more C&G texture for Sian

I promised this last week, but my computer would not talk to my camera for some reason, so in frustration I separated them and made them sit on the naughty stair for a while. Hopefully they have now decided to cooperate...

these were all done on a sunny day out in the garden, and I made up a small pot of grout/plaster to see what I could do with it. honestly, I didn't really enjoy it, but there were a couple of good results.



this is plaster spread over scrunched up tissue paper - like this one.



this is plaster spread over a piece of card and then drawn into following the photo of the roofing in the ruined house.






a layer of plaster on a piece of calico, a second piece laid on top and then removed,



and that second piece of fabric.


plaster over bandage



plaster over netting over scrunched tissue paper.



I also had a go at weaving the roofing matting pattern, which is over 3, under 3, each row offset by one.

in paper first,





then in thread - sorry about the red, but I wasn't thinking.



then a rubbing of the weaving.

sorry about the pictures being the wrong way up, but I'm just glad they are on the screen, never mind right way up!! fortunately, as it's only texture, it is still easy to read. and I am going to finish now whilst I can still get out of here.

new year, new start part 2

If you are still with me, there's more....













these four are rubbings on black cartridge paper with white crayon over wire rubbing forms.




this is crepe bandage kuwaiti style.





torn paper strips woven in the pattern of the roofing mats.



expandaprint rubbed with metalic wax after heating, and the last one is embossing powder.








there are lots more, but I don't want Sian and you to lose the will to live! hopefully there will not be too many gaps to fill in before I can move on to shape and colour in the next few days.

new year, new start....

it went something like this. Jackie in Canada (I think) could not make contact with Sian, so in a spirit of friendship I forwarded her distress message from the C&G site to Sian, who of course remedied it. She then got straight on to me to set me a deadline! Was that cricket? probably not, but long overdue! Well, I did make a start, and then could not find my camera battery recharger for ages. that found and camera recharged I then reverted to normal operations and did...nothing!

Well, today is half term, DH has gone sailing and DD had joined the guides on a beach clean up as part of world thinking day, so I have the house to myself for 6 blissful hours. well except for the painter, but as he doesn't speak english I don't think there is going to be much time-wasting in the form of chat. I have photographed said work, and now need to remember how to transfer the pictures from camera to blogger. I could be some time!

So, diploma module 1, texture, in black and white only so as not to be distracted by the colour.





lace painted black and the tissue paper that was behind it.



kitchen towel rubbed with black wax crayon, tissue paper pva'd on top.



same but with loose woven florists ribbon between.





tissue over florist ribbon rubbed with black crayon, painted white and tissue under florist ribbon with twisted tissue over, painted white.



the tissue paper that I rubbed that florist ribbon over.





rubbing mat made with risoni stuck to card and a double layer of tissue paper rubbed with black on one, white on another.

I think that's enough for this post, I'll put some more in a second part.

exciting day

I had a really great day yesterday, with one minor exception, visiting the dentist, but we won't dwell on that. It started with a Kuwait Textile Arts Association quilting group meeting. I am not a quilter, but it seemed like a good group to join and a great opportunity to find out more about quilting. good decision. I've been going now for 6 months, and have picked up so many little tips and ideas along the way.
Yesterdays meeting was my moment. I was asked to do a talk and show and tell about my C&G Certificate course in Embroidery, to give all the quilters a different slant on things. I am not a teacher or a public speaker, so I found it quite daunting, but once I got going I really enjoyed myself. Afterwards, one lady came and said I should have had the whole morning, not just half and hour, another said I should do a presentation to the main KTAA group at their monthly evening meeting, and a third asked if I would do a workshop on design techniques. Flattered? Swollen head?? Floating 3 feet off the ground??? All of those and more. I was just glad that folks seemed to like the presentation, and that I got through it ok, but then to have all that come at me was just amazing. I have also received a couple of emails from people saying how much they enjoyed it, and one lady asking about the distance learning courses so that she could explore the possibility of having a go herself. Result, wouldn't you say?
I also made the decision to buy a new sewing machine. One of the KTAA members won a machine at last years show, which she has not even taken out of the box. She decided to sell it and give the money to the Indian government Tsunami fund, which is still helping families rebuild their lives. So any way, now its mine, yey!! Its a Bernina Aurora 430. Any tips and advice gratefully received. I had a little play yesterday afternoon, and I think I am going to like this very much. My old machine, a 25+ year old New Home, (now Janome) has been fabulous, but doesn't seem to like doing the free machine stuff anymore, and always seems to have to think about dropping the feed or raising them again, which in not much good if you are in mid work. I will be getting the embellisher foot for it which is great as I couldn't justify buying the embellisher machine. One of the best parts of this for me though is that I paid for it with my earnings from my own business which I set up in December. I am a holistic massage therapist, and have been slowly building the business since Christmas. It gave me a lot of pleasure to realise that I had earnt enough to pay for the machine outright, without having to raid the joint bank account. Before getting remarried and moving out here last summer, I was a single mum/full time student for 3 years, and money was very tight. I guess this is my first reward/payback for all that hard work. And now to go and have another play.........happy dancing and big smiles all round!

