'Transit of Autumn'

It has been very cold the last couple of days … cold for this part of the world at least and I have been working on a new “Winter” sketchbook.

Seasonal changes have become a pervading theme in my recent art work and in my life! Last year I set out to record the flow of the seasons, photographing the Forest Pansy tree in our garden through Autumn until the last leaf had fallen.

The result is a large file of photographs stretching across three months, recording the tree from a range of angles, level of detail and weather conditions. Working with this resource I decided to try and capture the seasonal change in a work combining a set of the photos.

The result is ‘Transit of Autumn - Golden Days’ 94h x107w cms

The collage uses digital prints on a range of fabrics …. silks, cottons, linen, and organza with an overlay of batik, finished with a layer of machine stitch.

This work has been the starting point … and I have recently been working on a couple of smaller pieces that explore elements of the changing season ……

‘Autumn Light’ 56h x 72w cms

and currently on my design wall, the next work in progress is ….

‘Blue Sky Day’ 56h x 72w cms

I am excited about this new work and its ongoing evolution. I’m not sure were it will take me ….

Thank you for your interest in my art and taking the time to read this journal …..

’Those Golden Days

The Autumn leaves are falling

Gone, yet love remains’

February Flowers

I’m making ‘February’ flowers with India Flint this month as part of her online workshop “A Clearing in the Woods”. The class is designed to bring some light and joy to February … whether its in the freezing Northern Hemisphere or sweltering heat of the South! You can checkout India’s online classes at her website https://www.indiaflint.com

I’m loving the making of each flower … one each day (in theory). Here are some of the ones I’ve made so far ….

It’s sometimes hard to know when a flower is finished, its tempting to keep adding more ……

Lot’s more flowers to make before the end of the month! Will show you the end result when its done!

Thanks for reading …… CC

New Work Naturally .....

Over the last month, as well as working on the FiveBySix Challenge,  I have been finishing some new work which incorporates some of my nature prints.  

I started with a nature print overlaid with some applique.  Then I decided to try some mirror image nature prints using silk and silk organza  and a range of plant material from my garden ... the results were lovely ... so these prints became the focus of two compositions.  To add texture and another layer of interest to the pieces I've hand stitched the background of the nature prints and added some hand stitched leaf outlines ... a little slow stitching which was very enjoyable....

One of these works together with two of my nature print scarves (something a bit different) are included in the 'Reflections' group show at Jing Jo's Cafe/Gallery in Kangaroo Valley which opened last week and runs till 29 April.  The scarves, are printed on a silk/wool mix and are lovely to wear, both light and warm!

This is the flyer for the exhibition which opened last week ... I'm looking forward visiting Kangaroo Valley in the next couple of weeks to see how it all looks.   If you are in the vicinity do drop by for a coffee or a bite to eat and enjoy 'Reflections' ....

With this new work I decided to update my website with a fresh layout and new galleries.  I hope you will have a look at the rest of the site,  I think it's an improvement!  There are more updates and content to come ....

Thanks for reading and for your interest in my work ...CC

FiveBySix Challenge ...

My friend Melissa and I decided to take a 30 day challenge during the month of February (plus a few days!),  Melissa wanted to work with embroidery stitches and  I decided this would be a good opportunity to experiment with the nature prints I have been using recently.

We set up a Facebook group which we've called  'FiveBySix Challenge'  and asked a few  friends to join us.  It will be really fun to see how it all comes together! 

I've been working in batches, experimenting with various silk fabrics, variations in techniques and testing out all the likely plants in my garden and in the local environment.  The most likely candidates seem to be deciduous plants and those that have a scent .... so plenty to work with!

After the first few batches, it was clear that part of the magic of nature prints comes from the combination of plants used which infuses the print with extra color and depth.    The combinations of fabric weight/density and printing technique also has a significant impact on the end result ... so I've been trying to work out the best combinations .......

After many batches and experiments I now have a nice lot of prints on the design wall .....

I've been playing with layout options and I'm currently thinking I will put the prints together in three panels of 12  (I know that'll be more than 30!) ....  here's what they look like on my design wall so far ... still need to be trimmed and some need some extra stabilizer but you'll get the idea....

I'm not happy with some of the prints ... so there are a few more batches planned before the end of the month!! 

While the 30 days is up soon ...  we have given ourselves a month to finish off and work on the presentation.  Will post the final result in April.   

Thanks for reading  CC

Sketchbook Play

Wanted to get 2018 off to a flying start so I enrolled in a short online workshop with one of my favorite textile artists  ... Dionne Swift.

Over 5 days with circles as the theme I've been making backgrounds, cutting, pasting, drawing, stamping and building up layers.  I've dug out my paintstiks, inktense pencils, water colors, charcoal, producing lots of pages and making lots of mess ... but what fun!

There is terrific energy in this class with emails and videos from Dionne each day.  It is so good to be encouraged to try things out without thinking about the end result.  What is so valuable is the the process, that takes you from the initial 'visual brainstorming, to building layers and then to the final stage of putting it all together in a sketchbook which flows with the development of ideas and imagery.  If I've peaked your interest here is a link to Dionne's website and online classes  http://www.dionneswift.co.uk/shop/workshops-online/

I'm contemplating the next class with Dionne!

Thanks for reading  CC

Avocado Seeds ....

Who knew avocado seeds would produce such lovely soft colors on fabric!

