Karen Ruane

the next piece

Following on from my post yesterday....this is the next piece of the puzzle. I have a good idea where I am going with this now but I will share that with my 'artist book ' girls first, see what they think. It's good to have my groups to bounce ideas around with. Meanwhile I'm going to keep going, creating these little folded paper pieces.

(more stuff to worry about, to have lying around)

I don't think I have said on here before but touch wood, fingers crossed.....I am moving house soon. It's chaos here. If I go missing I will be packing or moving or will be in Portugal. (holiday imminent) tomorrow I'll be missing but I'll be here, delivering wrapping cloths and embroidery to mother's house for safe keeping whilst the upheaval continues.

one thing leads to another

The big sheet you have seen before, the small piece is new. Working on this large sheet and others which will form my new, large artist book has given rise to lots of new ideas for works on paper, page forms, folded edges on sheets of paper and on and on....... The new small piece with the folded lower edge is the first piece of a new puzzle I have in mind involving small pages with turn overs and beaded edges so watch this space.

A reminder, my 12 month stitch along has been running for a couple of weeks now. Our private Flickr group is filling up with all manner of exciting work, incredibly innovative work and the enthusiasm from the group is inspirational. This class runs for a whole year, 52 weeks. If you think you might want to join us you can read more here.

gathering cloth with linen tape

I created this little piece as I had a need to create a channel through which I could thread a strip of linen tape, yes really. Ever since I finished this piece I haven't been able to get tape, channels, drawing up, gathering off my mind. There are two layers of lace here with the channel defined using French knots and bullion knots. This little piece will be used in some way as part of an artist book, an overlay perhaps or maybe even a sleeve for the edge of a page. The beaded edge has been embellished using bling from a tassel I deconstructed. I am particularly looking forward to finding a home for that large orange coloured bead....

stitched papers

Paper, some of it easier to stitch on than others yet all unique in how they respond to embroidery. Some of this paper was machine stitched prior to hand stitch being added, prior to embellishment with beads, buttons and sequins. The large sheet is the next piece for this project. One of the smaller white pieces is an overlay, the other the first piece of a new project we are working on in artist books.

I need more surfaces, more machine stitched papers to embellish by hand. That should happen later this week. I'm hoping to set aside a full day for that.....

stitch along

I am now able to show you a little of what's happening in class, in my 12 month stitch along class. We are in the very early stages of this year long programme, we're making pockets. The first two images here are of my second pocket which for now is minimally embellished. This one is layer upon layer of aged cloth and aged lace. It will eventually be folded and resemble the image below.

The next image is work from the very first week of class. Our pockets are concerned with memory and history...that's all I can say about that really without giving it all away. The two embroidered scraps laid on the dress here reference special memories for me, special relationships. The vintage dress will also come into play with regard to this work but not for a few weeks yet.

scraps

There are always scraps lying round here, scraps of paper, cloth, ribbon...my motto? never throw anything away. These little pieces are variouys scraps which have been gathered together and embellished with stitch, beads and ribbon. If you look at the first image where they are laid on a sheet of white paper............ try and imaging more being added to that sheet. I'm aiming for a mini design sheet here so there could be stitch, collage or more scraps I haven't decided yet.

(the paper is A3 size, the scraps approximately three inches long)

extending design

 

You have seen the piece here on the left before. As part of my mounting marathon, the creation of my next artist book, my sample sorting it was the turn of that one. I've embroidered paper scraps here to sit alongside the piece on the left before attaching both pieces to a large sheet of acrylic paper which I have also stitched on.

There's a drawback to all this unfortunately....every time I mount one of these pieces, titvate and stitch the page I get another idea. Don't worry, I'm writing them all down.

maybe a sleeve....

 

A little break from paper yet still book related. It occured to me that Clara never got a pocket. She may still not get a pocket, she may get a sleeve instead.

 

 

 

 

If you haven't got a clue who Clara is....Clara made her debut here during my 'stitching a story'' class where we embellished and titvated a story book. It seems like so long ago.

This particular book is,

Clara and the magical Hat Day by Amy de la Haye and Emily Sutton.

pom poms on paper and funky puffs on an edge

I think this is number three, number three of the sample mounting marathon I began recently. If you look back at this post you will see how it has dawned on me that I have unintentionally started to create an unplanned artist book. Oh well....it's a win win.

I've been away this past weekend and whilst I was away I was thinking about what else I could create as a diversion from artist books. What did I come up with? Nothing. It appears I am morphing in to an ''artist booker'' as opposed to an embroiderer. Is that a bad thing? Personally I would say no. It's the best of both worlds I think, paper, fabric, embroidery, artist books.

Having said that....we are working on something special in ''stitch along'' using only fabric and thread which excites me just as much. (can't share that with you yet though sorry)

an embroidered sleeve for an artist book

A glimpse for you of what's happenning in 'artist book' class. There is work still to do on the internal areas of this one but for now I am happy to gaze at the embroidered sleeve which serves as protection here.

The sleeve is beautifully soft, made from a mix of silk habotai, silk velvet and white trim which has been embellished with a combination of bullion knots, French knots, Turkey work, guilloche stitch and buttonhole lace.

There are little glimpses here of what's happening inside this one. Once that is finished and the girls have seen it I will share it with you.