earmstrong8, Author at Inspired By Everyday Beauty

Art with a view

L’ile Verte, Quebec “Island Inspiration”

Just back from a fabulous vacation on the rugged and inspiring I’ile Verte, Quebec.

We have missed our annual visit for the past couple of years, but were back this June to enjoy walking, and exploring and cycling–enjoying every minute of the great outdoors.

I always find inspiration in the beauty of the island with its rich flora and breathtaking views. Before embarking on our trip this year, I organized with my friend ‘the islander’ to play with art for the three full days of our visit. Paper making, print making and dry felting were on the menu.

As always, we enjoyed daily walks to forage on the beach and in the woods–this year, we were collecting ideas and bits and pieces to incorporate immediately into our art pieces.

The paper was a bit disappointing, but we had lots of fun and as always, were surrounded by beautiful views!

The first day, we started with something neither of us had attempted before–papermaking. In my supply box I had toted a blender, shredded scrap paper, frames, deckles and pressing boards. The process of blending scrap paper with water and then straining it through mesh before pressing and drying it was fairly simple. We had lots of fun mucking about, but our results were a bit disappointing. We added dried flowers and experimented a bit with thickness of the slurry, but most of our pieces turned out the consistency of slightly embellished egg cartons. It was a good learning process though and next time we will: use single colour scrap paper, keep the layers thin, and perhaps venture into using more plant materials. In the meantime, I’m sure we’ll find a use for our first-run sheets–maybe sew or paint on top of them?

Onward to day two for a stab at block printing. This is currently one of my favorite media, but as I’ve explained before, it takes some doing to get your head around negative space, mirror imaging and left/right reversal. More specialized supplies are needed as well. Lino blocks for carving, lino cutters with assorted blades, block printing ink, brayers (fancy name for rollers), and various papers, pencils, and implements for pressing. Unfortunately, Gail’s supply shipment hadn’t arrived on time, but luckily I had a separate printing supply box with lots of everything for sharing!

As you know, I have been practicing quite a bit with cutting, inking and printing and with this bit of experience under my belt I was happy with my three pieces. All three scenes are from photos taken on previous visits the island: I printed on cards and am delighted to say that they are now available at Boutique du Bout d’en Bas, on the Island.

*view from mid-island*, *through the pines to the river*

This was not Gail’s favorite activity. To be fair to the activity, it was her very first try and I’ll repeat that it is a bit tricky to figure out the technique. She wasn’t happy with her result, but I think she was being too hard on her 1/1 print. I loved the result. She chose an iconic scene from the island, and she mastered the right/left challenge!

After ignoring everything (and everyone) else for two days of total absorption in our creations and daily foraging walks, we finally came to day three: dry felting.

I recently took my first felting class at the Tett Centre here in Kingston, and as the instructor promised, dry felting is easy to set up, and clean up, and can give admirable results even to a beginner. All we needed in the felt supply box were an assortment of coloured roving, or unspun wool; felting needles with sharp barbs to catch and tangle roving into matted felt; pieces of wool fabric for the base; and a dollar store sponge.

Gail hit her stride in this session! Using the gorgeous view of the river out her dining room window for inspiration, and with the pressure of our last day looming, she set to work non-stop and created a stunning waterscape.

So there you have it. Two life long friends spending three glorious days creating: inspired by everyday beauty. Highly recommended for both the heart and the soul.

Creating with purpose

As I explode with ideas for creating new fiber art projects I occasionally touch down to reality and think, “what am I going to do with this?” I’m rapidly running out of wall space and need to think through, “where will I put this next one?” It doesn’t make much sense to rescue materials from deep within my stockpile, spend countless hours transforming them into pieces of art, and then stack them against the wall, or shove them back in a closet. Although I haven’t yet reached the point of selling any of my work, maybe that will come soon –as soon as I learn how to part with them!

