Christmas is around the Corner

It's difficult for me to get into the Christmas spirit while the weather is so mild.

I did start making my gifts though.

Who said making things is the cheaper way to go??

Collage Work

We had our last collage class this week. I stitched some of my pieces while talking to fellow students. It was a nice slow class.

I enjoyed the one-on-one with the teacher. I would have liked more of that throughout the term.

Here are some of my finished (or almost finished) works from the last segment of the course.

painted fabric, image transfer, hand stitching

collage papers, image transfers, commercial fabric,
paint, hand and machine stitching

painted cloth, image transfer, buttons, hand and machine stitched

There is an assemblage class next term at the Toronto School of Art. I would like to take it but with my Italy trip I will miss more than half the classes. Too bad because one of the projects, the altered book, interests me very much.

Words of Wisdom

I was never big on reading instructions and still I am not a fan.

That is why my studio smells of something toxic!  I was making photo transfers using my photos of Toronto.

I ironed a photo transfer that did not need to be ironed and instead I burnt it.

For this type of transfer, you need only to remove the paper backing.

I got rid of the iron-on sheets because I did not like the rubbery texture they gave when transfered onto cloth.

So now I have a head ache-got to get out of here and get some fresh air!

I should have read the 'words of wisdom', as my father-in-law always advised.

I used one of my photographs for the photo transfer below.

detail, Bougainvilla di Rossano, 2008

Painting Wednesday

This week I decided to paint paper instead of fabric.

It will be a base for a collage project.

Collage Class at Toronto School of Art

The collage class is going well. Funny how I got more confident when fabric was introduced to the mix!

I finally produced something that I like.

paper, photo transfers, painted and hand-dyed fabric,
machine stitched, 14" x 21", 35.5cm x 53cm.

Next week is our last class. Each student will have a piece exhibited at the school's open house- December 15, 16, 17 from 12 to 5pm, 410 Adelaide Street West, Toronto, 3rd floor. Everyone is welcome.

The Gladstone Hotel

The Gladstone on Queen Street in Toronto is an art hotel. I was there last week to see Amanda McCavour's installation in their cafe. (my pictures are not as nice as the real thing-go see it if you can)

I love her thread work.

I hope she can participate in the France exhibit that I am curating of Canadian quilts and textile art in September 2012.

Tyvek

The collage class at Toronto School of Art is getting me to think more about paper. I thought I would go back to using Tyvek. It is a kind of "paper".

I haven't worked with it for a while.

I use to paint it and melt it.

"Birth", 2006, 4" x 6", tyvek, organza, gauze,
thread, commercial fabric

"Birth" detail

Lawyers use envelopes made of Tyvek to send important documents. It is very resistant to water and tearing which makes it good for painting and stitching.

Before I started working today, I was a little upset about something that had happened to me earlier but after painting I feel so much better. The powers of creating!

(a comment from someone: Tyvek is a brand of flashspun high-density polyethylene fibers, a synthetic material; the name is a registered trademark of DuPont. The material is very strong.)