Monday 29 November 2010

time is an elastic band

                                                                     

Well, I didn't see that coming:  November come and (almost) gone.
And I have my 1st non-acquainted "follower", Green Papilio.  Welcome!

It's not that I haven't been creating, but the job I chose to do has been sooo time-consuming even as the days pass quickly.  I've always said that time is like an elastic band.  It was heartening to read Elizabeth Gilbert's reference to the Balinese perception of time, how it shrinks and expands depending on one's state of mind (in her book Eat,Pray,Love which I just finished.)

I set myself the task of creating a host for the Liquitex transparent acrylic "ink" that I bought last spring.  A 1920's silhouette evolved on which I planned to place a myriad of pattern.  What fun.




And then I thought, why not a mirror image in which I could play with the symmetry.  I usually draw only one subject and felt that I was overdue to incorporate a 2nd.  I would have drawn 3 if my paper was big enough.
And oh, the paper: it is a luscious and hearty fine grain cold press 140lb. acid-free watercolour paper measuring 18"x24" in Canson's XL series. (So much for humble materials.)

So thank-you for bearing with me as I continue to explore the possibilities.



                                                                 All good wishes to All.

Wednesday 3 November 2010

fine and delicate



Here is a progression of the hand stitched embroidery inspired by the watercolour in my last entry.
 The whole image from the top of her "halo" to the bottom  of the outline measures about 2 inches and represents about 10 hours of work.




 I eventually succumbed to a double thread from a single sewing thread as the hours mounted.  Working by the light of my magnifying lamp,  I wanted as fine and delicate a piece as I could manage at a time in my life when my eyesight is somewhat compromised.  One gets a taste for things that appear to be just beyond your grasp...and why not?

I believe it was the poet Robert Browning who said  " a man's reach should exceed his grasp or what's a heaven for".   Sometimes it's the only thing that makes sense to me.


Peace