what have I been up to....?

I haven't posted in ages. I would like to say I've been very busy but I'm not sure what I've actually been doing....

I made a 6"x4" postcard with the fabric sent to me by Anna at Serendipity for her rust challenge.


Anna's photo looks better on her blog! I wanted to pleat the fabric or tuck it or something... and then cut into it. But I used too much of the original fabric and it looked to orange and overwhelming. I think with hindsight, I should have ripped the original fabric into bits then attach the bits to a base fabric and then manipulated that.

So... I added some embellishment with seed stitches and beads and as it was obviously now a linear landscape (yet again!) I added some embellishment to the foreground.

I had been toying with the idea of weaving the rusted fabric (I may still do this...) so I added some long stitches and weaved strips of rusted fabric, scrim and thread. I then overstitched that with long stitches and beads. I like how the beads are free to move...

The metal at the top is one of Anna's beads unrolled.

I really enjoyed this challenge. I've never worked with these colours or synthetic fabric before but I feel I've tried some new ideas and have more ideas to developing...

2. I've made something for someone but can't show it yet... but it has got me thinking about edges.. in particular paper edges, and how to finish them to create an interesting profile...

3. er...

4. I want to start listing all the things I HAVEN'T done...

a new challenge

I'm taking part in Anna's (at Serendipity) rust challenge.


She has set me a piece of rusted fabric and I've to turn it into a piece of art and send it back to her by the 10th December. I won't blog anymore about it until its done, except to say that I want to try and develop some ideas around the boat yard photos I took recently...

corrugated

Using my boat yard picture as inspiration, I've been experimenting with some corrugated board, ripping into the board and scrapping away the top layer of brown paper. I now want to experiment with some fabric and make some rips and tucks and add some stuffing.

rust

On my favourite textile blogs there has been a lot of discussion re rust and fabrics. I like looking at the fabric but must confess to skipping the part about techniques. However on my travels around the village I took some photos of a rusty boat yard. These may form part of a series for my local exhibition next year. I'm not sure how I'll use them... I'm thinking tucks and pleats and rips and couching. But I may have to get some rusty nails out to acheive the 'right' colour... or maybe I'll do them in black and white...