making in response to needing

i've been enjoying a spurt of creativity; setting a goal for the day and finishing it. being out of work has really encouraged me to focus my hours on making things which i could sell. "if you don't have work, make work to sell" is my new motto. in the past i worked on pin cushions, which went over okay, then i created boudoir cushions, which i only sold one of, and now i'm onto tea cosies. this last is probably a reflection of creating something with utilitarian uses and the amount of tea i find myself drinking. i've become something of a teaholic these last months (okay, last two years).

being in japan gave me a great respect for their green teas, as well as an appreciation for the umami and astringency which is a major aspect of ocha. it's a tea which i find myself drinking several cups of during the day, and because of the low caffeine, not suffering from jitters, nerves, and insomnia as a result. i love the roasted hojicha, the refreshing cold barley tea, the sweet uji-shimizu with almond milk, and the green freshness of sencha. although, i do enjoy a good black tea, fruity more often than not, with sweet things. luckily, the second cup brews caffeine free.

a major influence on the tea cosy front, is the work of tara badcock, a fantastic and prolific textile artist in australia. i've enjoyed seeing her pieces for years now, and happen to own an exquisite pincushion and change purse (which i use every day) she created. i've borrowed the ruched edge binding she does for my own cosies, as it adds an element of strong color, and a certain timeless grace. plus, who doesn't love something which is almost heedless rococo? as well, it reminds me of the costumes from marie antoinette, and gowns from that period.

all in all, i figure it's about time to live up to expectations and find my artistic footing. too often i find my creations driven from a certain selfishness; i want what i create, i create in response to things i want.  it's hard for me to part from my brood of artistic expressions. thereby making it hard to earn any money.  well, as it was once said, "onwards and upwards".

beginnings

i'm up to something. so far i've created three pieces for my next series, and a dozen or so sketches. it's based on some thinking i had while at the doctor's office. worry gets me to thinking; it's a survival mechanism i think.

here's a peek at one of them while i was figuring out placement. i'm still working on finishing details, else i would show them all. it's really satisfying seeing a piece through from idea, to sketch, from choosing materials, to finished item. plus, i love gathering the supplies for each idea.

it's always neat evolving the idea as you go, to leave room for the piece to speak to you as it's taking form. sometimes the best art comes from listening to what the piece is telling you.

creative interpretation

a summer guild "assignment" we had was to read a book which mentions a particular textile skill, and create something using that skill which was inspired by the book. a read/create challenge you could say.

i've read the brothers grimm since my childhood (having a copy of the complete fairy tales of the brothers grimm), and several mention textiles; usually something to do with breaking an enchantment. one which i remembered well, and which had lots of possibilities, was the six swans.

here's the basic storyline: brothers become enchanted by evil stepmother, sister takes vow of silence for six years and begins sewing 5.5 shirts from asters (a flower), king falls in love with mute maiden living in woods, marries her, begets heirs which disappear soon after birth, maiden is accused of cannibalism by crazy mother in law, after third "disappearance" maiden sent to stake, at last moment saves brothers, vow is ended, proclaims innocence, mother in law dies, everyone lives happily ever after.

well, almost everyone. back to that .5 shirt; like any project which spans a few years, it's not quite finished when the deadline approaches. something about a sleeve. so, the sixth brother gets to keep a swan wing instead of an arm. a bit awkward, but hey, would you rather remain a swan?

i crocheted rather than sewed, but i wanted the finished piece to have more of a feeling of being crafted from nature. actually, i cut and spun the yarn from paper, then crocheted it. the wing was crocheted with a really cool paper yarn from habu i've been hoarding for years.

i figured the method used for creating the actual shirts was open for interpretation as i can't imagine sewing flowers together in the woods would be doable. they kind of skimmed over the details anyway. what did she use for thread? did she use the stems, or the leaves, or the flowers? how were they kept flexible after so many years? how were the shirts constructed? see, the way i see it is that the word sew could have been translated from a different word, like weave, maybe. it makes more sense for her to have woven the flowers into cloth, or knotted the stems into a cloth. that's the thing with translations and getting a story however many generations passed down verbally, there's a lot of interpretation and maybe the grimm brothers didn't know too much about the variety of methods found in the womanly art of the needle. it was written down during the 1800's after all. so there.

i'm thinking this would be an interesting series to pursue. i've got some ideas for the story all fur. well, we'll see where this thought takes me.

space to work in

ah, photos. what would the internet be without them. everything in the studio is coming along nicely now, so i thought i would introduce you to my new/old "dyeing laboratory and weaving studio":

the dye laboratory and tea brewing station.

skein winder, gokoh, and kasuri shifter.

ze loom, with the new addition of jazz bands to prevent floating harness syndrome.

my workstation, complete with idea/inspiration board.

now that smell (japanese incense courtesy of lisn), sight, and touch (sheepskin bench cover) are taken care of all this space lacks is sound. i was hoping to get the vers 2x for my ipod, but they're not manufacturing them again until spring. phooey. so i'm on the hunt to find one, and haven't had any success thus far, as they didn't produce any this year.