I posted about this piece earlier, and I am still at it...eEight rows done, and it looks like four more are to come. It's getting bigger all the time. I guess the River has lots to say:-)
Here it is today -
Every once in a while I find that it is good to step away and look at the whole ensemble of individual modules. I still need to work out the the horizontal ribs separating these rows....
This is going to be a large one. I've only got 1/3 of it roughed in on the wall. I spend a lot of time staring out at the St Lawrence river. This has had an impact on the fabric that I dye, paint and print and the colour choices I have been making lately. These colour combinations are looking more and more like words to me - a watery alphabet of sorts.
My sense is that the St Lawrence has a lot to say these days.
My cutting table where this new 'watery vocabulary' is being cut and sorted.
Time is a ticking.
Look at these -- I finally found 23" long latex rubber gloves - long enough to reach the drain at the bottom of a laundry tub that is full of cold brackish dye water... they are called Elbow-length Mucking Gloves (they go past your elbow) and can be bought on-line from Lee Valley Tools for $7.95 Cdn.
Item no. BL650. BTW they will send you a wonderful gardening catalogue at the same time - free.
I finished up the 12 metres of tray dyed fabric. Honestly most of them needed a couple of tray treatments plus a third pass of LWI overdyeing before I was satisfied with them. Here are six lengths washed, ironed and ready to be cut up.
Here is one opened up. Yeah, I guess it's OK. 
I am just back from a week at Jane Dunnewold's studio in San Antonio. I have always held a fascination for the process as I love to muck around with dyes and paints in the studio. Prior to this workshop I had not really taken a hard look at Art Cloth other than drooling over images on the web.
Last week I was able to see first hand and up close how a simple length of cloth can be transformed into a work of art. I am now hooked.
These images show a couple of samples I made while there. As you can see I managed to layer as many techniques onto these two bits as I could possibly cram in. Each piece includes at least two dye baths, discharging, thermofax transfering and silk screening with fabric paints; oh, and and a bit of foil in the mix. Instead of yielding mud, the panels seem to glow.
I am now back in the studio making stamps with erasers and have a couple of yards in the dye bucket. A cup of coffee, NPR (or CBC...smile) a #11 exacto and a box of Dick Blick erasers spells heaven for me these days. Below is an image of a couple of eraser stamps on newsprint.
It is the part I like best.
Minus 20 celsius last night...brrrr.
It's very early as you can see. Looking South-East over NY, I catch steam rising over the water producing a peachy-pink fog, such an incongruent colour given the temperature. Sorta theatrical and magic. Both hot hot hot and very very cold all in one image.
Sunny day ahead no doubt.
This piece has just been juried in to the Quilt Surface Design International (QSDI) show.
The exibit will take place in the Ross Wing of the Columbus Museum of Art in Columbus Ohio USA, from April to September in 2008. I have also been asked to submit additional work that is at least as large or even larger than this piece. I have several pieces underway from this series at various stages of completion.
There was a time when just about all my work was large. On reflection I note that I have gradually pulled away from doing large work. One reason has been that few galleries or group shows can accomodate large pieces. I have run into this locally, as 40"x 40" is considered a large piece. Fastwater is 60"x 40" and was refused by a local show in November because it was "way too large". I have also been noodling around with needlefelting and hand stitching (both of which I love doing) but this has resulted in a smaller product.
I now have the perfect opportunity to re-examine what I started with this series two years ago. I know that this will lead to larger and bolder work.
This is a piece that was started a while back and finished recently. I am trying to tidy up all these unfinished works started but never resolved - just a new Year's Resolution underway - finally. One down, many more to go.
It's minus 22 out there and as I look South over the St Lawrence - upper NY state for those interested - I see a convention of geese. For the most part they appear to be soaking up some rays, some are snoozing, others fishing, and some are just chatting.
There is a thin layer of overnight ice that will soon disappear with today's sun.
What a sight!
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