In the pot, the dye is a lovely deep pink.  The fabric turns out a soft smokey pink, but I've fallen for the amazing grays that resulted from adding just a touch of iron to the dye bath ..... not colors I've been able to produce before!  

Spurred on by this success, my next venture was to try Calendula flowers,  which produce lovely soft golden yellows and a more olive tone with the addition of iron .....

The silk organza just soaks up the color wonderfully !!

Now the challenge is to find out how these fabrics will work in with my existing stash of hand dyed fabrics and my current Grevillea series work.  I'll keep  you posted.....

Thanks for reading CC

The Question of Sketchbooks!

I love the idea of keeping sketchbooks and I know how valuable they can be, I have a stack of them ... some started with a class ... some began with the idea of following a particular theme or subject ... some are  a rough collection of ideas or experiments ... some I've worked on with the aim of creating art on the page ....   

The common theme here is that I've started all these sketchbooks but after a flurry of interest they seem to languish on the shelf despite all my good intentions !!  Even so they prove to be a useful resource for ideas and inspiration!  What if I could be more consistent .....

I do keep a written journal to help me stay focused on my goals with monthly and weekly plans in the style of a bullet journal and I've been running with that over the last years or so but I hadn't found a way of integrating the use of a sketchbook .....

I've been reading with interest Lisa Call's series of posts on her Make Big Art site about the ways different artists use their sketchbooks ..... I can highly recommend Lisa's blog and this series.... here is the link if you'd like to read more .....

https://www.makebigart.com/artists-and-their-sketchbooks-heather-pregger/

In a recent post,  Heather Pregger talks about her approach of reviewing and recording her progress at the end of each day (or studio session) ... including progress with current work, experiments, critiques etc

.... here was a way of integrating a sketchbook into the art work of the day .... definitely something I could do!! 

So I've started doing just that ... it's working fine so far and I'm sure the way I use it will evolve over time ... the most important thing is to make sure it becomes a regular and ongoing part of my art work!  Wish me luck ....

Thanks for reading .....CC

Dye Happy with Natural Dyeing

I recently spent a very fun weekend in nearby Jamberoo trying some natural dyeing techniques with Alice Springs based artist Deb Clarke.

This introduction to natural dyeing techniques covered the basics.  On day one we learned about plants, fabrics, mordants and dyeing processes including boiling, steaming and some shibori techniques and we made our first silk scarf.

For my scarf I used red and brown onion skins encased in the silk and then twisted and wrapped around a rusty bolt.  The resulting bundle was then heated in a dye bath of purple carrot!   

Here is the bundle and the resulting scarf ...

Deb had loads of samples and examples of different techniques/dyes and mordants ... so much to take in ....  very amazing and fascinating! 

On the second day we worked with Eucalyptus leaves - a very special plant in the world of dyeing and readily on tap here!   We were introduced to a wonderful resource developed by artist Sally Blake, who has tested a large range of Eucalyptus species for their dye potential.

Here is a link to her website  https://sallyblake.com/eucalyptus-dyes-1/ 

I chose to work with a fine wool scarf and a  range of Eucalyptus leaves of different sizes and shapes for the direct print.  The leaves were arranged on the scarf and then covered with some cotton sheeting soaked in iron sulphate, then wrapped and tied firmly around some plastic piping.  The resulting bundle was then steamed.

The leaves, the bundle and the amazing result ...

This workshop demonstrated an inspiring range of opportunities offered by natural dyeing techniques and it was so much fun!  I will definitely be exploring these techniques and contemplating how I might incorporate them into my work. 

Have you tried your hand at natural dyeing and printing ? and how have you used the results in your work?

Thanks for reading .....CC

Art Date at 'Bundanon'

I had the opportunity to visit 'Bundanon' this week, organised by my drawing teacher Linda Dening who was doing an Artist Residency as a result of winning the 2016 Meroogal Art Prize. 

'Bundanon' is a property located on the Shoalhaven River west of Nowra NSW  and was the gift of Arthur and Yvonne Boyd to the Australian people.

Arthur Boyd (1920 - 1999) was part of a unique and remarkable artistic dynasty -  including  painters, sculptors, architects and other arts professionals across many generations.

A significant part of the gift was an extensive collection comprising over 3800 items; more than 1300 works by Arthur Boyd and over 1200 works from 5 generations of the Boyd family as well as a number of works by Arthur Boyd's contemporaries.  In addition to the art collection there are also rugs, furniture, books, family papers, and ceramics.

The art collection has now been digitized and you can now search the collection at https://bundanon.com.au/search/collection/

We were given to tour the house at Bundanon which displays a selection of works from across the generations of the Boyd family.....

We visited Arthur Boyd's studio ...  set up as if he had just left it.

And we were given a glimpse of the extensive collection of works and some of the treasures it contains.

We also had a first hand inspection of the Artist Residency studios.  The Artist Residency program is open to Australian and international professional artists from all disciplines through an open annual call.

I greatly enjoyed the art, the house, the history and the beautiful and peaceful location on the Shoalhaven River .....

" In preserving the natural and cultural heritage of its site,

Bundanon promotes the value of landscape in all our lives"

You can learn more about 'Bundanon' and view some of the many outstanding works at https://bundanon.com.au or if you are in the area I can recommend a visit ....

Thanks for reading .....CC