New Work on Paper

Another new work on paper.  Sadly, because I photographed it at home (where the natural light is not as good as in my studio)  there is a slightly greenish cast to the photos (I'll will try to remedy this later by substituting for better quality images).  These figures make me think of little aliens who speak in bursts of splattered colour, or perhaps pawns in a game of futuristic chess.

watercolour and hand embroidery on paper;  34 cm x 47.5 cm

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New work on paper

Here is my latest work on paper.  It's a bit of a mixed media piece incorporating aquarellable chalk pastel pencils, fine liner and hand embroidery.  The paper I have used is a 375 gsm cotton rag paper with a rough surface.  I attached a light weight fusible interfacing on the back of the paper to give extra support and prevent tearing.  As you can see the topic is hexagons.  I have spent some time learning to draw sacred geometry patterns, but have not yet had an opportunity to integrate them into my work, at least not before this.  The embroidered figure in the centre is a "microorganism" of my own imagining.

You can see larger images by clicking on the picture.

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The Art of Kate Findlay

I am pleased to share with you the amazing work of UK artist Kate Findlay.  As you all know art with a scientific underpinning is a subject close to my heart.  Kate has made a series of works ranging in size from 60 cm square to very large based on images from the Large Hadron Collider (you know, the huge underground machine that was designed to study subatomic particles that (according to alarmists) was going to fracture space and time and cause another big bang when it was first turned on!).

Kate has used a diverse range of materials to create her stunning images.  As she writes in her article for Hand Eye Magazine:  "Like a magpie, I have been attracted to all manner of shiny things, in my search for items that would give the right effect. Fabrics have included silks, synthetics printed with holographic foils and plasticized fabrics like PVC."


You can check out more of Kate's work over on her website.

Kate Findlay: Event Stimulation Purple

Kate Findlay:  Atom - Silver

Kate Findlay: Event Stimulation Copper

Kate Findlay:  Hadron 1

Kate Findlay:  Hadron 2

Kate Findlay:  Inner Eye

Kate Findlay:  Deep Space  (sorry, but I was unable to download a larger image of this one).

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New Facebook Page

I've finally got around to setting up my new Facebook Page.  I will be using my FB page to inform you of new posts on my blog and website.  I will also be posting lots of inspiring, and sometimes amusing, material that is not "big" enough to include on my blog.  Such entries might include images, cartoons, short inspirational written text or anything else that I find when trawling the web.

So, go across to facebook and like my page and you will receive updates when I post them.  Be sure to tell your friends about it and share my posts whenever you like. Pin It

So much Samoyed hair!

I finally got around to washing the 2 kg (or maybe more!) of Samoyed hair that I have collected over the last 18 months.  It seems Seamus and Teadach are just machines for turning food into hair.  The hair has to be washed 3 times and then rinsed.  My hands are sore from all the wringing.  Anyway, here's what 2 kg of samoyed hair looks like laid out on 2 giant beach towels.

I'm going to ask my spinner if she would mind spinning this quantity.  Last time I had about 1.2 kg and she said that was daunting!  This time I'll sweeten the deal by offering more money and carding the fleece before I give it to her.  If she doesn't say yes then I'll have to learn to spin myself, arrghh!  I've got too much else to do!

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Timbuctoo

I finished this work today.  It is based on a satellite image of the Niger River as it passes through Timbuctoo.

Timbuctoo has been in drought for a long time now.  Whereas in the 1970s most of the area surrounding the Niger River was vegetated, today there is only desert.  The winds that sweep through the area form these interesting diagonal ridges across the landscape.

I wanted to capture the flow of the river without resorting to straight needle painting, which I feel would have "deadened" the image somewhat.

Seed beads add a bit of texture and intensifies the "yellowness" of certain areas of the work without having to resort to using blocks of colour, which would have been too heavy.

I'm not sure what these discrete areas of blue within the dessert are, smaller water holes perhaps?

The areas in red are some sort of obstructions around which the river flows - mud flats or rock formations perhaps?  (The source image provided only sketchy written information).

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The Amazing Work of Mariska Kakarasz

I am always on the lookout for the work of other artist embroiderers, so it was with great delight that I discovered the works of Mariska Kakarasz.  Her work is amazing and even more so because she was working in the mid 20th Century.  Even now her works look refreshing and contemporary.  Embroidery as contemporary art is being touted as a new movement even though, clearly, Mariska was blazing a trail over 60 years ago.  (As the saying goes, there is nothing new in the world!).

Mariska was also a fashion designer, although, as her web site is still under construction, there were no images to be viewed.

Moses I or Moses II (?) 1953

Ropes on Red, 1952

Self Portrait, 1947

Alternate B, 1955

Babble, 1955

Beacon Lights, 1958  (This is my favourite piece.  The way she has worked the waves is entrancing and the boat sails......incredible!).

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New Work on Paper

Today I finished another paper work and probably the last in this series.  Again, it is my interpretation of a species of Radiolaria (a type of marine protozoa).

 I love the way these tiny organisms look like aliens from a science fiction movie.

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Beetle Mania

Have a look at these gorgeous fellas that I found on the stone wall outside my studio.

The lichen on the rock provides a perfect backdrop for their colourful display.

The other gender is all red (don't ask me which though!)  I could live in these mountains for a thousand years and still be discovering new natural delights.  Every day I count my blessings.

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Patterns, Patterns Everywhere

I like to have a scented candle burning in my studio while I work to compliment the fragrant teas I like to drink.  It's a little treat while I do my favourite thing in the world - creating my art embroideries.  The other day as I was leaving the studio I went to blow out the candle and discovered these lovely patterns forming where the wax was thinning.

I bought this candle at the Salamanca Market in Hobart.  It's fragrance is "Paw Paw Fizz".  It's a little disappointing as the fragrance is not all that strong.  It's sitting in the gorgeous tin which previously housed a much more luscious candle (also much more expensive).  (You can see my dyes standing sentinel on my countertop behind the candle).

Here's a closer view of the patterns.  I love the way the light diffuses through the thinning wax. 

Love the craggy pattern on this side.

In close up it looks like a mini furnace.

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