down, and have looked at it often over the past year

a good thing to hold in my mind and a nice turnaround from how I usually work

I have a tendency to try to distill what I'm thinking to it's simplest expression and then create from that standpoint, but this way I feel like it's ok to allow my thoughts to be as complex as they will so long as I focus on simplicity in the work

hmm...

this week I started putting the theory to the test

my favourite pictures from my 5 weeks in the Yukon are these of the ice and snow on and along the river

we had had a vicious wind and snow storm a few days before and when the weather cleared a friend and I went for a walk along the river 

in one area, where the water was low, the snow that covered the ice had been blown into a beautiful series of windrows

it extended for several hundred yards yet the pattern seemed almost identical over the whole of it

the surface between the lines glittered roughly, the snow pebbled by sun and wind

after some editing and zooming in I could see the lines were actually somewhat irregular yet collectively and from a distance they did line up in a rather neat, orderly way

varying thicknesses

subtle colour changes

fragile layers

I knew right away I wanted to interpret them on cloth

a piece of very fine white linen, wind-lines basted, an evening of stitching

not quite as I wanted

the straight stitches look too big, too overpowering, although

the image has been zoomed in to how it would look from about 2" away

nevertheless, the stitches in the flat area do still seem a bit too big

the windrow is not beefy enough either, though I do like the irregularity of it

a piece of 110 year old hand-spun, hand-loomed linen

more stitching

(the colour of the cloth is more of a bone-white, the thread, a light grey but as ever the light here in Salmon Arm is exceptionally dull and I can't get a decent photo)

the line at the bottom was done with straight stitches and French knots using 1 strand of thread, the one in the middle was originally the same but I took scissors to it, cut off a lot of the French knots and then added some straight stitches and French knots using two strands of embroidery thread

the line at the top was only done with two strands

I liked it the best

until I turned it over and decided I really like the reverse

more hmm...

the plan is to finish the wind-row lines on this piece and then decide if I want the "right" side or the "wrong" side to face up

then I'll try a few different things for the filling

I want a pebbly, rough surface but at the moment I am a bit unsure of what I'll try as the straight stitches are just too big yet if I make tiny stitches it will take me a long time to get any kind of good texture

lots to consider

I found another piece of linen, also 110 years old, but it's more of a light grey tone

it is rather rough though so that may work well, adding to the surface effect I'm after

we'll see...

trial and error aside, it does feel rather wonderful to hold a needle in my hand after such a long time and the stitching itself is rather meditative

and simple

letting my complex thoughts run amok!

Christmas Wishes

Christmas Eve...

I love looking at the tree, decorated with ornaments new and old

some belonged to my grandparents, from before my dad was born

treasured reminders of family and times long ago

and some were given to me as a child...

they remind me of what it is to be young and believe

whilst in the Yukon I had the fun of taking the wee ones to see Santa

Tezzy wasn't too sure at first...

but with the support of her big brother she was happy to get a little closer and chat about toys and things

the Christmas desires of childhood give way to different wants

peace

kindness

understanding

acceptance

love

may you and yours experience all of these throughout the holidays and into the New Year

Merry Christmas!

something, anything

back in the land of winter-grey

fog and mist

lights on all day

 people think the north is dark - they've not lived in the Shuswap

a busy first week... company, wonderful visits, appointments, Christmas decorating

yesterday I finally had a bit of time in the studio

sorted through a few of things I've worked on lately

found a few printed photos that intrigued me

cut here, then there

flip it around

lay this beside it

linen gathered shibori-style

painted

photographed

enlarged

converted to black and white

cut into strips of varying widths

try a large blue section with a narrow strip of the white

then try the opposite

it might seem like more of the same old, same old but it's a good way for me to settle in

tonight I sorted through linen scraps for gel-printing and painting

pressed and some ready to gather

still a few busy days ahead but now a few things to dabble with until next week

feels like something

feels like home

sight lines/drawing lines

warmth, after extreme cold and whipping winds

a walk then

downstream first

the swift, treacherous current swiftly moving though the surface remained glass-like

reflections rooted in place on one side, the pilings on the other

there are two things that spring to mind... 

first that the trees were cut to create the pilings and now they face each other across the divide, both rooted in place

and how the river is in constant flow yet the reflections that lay on the surface remain in place

back at the house, the recording begins

questions of sight and thought

"what is the impression I'm holding in my mind of where I am and what I see?"

-Debbie Lyddon

I look at a photograph, close my eyes, and think back to the river

open them and begin

nothing special, not a lot of detail, just the things I payed attention to the most

twisted and curled brown leaves clinging

for some reason I payed a lot of attention to them

I had noticed them a few days before, a different place, different trees

wind-swept snow-lines

waves of winter

repetition

space

light

shadow

edges

a closer view, after a somewhat treacherous walk down the bank

texture

rough snow and ice

smooth river

guardrail supports on the other side provide additional repetition

these were the things I remembered most

other than the light

of course

in the landscape

warmer days, and windy

a 44 degree temperature change in four days

and time

time to explore the landscape, both inside and out

I began with a photo

then explored shape

thought about line

considered texture

and played with value

pencil, charcoal, and paint

after that a more considered drawing

trying hard to keep it loose

some things I got right, others not so much

the second try (lower drawing) was better, at least the cliffs were, but still not as imposing as they should be

in both the trees at the right are not broken up enough

things to work on

always

I'm pleased, though I think I'm more pleased that I actually got to sit down and do this than anything, it was just so delightful 

next week I head home so I'll be making the most of these last few days, getting in a few more river walks

today's took me along the river on my usual path 

and then over the bridge to the other side and a slightly different perspective

looking over toward downtown

the low sparkling light of a northern winter's day