drifting along

the river continues to be the main focus of my creative journey as I drift from one facet of it to another in an ever-widening circle

this week it was the current...

it seems once I get something to the point where the "technician" in me can take over and work to execute the design idea the creative side immediately starts casting about for the next thing

you'd think I'd get in a jumble but it seems to work out rather well

over the years and through all the seasons I've taken endless photos of the river's surface though the vast majority were taken in either November or December... the  obsidian-coloured water, the low-light gleam of the oily-looking surface, the reflections of the trees on the opposite shore hold the strongest appeal for me...

they seem to highlight the current markings on the surface in the most captivating way

so... more samples then

textile samples, the markings need to be stitched... I'm already seeing large pieces of richly textured cloth, the current patterns drifting across them from edge to edge... sigh

it has to be on dark linen

do I have dark linen? or do I need to do more ink-dyeing?

I think have two that might work; one, half an old linen dress bought many years ago from a charity shop in the UK - the other, an old camisole of my own

where are they now, since the big tidy up of Spring?

(I strongly recommend seriously reconsidering any big reorganizations in your creative space before starting!)

a half hour later they had both been located, the cami too purplish, the dress just right

 cutting up the half dress there were several small curved pieces - should I trim them straight?

no - leave them as they are... I know I'll be grateful for the little bit extra in the margins if I find I need a hoop

the curves add a bit of the river too I think, as I pressed them flat

a search through my river photo file yielded a few that looked promising

the swirling circles have always fascinated me... their motion is mesmerizing 

I shake my head at the memory

tiny ripples too

also, always in motion

a few simple pencil sketches, more for muscle memory than to work from

what threads then?

metallic threads for sure, but first cotton

sewing thread or embroidery?

sewing - it's finer

it might look too defined though?

start with it - you can change it if it doesn't look right

what about metallics?

after, to highlight

a beginning then

a few stitches later I remembered a piece I had done in one of Karen Ruane's courses

where would that be? 

must be in the sample box... - at least it was the last time I'd seen it

needle down,  sample box lifted off the shelf, one after another I searched through the pile of sample after sample of techniques I had learned from her over the years

as I looked, several were laid aside... not what I was looking for but they were sparking ideas for other work I am also in the midst of

and there it was

not quite right but it shows the way...

there was Payne's Grey ink in a jar on the worktable

brushed over the surface, this way and that the surface went from white to blue-grey

free-machine embroidery on silk cloth with paper

the swirling whirl of the stitching would be perfect, it just needs to be sparsely done, spread out, more in a meander 

drifting and swirling, slowly over the whole of the cloth

hand-stitching added later to add subtle detail and a metallic gleam here and there

and so, another plan has formed...

take care,

Jillayne

rooted in place

"rooted in place"...

an appropriate title for this post though it could equally have been called 

"from here to there and back again"

the comings and goings of the last four weeks have been some of the most pleasant days I have spent in a very long time... uplifting visits with family and friends, a few days away in a favourite city, a lovely drive to the mountains

even sketching one whilst standing in almost-the-middle of the road with a dear friend and partner in crime

now it's back to quiet, and my consolation is time back in the studio

this week I have painted, pasted, stitched, cut, drawn and written my way through a number of delightful forays into creative work

one such adventure was an itch that has been on the list for many months which is now well under way

making textile versions of the pilings along the Yukon River

this week I scratched that itch

layers of cloth coloured with earth pigments

I'm working on four different pilings, the one shown in this post is the smallest, clocking in at just over 5" tall

next up is to add a few straight stitches here and there

I found some of my fabric painted to look like water and laid it behind to get a sense of what that might look like

my favourite was recently done, seen in the first photo of this post and the last: a piece of linen coloured by letting a blue-black ink seep up as far as it would

as with much of what I've done over the last year I'm not quite sure exactly where this is going but I do know it's an important piece of the puzzle and having a few to work with allows me some latitude for experimentation

and as if four wasn't enough there's another idea brewing for pilings of a different nature

thankfully I have another week of studio time before staring down the fence yet again!

Take care,

Jillayne

see feelingly

on the yoga mat this morning, moving into mountain pose...

the idea was to bring your feet together without looking down and the instructor used a phrase that normally passes me by but today something about it made me pause mid-pose

"see feelingly"

this morning the words triggered a memory...

walking by the small lake downtown, early March a few years ago

it was a day or two after a massive wind-storm,  and the weather had put the shore ice into a relentless freeze-thaw cycle 

I noticed tree branches all along the shore, some partially caught in that ice, others fully frozen in place, frost encasing their branches

I was utterly transfixed

what I saw that day inspired all of my creative work for at least the next six months and in many ways it still does today

I realized this morning whilst on the yoga mat I hadn't just been inspired by the visuals alone

I saw those branches, frozen in place, feelingly

the icy grip, the inability to move... to go from waving in the wind to completely immobile

to be entangled

from there my thoughts skittered to a small framed print hanging on the wall in our family room

I stumbled on it in a small antique store over 20 years ago and knew immediately it was going to follow me home

 I've always liked the imagery of boats at full sail... the feeling of heaviness in the drape of the sails, the rough texture of the cloth and that sky, the feeling of being uplifted in clouds

 a feeling of buoyancy 

"In Holland Waters"

by Paul Jean Clays

I hadn't just seen these things, I had felt what I was seeing as well

I love when these sort of connections are made, an understanding that hits me, makes the pieces all fit together in a way I hadn't understood before

I'm not sure I can "see feelingly" at will but I believe now, having made this connection, I'll recognize it when it comes

and allow that to guide what I do next

we'll see

take care,

Jillayne