The most obvious answer, at least for now, is to make useable, functional pieces. And that my friends is how my embellished jean jacket came to be.

Some months ago, I bought a new jean jacket with the intention of tarting it up with a little embroidery. I got side tracked with other projects and I let the jacket take its place in my stockpile, until I came up with an idea to combine several projects and techniques. In keeping with the idea of being inspired by everyday beauty, I make note that for me beauty in nature is rarely limited to one element. Most often, it is a combination of colours and textures and sights and sounds.

I’ve been embroidering and sewing, but recently became interested in collage and block printing, so I decided to pull it all together. I just happened to have a beautiful block print of sheep on linen (warned you more sheep would be coming), and in my treasure trove stash, believe it or not, I had several pieces of silk.

One sheep print on a piece of cream linen was my favourite block print. The linen seemed best suited to picking up the ink, and its natural fiber lent itself to the pastoral theme.

*Silk acetate sky and silk sari pasture.*

I chose two different lengths of fabric. The first was a blue and purple abstract print on silk acetate. This particular fabric has been used several times throughout the years, as scarves and sheaths of one sort or another. Its circular pattern and brushstroke texture remind me of a cloudy sky. The second, a length of sari silk, combines all my favourite colours and suggests the foundation for foliage and light in a pasture.

These three pieces were perfect to make a central focal point in the back panel of the jean jacket. I laid out the sky, sheep and pasture over a layer of cotton batt and began the embroidery and embellishment phase. During this part of the process, I always let the fabric speak to me and ‘sew as I go’.

In this case, the clouds needed pinning down–achieved with circles of boro stitching, pulled together with white linen thread. The sheep needed only minimal highlighting, done with the subtle addition of linen thread to tack down the fabric, drag down the clouds and accentuate the texture. The sari-silk pasture called for bright colours of cotton thread to bring out the flowers, foliage and light of the grassland.

Now, to make the rest of the jacket ‘fit’ with the elaborate back panel.

*Under collar silk over cotton batt. Border folded to front. Embellished with cotton embroidery.*

First up, the collar. I really do love the colours in this piece of sari silk and I decided to use it to tie together the front and back of the jacket. I fully covered the undercollar with the silk and then folded the border print over to the front of the collar to highlight the collar’s edge and bring colour to the front. I used the bright cotton embroidery thread to anchor the layers, to embellish the design and to highlight the textures.

One of the tricks I like for jean jackets is adding an inner cuff of cozy wool. The fabric gives a better base for embroidery, making it a bit flashier when turned back, but also making it toasty warm when folded down and buttoned. I was really trying to keep this jacket from getting too busy keeping the back as the highlight, so I chose to use design repetition and picked up the circular motif and colours from the sky to add pizzazz to the cuffs.

A final touch. To bring the front collar, cuffs and pockets together I added a very small bit of floral embroidery to the front pockets and outer cuffs.

Although these things never seem to be finished, and I may add bits here or there, for now this functional piece is ready to wear! No frame necessary, no dusting to be done. This is a piece of art with purpose. Hope you like it!

Baa, baa, black sheep

I’m getting used to thinking in reverse and carving mirror images–a very good workout for the old brain!

This week I decided to try a more challenging block print. I combed through my extensive photo pile looking for one that spoke to me and of course, I settled on a scene of grazing sheep.

These sheep were spotted on Ile Verte, QC, one of our favourite spots to visit our besties Gail and Paul. This small island in the St. Lawrence, just past Riviere du Loup, is accessible only by ferry in summer, and by helicopter in winter. The peaceful, rural island offers everything: beaches, whale watching, forests, open wind-swept fields, fish smoke houses, farms, and isolation. A perfect milieu for walking, cycling, and photography.

We try to make it to Ile Verte once a year, but our last trip was September, 2020. On that visit we had some beautiful walks, changing terrain at least five times as we walked over rocky shoreline, along a wide sandy beach, up through the pine forest, down a long country road, up the spikey shale bout d’en bas, past sheep and smoke houses, and over rosa regosa covered fields.

