Starting to Come Together

Chroma:Blue is beginning to take on its final form.  Obviously two modules are not yet done, but they are coming along and of course the "connective tissue" is not in place.  I've focused most of my studio time this week on it.

Sea and Sky

Here's the next Chroma:Blue module.  I layered and hand stitched a wide variety of fabrics I'd dyed and painted with lace and strips of silk.  I also added some of the treated bubble wrap I've been developing for various projects.   Then there's that silver foiling which looks great and gives fabulous depth when seen "in person" but will not photograph well no matter what - sadly.  Three more puzzle pieces to go then I will stitch the whole artwork together.  Finished size will be about 72" x 44".   This is the second in the series after Chroma:Yellow which I completed a couple of months ago.  Been loving these BIG projects this year!

Back to Chroma:Blue at Last!

This is the third module of the second piece in the Chroma series.  It is made entirely of Japanese cottons which have been Indigo dyed (mostly shibori technique).  I superimposed the chemical formula for Indigo  - C16H10N2O2 - and a representation of the molecular structure of this isotope.  Still a bit more stitching to do but I'm so thrilled to be back in the studio at last that I just couldn't wait to document the piece.

3D Shibori in England

I had a fabulous time at West Dean College studying textured shibori with Mandy Griffin.   The college is an old estate with an interesting art collection on rolling hills with masses of sheep and pheasants roaming about.  There are walled gardens and a glass house in addition to a world recognized contemporary tapestry atelier.  Good food, too!  I learned exactly what I'd hoped.  Below are before and after photos of three techniques, and, yes, those are screws (and much else) all bundled together.  These techniques will be appearing in my work in the near future (when I get over the jet lag!!).