Inspired by John Piper

This week I went to a Jenny O'Leary workshop at Littleheath Barn Studio.   It's not often that workshops use architecture for the inspiration so of course I was going to sign up.

I found some John Piper images online of his paintings of Venice - where else!!

Jenny introduced us to a variety of tools and ideas for a more experimiental and user-friendly way of doing batik.

Firstly we coloured our fabrics with ink.

I added pattern with oil pastel rubbings

I drew with the oil pastel

I added more inks - this time dark brown and blue - before bleaching some of it back with Milton.

These pieces are too dark for me but there are possibilities.  I may well cut the fabric up and collage it back together.

I have learned some new techniques and I know how to do it again to have a more muted colour palette.

Thanks for be with me today
Bernice

Grand Canal

Amazingly, I have finished another piece.  I went to a Studio Day at Littleheath this week.  I wanted to catch up with the Maps & More work.  At the last workshop day I had pieced the canal section and then at home I had pieced that into the background fabric.

This week I added very narrow satin stitch lines on the sewing machine.

Back at home I trimmed the whole pieces ready for binding.

 

 

I used a piece of fabric printed with the same breakdown screen in a different colour to cut binding strips.  I machined these onto the right side.  Then folded them over to the back and hand stitched the binding down.

Onwards and upwards!

I still have lots of fabric and bits and pieces I made during the process sessions.  We have two actual workshop sessions left although I suspect that I won't use everything up.

I still have fabric left from the Maps Summer School in 2022 despite having made several pieces!

There was only one hanging book - just photographed twice!

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

Maps & More new work

After several sessions at Littleheath Barn trying out techniques and processes for the Maps & More workshop, we are now looking at making final pieces.

One of the things I've wanted to do this year is challenge myself to make different work from my usual cut it up, sew it back together wall hangings.

So this week I tore up fabric I had dyed and printed and bonded the strips to a piece of calico - not really such a different process!

However this time I made a curved piece based on the shape of the Grand Canal on a map of Venice.

I had used breakdown printing to print this large piece of fabric.  Instead of putting thickened dye on the screen I had only used Manutex through a stencil of a map of Venice.  I used a coloured thickened dye to print the screen.

I cut a matching curve from the background fabric and machined the edges together.  (Sorry the photo is a bit blurry).

I had to hand stitch the small inner curve as I couldn't get it under the machine foot.

Then I cut the curve for the other side and machined the pieces together.

I put some felt and a backing fabric and machined down the 'canal'.

I haven't decided how to quilt the rest of the background so I've put it on one side for now and have returned to working on Chaos to Calm.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

O Sole Mio

Do you remember the advert that used 'O Sole Mio' to advertise an ice cream?  It is from 1981 so you might not remember!  Click on the year if you don't know what I'm talking about!

Anyway, back to the fabric.  In my last post 'In the compost bin' I showed you what I had done with my Venice child's costume.

I  cut up the pieces again and using Mistyfuse and Lisa Walton's Fantastic Fusion method to make squares.

 

 

I cut up the squares again and using mistyfuse, fused them to a piece of dyed and printed cotton that I didn't like.

 

 

Then got stuck again.  As I was driving to a friend's for coffee I remembered that when I made the Venice dress my alternative 3D suggestion was to make a cone.  You can see my sketchbook from 2019 on my Containers post.  To see the cone research you need to scroll down the post.

Back to what I did!  I cut a cone shape from the collaged fabric.  Then realised I should have put a more attractive fabric on the back.  It would have been easier to do it before I cut it up!  But never mind.  I bonded the fabric onto the back.

 

 

I also machined it with preset stitches

 

 

I took the cut off pieces and added them to the cone shape with the sewing machine.  I hand sewed the join.  I remembered that I had this block of wood with a dowel rod in it that Roger had made me for a different project and hadn't used.

I painted the stand.

Back to the beginning.  The original music 'O Solo Mio' was written about Naples.  However since 1981 the song with the advert words has forever been associated with Venice.  When I put this piece into an exhibition I shall call it O Sole Mio or Just One Cornetto.

Which name would you choose?

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

In the compost bin

In 2019 when I was doing my Master Practitioner course I made this dress based on - guess where - yes that's right - Venice!

I never liked the skirt and at one time I was going to redo it.  However in the end, I cut it up.  As you do!

I chopped the pieces up and tried out different ways of putting them back together

A friend suggested I put the pieces in the compost bin so that the worms would digest some of the fabric and give it a decayed look.  The two pieces were in the compost for 2 months and nothing happened.

I tried cutting into the pieces to give the worms a better opportunity to nibble.

Nothing happened, except the back had mottled staining.  Then my husband wanted to use the compost so the pieces came out.  I rinsed them through.

Last week I took them to a studio day at Littleheath Barn in the hopes that Liske would have some ideas.  She suggested I lightly painted over the bright blue parts and the metallic bits.  I did that and it's knocked it back considerably.  I then cut it the pieces into strips.  In the second photo I've turned some of the pieces over so you can see the mottling.

Now I just have to decide what to do with the pieces, other than throw them in the bin!

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

Summer School 2

After a few days with the pale fabrics I decided I liked them after all.  Now we had two days back in the studio to start using them.

Right at the start of the four days I had said I did not want to make a hanging nor did I want to make a book.  I was all booked out after making so many for Festival of Quilts.

I played with the fabric tearing up strips and bonding them to a piece of acrylic felt.  In my head this was inspired by the costumes that are worn at the Venice Carnivale in February.  To be honest it was okay, but not really doing it!

I used one of the fabrics I didn't like to make a box.  That really didn't work.  It does with paper but not this fabric!

With the very palest fabrics I tried out the different parts of how you fold to get the box above.  Each piece is part way into making a box.

By the end of the day I was particularly frustrated.  Thankfully for all concerned Liske has phenomenal patience.  She did however point out what I had said at the beginning of the Summer School.

I went home and made these from paper.  The largest box was made from a 21cm square.  The rest of the boxes were from 19, 17, 15 and 13 cm squares.

I gave myself a good talking to that evening and went back to make a hanging and a not-a-book.

I cut the fabric into strips of different sizes and moved them around so the fabric wasn't how it was originally.

Then I cut each strip into rectangles.  They are supposed to look a bit like buildings.  I decided to put some plain blue between some of the rectangles - a glimpse of the Grand Canal maybe?

I machined each strip together and then machined the 5 strips together.

I'll let you know how this progresses.

I'm going to introduce you to the not-a-book in another post.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

Summer School 1

The theme of this year's Summer School at Littleheath Barn Studio is Buildings.  If you've read Getting Ready you will know I was struggling with choosing between in canalside redbrick buildings and the beautiful architecture of Venice.

I chose Venice.

We started with making marks on fabric.  I used stencils, thermofax screens, procion dye and white acrylic paint.

I also tried marking making with hot wax.

And drew with charcoal procion dye. I also used a screen for breakdown printing.

All the above photos were taken whilst the fabric was wet.

My usual complaint when I've washed out my dyed fabric is that it is all too bright or too dark.  Not this time!

Very washed out!

One side

The other side

When I get back to the second set of two days of the Summer School I think I may make more marks on the two very pale cloths with fabric paint.

I also need to decide what I am making with these fabrics.  I don't want to make hangings and if I make a book it needs to be different from all the others I've made lately.

Watch this space!

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice