Changing Threads 2012

Published a tad backdated but better late than never...

Changing Threads, the National Contemporary Fibre Arts Awards was on show at the Refinery Artspace in Nelson from 24th March until 21st April 2012 for the fourth year running. Thanks to Ronnie Martin`s initiative and the support from Arts Council Nelson we get to enjoy this classy feast of imagination and the unexpected in my home town.

These are my favorites from the exhibition, for any unfathomable reason. There was other lovely work too, but these are the ones my camera gravitated towards.

Sandra Mead: Immigrant

Matt Siwerski: Buck Fever

Melliors Simms: Blizzard

Sally Reynolds: Yin and Yang (on the left)

Karyn Henson: 365 Days

Colleen Plank: Skin Deep

Jo Kinross: Colins Bed (An Artist`s Life Isn`t Always a Bed of Roses)

Marilyn Andrews: 2731 Genetic Experiment RCG07022012a:

Marilyn Andrews: 2731 Genetic Experiment RCG07022012b:

Jo Kinross: 5 Little Prayer Flags

 Maria Julkunen Dalton: Blip (on the Love Radar)

Sharon Patterson: Close/Closed

 

Jean Carbon: Together/Alone

 

 Sandra Mead: Pippi

Sue Heydon: Entitlement Series

Love, Shelter, Warmth, Food, Stimulation, Companionship

Jenny Judge: Field

Chris Tait: This is the Story of a Girl...

Claire Hey: Vintage Beach Culture

Looking forward to next year already!

Blip (on the Love Radar)

I entered this piece to the 2012 Changing Threads exhibition with the name Blip (on the Love Radar). Changing Threads is a juried National Contemporary Fibre Arts Awards exhibition held annually here in Nelson. This was the third time I participated.

Click on the photo to see the details.

I ended up mounting the piece twice. I first wanted to maintain some transparency as the distressed cloth with stitching looked interesting with backlight. The best board I got hold of turned out not being transparent enough. Not only that, but it ended up warping in the heat of my car while it sat there for a few hours before driving to the gallery. I was mortified.

I liked the wide silk organza edge on the first version, even though it always looked a bit wobbly on the sides. During the next few days I remounted it on a smaller but thicker board. I also padded the centre of the biggest circle on the left for better 3D effect. Mounting is tricky business and once again I learned that it would be better to have that in mind quite early on in the process.

I was so proud to share the exhibition space with such high standard of work overall. You can see photos of my favourite pieces here.

wreck this cloth - from wrecking to constructing

This post follows on from what got started here.

Mid-December we had started to enjoy the beautiful berries of the Nelson region. Some mushy ones in the bottom of the bowl ended up giving some colour to this experiment.

The next day I felt I was doing things too pretty, not letting myself actually... let go.

I took the cloth in a shower with me, and stomped on it while I shampooed my hair! Needless to say, the pretty pink was history.

After a couple of weeks I found myself looking at the unevenness of the fibres. That gave me an excuse to start picking at them. I pulled and yanked until they snapped, working quite randomly. I've always been into pulled thread work, but I didn't want any of that type of planned discipline here.

I really liked the combination of soft stripes and bigger holes where the horizontal and vertical meet.

The remaining stains and distressed weave started looking like a good backdrop for something... 


At some point in January plums came along to part some purple and an idea of a chart was forming...

I've used a lot circular shapes before and wanted to draw them with stitch this time. To honor the male relationships I've had and the impact they've had in my life I drew up a chart with a timeline from birth to present. I was thinking part radar screen part linear time.

I started with my dad and the two time periods where I've lived together with someone. Added some other formative encounters, romantic partners, crushes that went nowhere but shaped my life and changed who I am.



Some relationships have an impact way beyond their presence, like when you drop a pebble in still water and the rings keep getting bigger. But on the timeline they won't ripple backwards, only affecting future...

transforming treasure

I love it when people are not too organised and Christmas parcels keep arriving mid January. A dear driend of mine works in a charity shop and knowing my love for all things textile sends me the occasional treasure. A couple of days ago I received a beautiful embroidered tablecloth. I went to my workshop to rescue my previous epic fail, but feeling rather deflated I could not resist testing how this material could work out for making a dress. 

The curved lines of hole embroidery look deliciously feminine placed on the body. I love the look and the length but feel a bit timid to bring out the scissors. I'll need to sleep on it... for a while.

pattern fail

It has been a while since I've made and worn a new dress design (one has been nearly finished for...2 years, ouch). I had a browse through the patterns I have drafted in the past and felt like trying something new. Jo has kindly lent me a couple of interesting books, Pattern Magic Vol.1 and Vol.2 by Tomoko Nakamichi.

I chose a simple crossover design that is cut quite differently from what I've done before.

I modified a pattern I've drawn before and made sure it would fit me the way I prefer. The cloth I used was just a bit too seethrough, so I decided to fully line it with plain cotton. I thought it would give some extra fullness for the drapes as well...

Looks very girly... The silhouette is very flattering. BUT!

From the side it makes me seem 8 months pregnant, not a good look. The way the left and right slip into and through each other is classy, but this action creates fullness on the wrong part of the body. 

Major FAIL!

What was I thinking?? This should have been totally obvious. Now I need motivation to unpick the front and come up with a way to rescue the good stuff that is there... Perhaps keep the crossover fullness on the top half and flatten the skirt part? That would make a wearable dress but completely lose the clever coming-through-the-rabbit-hole idea.

family circle

What we created tonight!