in the studio!

Actually in the studio and setting out to do some of my own work....follow my feelings and find where am going...not design stuff but work!!
Exciting and nerve wracking at the same time....it is has been a long time, I now have a nice space to work, light good in the afternoon not wonderful in the morning- relatively dust free- which means if I keep all windows and doors closed it takes about 1 week for a cup full of sand to build up on the floors- where I was attempting to work before I could sit and watch it fall....
hard to see the colours of things when they were changing like that!

I have some pieces promised for an exhibition in January and have a feel for where to go....but in my mind are some small pieces I have been wanting to play with for ages and I know the best way to get onto the new stuff is to clear my mind of what is hanging around in there.

The piece on the wall shown above I made years ago, it was the first piece I got out in my new home in India, as it was a kind of talisman I carried around the world with me- I used it for teaching, and pinning onto the curtains in hotels when I was lonely....etc. My India....the next one is a series of small pieces a friend, Jan Clark and I did as a composite work after we had travelled in India together.

I loved the look of it all hanging together and it was very revealing Jan's perceptions of India were so different to mine!!! For her it was so busy, for me it is peaceful....So I started work indulging myself in exploring these peieces a bit further...

I wanted to use my hand dyes silks and some of the second hand sari silk I have mountains of...every piece I sell has been lovingly admired by me as I pack it- silk saris are so wonderful and every one is different- better than a candy shop!!I usually work in series when I am playing with small pieces so I started to lay out like I would have in Australia....then laid a collage of fabrics over the top and here is where I would once have thrown it in the washing machine....BUT I now live in India and wash by hand!!!!!

So had to felt them all by hand, I have worked out the easiest way to get thge maximum felting effect but it is still hard work....

this week I have also had a real hankering for bread so have bee kneading bread by hand [In Australia I made bread most days but had the help of a bread making machine to do the kneading....boy am I getting fit and slimmer- I found a hip bone this morning- It was actually sticking out!!

Anyway stop the bragging- I am actually exhausted but I have the blanks to work into!!

As always the peices evolve as you go along- these came out a lot more misty than I was expecting but I think will be perfect to layer silk organza onto and applice.

I will hang them like the small pieces from before but think I can find some beautiful hand loom silk in the market as my backing fabric...

excitnig!