Iris - progress 1

We've been travelling for the last couple of weeks, so there was no time to be in the studio.  


We were in France.  The first couple of days were spent in Normandy, in Bayeux and I finally had the chance to wander through the Museum to view 'La Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde', after all these years during which I have frequently studied the pages of David Wilson's magnificent book on the story related in this 1000 year old embroidery.


The last week was spent in Paris, with family,  a reunion of sorts with the focus of a posthumous celebration for my father-in-law, whose courageous work during difficult times during the war was recognized and honoured.


We returned to the forest last Wednesday and I quickly organized myself to start work on the iris.   It's not that easy and I'm not sure yet about the effect of my work, but I am enjoying the experimentation with various types of silk thread, Pearsalls, Pipers and some chinese silk, Eterna.


This project is also a departure from my usual style given that it is so dense in its design.  Usually I work on simple lines and single subjects suspended on the linen.  I am having difficulty seeing the final picture in my mind despite the fact that I have done a watercolour study and thought a lot about the technical interpretation.   I am however enjoying the freedom of letting the colours and the various silks take me where they seem to want to go.  The result will surprise me;  hopefully in a good way.

Anenome Hupehensis - transformation to paper

Today, I did my colour study of the anenomes I found in the garden this week (see Sept 12 blog).  There is a certain freedom exhibited by these simple blooms and in my watercolour study, I tried to keep the unstructured nature of these sweet flowers.


Tonight, I will choose the silks and ground linen and try to protect the cleanliness of the subject.


I already anticipate some technical difficulties.  The smaller the form the more difficult to translate the essential detail in those buds.


I've been in a lull creatively. Hopefully this project will draw me out.

Asian Violets - finished and framed

I've been calling this project 'asian violets' for the lack of a better name, but as I walked my garden this morning, there was one pink spiderwort left after the flowering the others, and I felt that its form was similar to the embroidery.  I was thrilled to know that there exists a blue spiderwort (transcendentia), so I think I shall rename this.  I suspected I might a little while ago.

This piece was of a very spontaneous nature;  the drawing had been sitting in a drawer for some time and with this empty week of projects, it was a gift I made myself to start and finish this simple subject.

My mother is visiting with us for the month of August.  She has always liked simple, clean designs and when she read my recent blogs, she contemplated the photos of this project a little longer than the others.

I have framed the piece and will place it in her room.  She may like to take it home with her when she leaves.  I hope so.
 

Blush Rose - the gift

I wish the resolution of this photograph was better.  I depend on sunshine to take my photographs since I am not equipped with very sophisticated cameras and it has been raining torrents for the last two days.  But I am really happy with the result.  The flowers jump off the linen and the luminosity rendered by the silk is wonderful.

The remaining pleasure is preparing my message which will include why the choice of subject and a little of my experience while I worked.  I anticipate two lovely days with this dear friend punctuated by visiting with her daughter who has returned from 3 months of travelling through Europe.  I have known this young daughter since she was 6 years old and have watched her grow into a young adult who has a dream to be a deep, unjudgmental, reflective adult. And my own daughter will arrive from Los Angeles.  Two devoted mothers with two loving daughters will spend an hour over lunch on Friday.  It will be rich and full of laughter as we share.

And I know that my friend will appreciate my gesture of this gift and will also understand that:

'The gift is to the giver, and comes back most to him (her) - it cannot fail....'  (Walt Whitman) 

Redouté's 'Blush Rose'

I made reference a few days ago of a project I was beginning and hoped to finish to give as a gift to a close friend who celebrates a significant birthday this month. Here is the drawing, adapted from an engraving by Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759-1840).

What was my process in choosing this subject? I wanted to do something very personal. C. is my closest friend and one who shows deep generosity with her time and thoughts. She has always shown great interest and sensitivity to my work and has followed my evolution as I have hers over the 15 years we have known each other.

I have a collection of Redouté's roses in a small book in my library and for many years have thought they would be excellent inspiration for a piece. The Rose is the flower for June. The 'Blush Rose' seemed to capture the density that I wanted to have in the piece. The flowers will be predominantly white with just a hint of pink and I am excited to see the effect of translating the leaves in two colours, of green and blue-green. The latter colour is intended to add a little surprise to the interpretation.

I haven't worked with the Pearsall Silks for a while so I plan to use this lovely twisted silk and play with the possibility of splitting the thread in two and using the finer thread for the smaller forms and details.

Although the original engraving provides me with an idea of perspective, shadow and movement, once I have begun the piece, I tend to work intuitively and follow my heart. Of course, there are no guarantees that what I see in my mind's eye translates on to the fabric, but as with most projects, I make adjustments along the way and I hope at the end of the effort, what appears has some merit.