One of my favourite photos was of three sheep, quietly grazing in the sunshine. I love this picture not only because I love sheep, but because it shows textures, and shades of wool, and variations of light. This would be an excellent challenge to translate into a block carving!

One of my new rules for block carving–or in fact for any interpretational art–is to consider the value of translating the subject into a different art form. If the medium does not transform, improve, or enhance the interpretation of the original, is it worth the work? To achieve this, you need to think carefully as you choose the right material and technique to suit the subject. For example, wooly sheep might not come across as well with fine silk embroidery as they would with fuzzy, thick woolen threads. But, would woolen thread be too close to the original?? That I guess is debatable, depending on your purpose.

For this particular block print, I settled on the sheep, for the challenge of textures, and to translate my photo into a reproducible format that can be printed on paper, collage and fabric. Transforming it again and again into new interpretations –prepare yourselves, there could be a lot of sheep coming!

*Still getting caught by that mirror image effect, but I do like the variation in wool textures!*

Things rarely go as planned

My latest adventure is enrolment in a block printing class at the Seniors’ Centre. Yes, you read that right, Seniors’ Centre…I have entered that realm. But, let’s not dwell on it.

The class has been a good mix of challenge and fun. We started off carving blocks of pine, which I discovered is tricky. Although pine is soft and yields to the sharpness of the tool, it also has a fairly strong grain which does not yield as easily! Well, let’s admit, it doesn’t really yield at all. We’ve now switched to carving on linoleum, and compared to the pine it’s a dream. The carving knife slips through as if carving butter–best to keep it slow though or it will slide on through to where you don’t want a cut, more akin to a hot knife through butter.

After three weeks of carving, we were all anxious to get on with the printing. I think we each had a vision of our piece in print, and of how the rolling on of ink and stamping onto paper would be the easy step. Turns out, it is going to take some practice.

The first big revelation that occurred to each of us at different times: it is relief printing. That means what you leave will pick up the coloured ink, and what you carve away will be the white of the paper. Also, when printed, you will have a mirror image of your design. Even though I knew all of this, I still spent a fair bit of time mindlessly carving a block for an initial stamp that came out white and backwards. Chalk that up to the learning by experimentation method.

The second lesson learned by experimentation, was that in the case of ink, less can be more. The ink needs to be rolled on evenly. Thick enough to print, but thin enough that it doesn’t glop, or fill your carving lines. The sweet spot seems to be different for wood or linoleum, as each has a different absorbency level. Ink loading will definitely take practice.

My best piece of the week, in my mind, was to be a pine carving of tree silhouettes, with a beautiful moon peeking through. I planned a deep inky blue, with a bit of black to darken up the scene. The bright white moon would illuminate the thready tree branches. It did not go as planned, but then things rarely do. I’ve debated posting it here, wanting to wait only to show ‘perfect pieces’, but I’ve decided to show the works in progress so you can see what not to do.

*Not as expected. Too black. Too gloppy*.

My first print run was a disappointment. Black, as I now recall, has to be added very sparingly or it will take over. The ink can’t be too thick or it will fill your carving and leave glops. The ink can’t be too thin or paper will show through in the wrong spots. The weight of lines is emphasized when seen in print. And of course, the print will be in relief and mirror image.

“Back to the drawing board,” as they say. I headed off to the sink to wash my carved block, so I could start again and spare the black.

Then some magic started to happen. As the water ran over the mucky mess, the rinse water revealed the most beautiful colours! I immediately stopped rinsing, and decided to go rogue. I lightly patted the wet block and then flipped it onto a fresh piece of paper. I had no idea what would happen. It could be too wet and turn the paper to a soggy mess. It could be too thin and leave no impression at all. Or, it might be a fabulous surprise! Well…I nearly got the latter. This print was much more interesting. It had some beautiful blues and more shading, but it was a little pale.

