Friday, May 18, 2012

It's Finished.

Yes, today I put the final stitches into my big work today and have stretched it ready for framing.  It's final dimensions are 72 cm wide x 52 cm high.  That might not sound all that big, but when you are covering the surface with tiny stitches, believe me, it's daunting.

This is the finished work in its entirety.

I was trying to photograph the final bottom section in one go and decided to opt for a couple of angled views.  (The white stuff on the floor is a couple of kilos of samoyed hair waiting to be carded and sent to the spinner.  Don't know when that will get done!).

The areas of red french knots are how settled areas of the Turpan Depression appear on a satellite image.  

I'm thinking of calling this piece "New World Order", a commentary on the ascendancy of China as a super economic power and how the people (mostly Uighur Muslims)who live in this and other similarly remote locations are not only not benefitting from the Chinese pseudo-capitalist miracle, but are actually experiencing a decline in living standards and basic human rights.

Here in close up you can see the directionality in the stitching and the colour changes that help to define the topography.




And finally, here's how it looks sitting on my easel.

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What I'm Reading.

This is post features a book that I recently purchased called Culture to Catwalk by Kristin Knox.  (If you're in Australia, go to Booko to see where you can get this book cheapest).  This book is gorgeous from beginning to end.  I have chosen a few favourite pages to share with you.  (Actually, I lie.  Every page in the book is my favourite, but I couldn't show them all.  That would just be crazy!).

The book features catwalk couture collections categorised by the country of origin of the traditional dress that inspired the collections.

Not only do you get the lush photos of the haute couture, you also get divine photos of people in traditional dress.

I love this skirt!

These dresses, with their dramatic African prints and figure hugging form, fill me with longing.

Natural beauty from Ethiopia.




You could not possibly cover Mexico without including Frida Kahlo!

So pretty.

I've always wanted to have my hands hennaed.

The gold dress looks like something you might see at Gay Mardi Gras.  The technical aspect of the pleating is just fascinating.

And my Achilles heal........ethnic jewellry........(sigh!).

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Monday, May 14, 2012

More Work in Progress

This is my last work in progress for this piece, the next time I blog about it it will be finished.  Yay!  It's been a huge project, but I have really enjoyed stitching it.  There have been so many technical challenges to











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Sunday, May 13, 2012

Gold Threads!

My show is nearly over and I am just 2 days from finishing my the work I have blogged about as a work in progress.  That means it's time to move onto a new series of works.  I can't say too much just yet, but my next series is going to be autobiographical (although not in an obviously literal sense).  It will contain representational elements and include a lot of gold work  In anticipation I bought some gold threads so that when I'm ready to start I can just get into it.

If you've ever wondered what $200 worth of gold threads look like, this is it.  It's not as much as I thought and given the large size of the works I have in mind, these are going to be very pricey works to stitch.  (I told my husband who said "don't work too fast!" Ha, ha.)

I've been enjoying just looking at my threads and imagining the possibilites.  I love the slippery gorgeousness of the large bullions pictured here.

Pictured here are 2 thicknesses of Grecian Twist (don't forget you can click on the photos to get a close up look).  I love the contrast of the gold and silver threads.  This thread is quite stiff and is a paler gold as it is only available in Gilt and not in 2% gold.

Grecian Twist in close up.

The reflectivity of this large check bullion is just beautiful.

Small check bullion and Japanese Thread for couching.

This bizarre thread is Milliary wire.  It is quite a thin thread and very stiff.


This thread is called Rococo.  I love the bends in the thread and the way it catches the light.


These gold threads are so beautiful that just looking at them makes my heart skip a beat.  I can't wait to start using them and share my adventure of discovery with you.  Stay tuned.......

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Saturday, May 12, 2012

Opening Night

Finally, a blog post about my show opening at the Goulburn Street Gallery.  As I wrote previously, it was a lovely night with lots of people in attendance.  My mother, sister and niece flew to Hobart for the opening and we spent a fun weekend just hangin' out.


Here's how the work looked on the walls.......


Robin did a lovely job hanging the show and she did well to make it flow so nicely considering the diversity of the work both in form and colour.






This photo was taken during the day time after the opening, hence the relfections, but look!  3 dots!  These works sold at the opening and I was thrilled!  

The counter looking very orderly while awaiting the arrival of the guests.

Mahdi Chandler did a lovely job of the opening speech.  I was touched by her kind words.

My dear friend Sharon could not be there but sent these lovely flowers to the gallery.  It was a beautiful surprise to find them there and to know that she was thinking of me.

Listening to Mahdi's speech.  Me in the foreground (trying not to blush as red as my cardigan), Diana Eaton and Josie Mackie who with her brother Reuben did a fabulous job in distributing the mini cupcakes.
Close up of the necklace I made especially for the event.


The crowd.

This outside photo was taken by my friend Diana.  It looks like a nice party, don't you think?

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