Yeah, okay; so now I'm further behind. Can it really be February already?!
I have read the section and have my fabric ready to go. But, I haven't done any sewing yet. I plan to do several pieces this weekend, and start getting caught up. I'll have something to show next week.
Until then, take care.
Michele
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Life Interrupted
Once again life got in the way, but I was able to get something started on this, though not anything I can show you today. I am now farther behind, and it will now take another week to catch up. This is not unexpected. Life has a way of throwing it's own ideas into the mix, and sometimes it can ruin a lot of well-intentioned plans. Of course, it can also create some very interesting, and exciting, effects.
So, what was I able to accomplish? I pulled the fabric. I also went through the book and prepared a list of the manipulations I was going to do each week. It all starts with gathering, then on to shirring, ruffles, flounces, godets, pleats, smocking, tucks, cording, quilting, stuffing, and ends with darts. I have four weeks of gathering to catch up on! I plan to have some of these to show next week.
Until then, take care.
Michele
So, what was I able to accomplish? I pulled the fabric. I also went through the book and prepared a list of the manipulations I was going to do each week. It all starts with gathering, then on to shirring, ruffles, flounces, godets, pleats, smocking, tucks, cording, quilting, stuffing, and ends with darts. I have four weeks of gathering to catch up on! I plan to have some of these to show next week.
Until then, take care.
Michele
Friday, January 21, 2011
Introduction
Welcome to my blog on various artistic techniques I will be exploring. I love trying new things, and the idea of monthly, weekly, or daily art exercises is intriguing. This blog will chronicle those attempts. Last year was monthly beading, this year will be a weekly fabric manipulation, and next year will be a daily painting exercise. In 2013, I may go back to a weekly or monthly series; I haven't decided yet.
Last year I attempted a monthly beading project, the Bead Journal Project, started by beader Robin Atkins. I got a little over-ambitious, as I often do with any type of art project, and, with life interfering throughout the year, I wasn't able to get my pieces done each month. Actually, I'm still working on them! The first six are done, January through June, July is started, and I've got the colors set for August through December. I now just need to finish the last six pieces, then mount them all!
The idea of BJP is to pick a uniform size and shape for each piece. For my pieces, I chose a paisley shape, and each paisley is 4" x 6-1/4", at its widest and longest points, respectively. I chose each color for the month based on where I was emotionally that month. Each piece was worked improvisationally; I had no plan for what to do other than the size, shape and color. As I purchased beads and started work on each piece, the pattern revealed itself. I plan on mounting all the paisleys on a black canvas to hang on the wall. I'm still playing with the idea of beading the background in black. These are a lot of fun, and I plan on joining BJP again, although next time, my pieces will be smaller!
This year's technique series will be a weekly series. I have some ideas for fiberart sculptures that I want to do, but I need to really work on my fabric manipulation skills. Although I've sewn and done other needlecrafts since the age of 8, there are a lot of things I've yet to learn. I'll be working from the book, The Art of Manipulating Fabric, by Colette Wolff.
I love this book, and have had it for a couple of years. I peruse it occasionally, but it's time now to use it! So this will be my series for 2011. Each week, I will do a section of the book. The initial samples each week will be done in muslin. I have a lot of it, and if I need to buy more, it's inexpensive. If I really like that specific manipulation, and if I have time that week and want to do more, any additional samples will be done with various scraps and other fabrics I have. This will give me an idea of how that particular manipulation will work with other types of fabrics, and how different colors react with each other and the manipulation used.
I'm not setting any size limitations for these. I will work as large, or as small, as I feel best utilizes the technique. At the end of the year, I'll put all my samples into a book with all the pertinent information on technique, fabric type, etc. I'll then have a really nice sample book to refer back to as I work on my sculptures.
Since this is actually the end of the third week of the year, I have a bit of catching up to do. My plan is to do two sections of the book for each of the next three weeks, which will catch me up. Then, every Friday, I'll have new samples done and ready to show from the next section of the book.
I'm really looking forward to this. I've needed to do this for a long time now, and this will help jump-start projects that I've had floating around in my head for a while.
Praise, comments, suggestions, or criticisms of the work you see here are always welcome, though I do reserve the right to delete anything I find offensive or irrelevant to the topic. I do not offend easily, so this may not be an issue, but I felt it needed to be stated up-front.
Thanks for reading. Until next week, take care.
Michele
Last year I attempted a monthly beading project, the Bead Journal Project, started by beader Robin Atkins. I got a little over-ambitious, as I often do with any type of art project, and, with life interfering throughout the year, I wasn't able to get my pieces done each month. Actually, I'm still working on them! The first six are done, January through June, July is started, and I've got the colors set for August through December. I now just need to finish the last six pieces, then mount them all!
The idea of BJP is to pick a uniform size and shape for each piece. For my pieces, I chose a paisley shape, and each paisley is 4" x 6-1/4", at its widest and longest points, respectively. I chose each color for the month based on where I was emotionally that month. Each piece was worked improvisationally; I had no plan for what to do other than the size, shape and color. As I purchased beads and started work on each piece, the pattern revealed itself. I plan on mounting all the paisleys on a black canvas to hang on the wall. I'm still playing with the idea of beading the background in black. These are a lot of fun, and I plan on joining BJP again, although next time, my pieces will be smaller!
This year's technique series will be a weekly series. I have some ideas for fiberart sculptures that I want to do, but I need to really work on my fabric manipulation skills. Although I've sewn and done other needlecrafts since the age of 8, there are a lot of things I've yet to learn. I'll be working from the book, The Art of Manipulating Fabric, by Colette Wolff.
I love this book, and have had it for a couple of years. I peruse it occasionally, but it's time now to use it! So this will be my series for 2011. Each week, I will do a section of the book. The initial samples each week will be done in muslin. I have a lot of it, and if I need to buy more, it's inexpensive. If I really like that specific manipulation, and if I have time that week and want to do more, any additional samples will be done with various scraps and other fabrics I have. This will give me an idea of how that particular manipulation will work with other types of fabrics, and how different colors react with each other and the manipulation used.
I'm not setting any size limitations for these. I will work as large, or as small, as I feel best utilizes the technique. At the end of the year, I'll put all my samples into a book with all the pertinent information on technique, fabric type, etc. I'll then have a really nice sample book to refer back to as I work on my sculptures.
Since this is actually the end of the third week of the year, I have a bit of catching up to do. My plan is to do two sections of the book for each of the next three weeks, which will catch me up. Then, every Friday, I'll have new samples done and ready to show from the next section of the book.
I'm really looking forward to this. I've needed to do this for a long time now, and this will help jump-start projects that I've had floating around in my head for a while.
Praise, comments, suggestions, or criticisms of the work you see here are always welcome, though I do reserve the right to delete anything I find offensive or irrelevant to the topic. I do not offend easily, so this may not be an issue, but I felt it needed to be stated up-front.
Thanks for reading. Until next week, take care.
Michele
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