Not wanting to admit another defeat, I brought it home, propped it up, stared at it for a while, and then decided to play around with a fine line ink pen. Worse case scenario I could print another one, right?

*Also not as expected, but in a beautiful way! Look closely and see the lady in the moon.*

Well here it is. I think it was a success! I added sketchy lines to define the naked branches and defined some foreground rocks from the ink splotches. When I thought it was finished I took a picture. I like to take pictures of works in progress because it lets me see perspectives and angles I otherwise don’t notice. The first thing that stood out to me in this version was the lovely moon face that appeared. I swear to you, it is not contrived. It is just there, and I love it!

So, as in life, sometimes things don’t go as planned, but they end up better for it!

Boiled Wool

My memories of boiled wool bring up pictures of European jackets and alpine hats. Dense, sturdy fabric of matted wool. These days, what passes for boiled wool on the fabric market, in my opinion, is more akin to boucle. Remember those new coats we got to complete our Easter Sunday outfits? If you grew up in the 60’s, you likely had at least one! I used to think of it as ‘curly’ wool. Being spoiled by our British grandmother, we got new ones every spring. Mine was always pink, my sister’s blue. We felt so elegant, with our new white knee socks, white patent leather shoes, fresh white gloves and little flowered hats.

To get boiled wool, I have considered making my own by washing and beating old wool blankets in a hot water cycle. You may have done this unintentionally to some woolen socks or woolen sweaters that mistakenly made their way into the wrong wash load. If you are doing it intentionally, the trick is to get it out while it is the right density before it turns into completely shrunken, stiff felt–although that could get you started on some slipper making! For me, boiling my own wool is still an idea in the works. In the meantime, when ‘boiled wool’ aka ‘boucle’ went on sale last fall, I took the speedier route and bought an array of bright pinks, purples, blues, oranges and reds. I had a vision of mitts embroidered with colourful threads. A little something to brighten up the winter.

I really hate to throw out fabric scraps, so when I cut out my first pair of mitts I used the scraps to cut crazy shapes and appliqued them with bright No. 8 wt. pearl cotton. I didn’t have a pre-planned pattern, just played with shapes, stitches and colours. I already had a good stock of faux fur trims, and also some cozy faux fur for linings. The mitts were constructed using machine stitching, and the embellishment was added by hand. I used a traditional Inuit pattern that has gathered space to keep your fingers warm. They were toasty even on the coldest of winter walks.

The No. 8 wt. cotton thread is a bit heavier and I thought it would show best on this weight of wool fabric, but I discovered that No. 12 wt., although a bit finer, worked as well. (see pics below for the comparison)

With lots of wool left, I ventured into hat making. This time, both the construction and the decorative work were done by hand. I prefer hand work. For me, it gives the added bonus of quiet contemplation and excitement as I see the creations slowly unfold before my eyes.

*I love how they turned out. Lots of colour, and warmth for cold winter walks.*

Let it snow

This is the time of year when most people are desperately seeking spring. Although I admit that on the wettest of dreary days I do pine for the sunshine and growth of spring, for the most part, I actually love winter!

Overall, if it comes right down to it, I prefer cold temperatures when you can bundle up and feel the freeze of your cheeks and thighs when out walking. This year, to my taste, has been great for the amount of snow we’ve received.

Earlier in the week, the snow had cleared, the sidewalks were gritty, and the smell of wet grass was in the air. “Ahh, its coming,” we all thought as our spirits buoyed and our paces quickened. But this morning, we awoke to a glorious sight.

There is nothing more beautiful, and inspiring, than naked black tree boughs under a burden of fat, fluffy, new snow. I couldn’t resist posting this series of backyard pics. I know they will inspire me for quilting, or needlework, or printing…or something, but in the meantime, I’m going to go out and breathe in the freshness of what very well could be our last snow of the year! Enjoy.