At last...loud fanfare.... I've started

I have actually made a proper start on my C&G work; written and created the spider diagram, statement and visual sheet, AND submitted them. A day later, (a whole day, what was she doing?!!), Sian had sent me back some incredibly helpful suggestions and feedback. My dh, friends and I could not believe how fast she turned it round.

For any other 'just starting C&G diploma bod', this is the visual sheet I sent:

I was not at all sure that this is what Sian actually wanted, but it seems I got it right after all. Note to self, 'just do it'.

I've been and got a couple of note/sketch books, and now have to start putting together a back up of design sources and ideas, little thumbnail sketches of bits of buildings that could be worked up into design ideas.

dh has got into the mood beautifully and has started taking photos of 'interesting' looking houses and buildings as he goes around. There is a slight p.o.v. gap though, as I also like ruined buildings, and so far he's just photographing immaculate buildings. but its early days yet.

I am planning a trip to a couple of kuwaits only historic buildings - most got bulldozed in the 60s when they realised they had lots of money and could build tower blocks. what they have left is good though, so I am looking forward to it. will post stuff when I've done it.

I am a member of FiberArt for a Cause, and their next fundraiser for the American Cancer Society is an online reverse auction. Virginia Spiegel has put this flyer out for members to include on their blogs and websites, follow the link and take a look at the sight. here goes...

Fiberart For A Cause, fundraising for the American Cancer Society, is back
in action with the 2007 Invitational Reverse Auction.

http://www.virginia spiegel.com/ NewFiles/ ACS/ReverseAucti on2007.html

Featuring fiber art donated by Jane Davila, Jamie Fingal, Mary Beth Frezon,
Lynn Krawczyk, Heidi Miracle-McMahill, Carol Moore, Scott Murkin,
Cynthia St. Charles, Sarah Ann Smith and Elin Waterston, the Reverse Auction
runs March 12-16.

Artwork begins at a fixed price and is reduced by a fixed percentage each
day. Wait too long and the artwork you want will be gone. 100% of the
proceeds are donated to the American Cancer Society.

finding the focus

First of all, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has posted comments so far. It's really great to know that a) people are reading it, and b) they like my work. I have still been finding it really difficult to get my head around starting properly on my C&G work. Its not like I can't do a spider diagram and write an introduction, which has got to be the easiest get you in exercise known to man. Pleased to say I have now made a small start and done them in rough, and now just have to make the visual, rather than verbal, brainstorming sheet. It will be good to be able to get them to Sian at last.
In my defence, I have been busy building my business, and I've taken on running the membership for the British ladies society here in Kuwait, which are both ongoing works in progress. I have also been teaching a group of friends to make fairy shoes. I posted a picture of a pair I made on a day with Annette Emms, a lovely and talented lady. They all decided they wanted to have a go when they saw mine in the flesh.
I have made a pair for a friend to say well done for doing a presentation she is dreading doing. I made a mini patchwork fabric first, so that they are multi coloured, so I have done some textile related work.


Winging its way towards me as I write are a couple of packages of synthetic felt, which I cannot get in Kuwait. Proper wool felt by the mile, but no synthetic, which is strange as they want to sell me so many other synthetic fabrics you'd think they'd have the felt. I'm looking forward to this arriving so I can have a play for the Jan/Feb challenge in the Textile Challenges group. One of the packages will have some colours appropriate to my research project, so may be able to use it for samples. See, I am thinking about the course, even if not actually doing very much of it.

Kuwait is having its Spring at the moment. The temperature is now getting to a lovely 20 degrees or so, there are plants everywhere, and when you are surrounded by sand and sand coloured buildings all the time, the colour is great. I could not believe how cold it got over November, December and January, so this is really welcome. I don't do cold. Am I too hopeful that the Spring will get me going again? Hope not, but any suggestions for breaking the deadlock on starting and really getting going would be gratefully received.