Samples created for ''4'' are wrapping a finished piece from ''3''....that really excites me. Am I a bit too easily excited? I don't know. The fact that they live together, they compliment, they just fit. I suppose I shouldn't really be surprised as most of my work has the same starting point but for a few minutes this morning I was ecstatic that these two processes looked so good together.
The piece from ''3'' is now finished and mounted. The only delay there was the attic work, the dirt, the upheaval at home. The piece from ''4'' is only just beginning....I don't even know yet what it will be. I am enjoying the journey though.....
Another day another ledger, this one is for the body bagdesign work. I am developing this slowly, at least it feels as if I am developing it slowly, the actual physical side of having finished pieces to put in here appears to be happening at a less than speedy pace. It doesn't matter really, I don't have a deadline but my mind is about three steps ahead of the ledger.
Later today I am starting another piece to go in here. You might think that I could continue to work on the actual body bag, to construct, to embroider without any of this ledger work and you would be right. Why do it then? The main reason...evidence. That word again from yesterday. Evidence I was here. Evidence of what is going on in my head whilst I embroider the cloth and join panels. Evidence of ideas for future work. Making feeds ideas, for me at least. If I am working on one thing you can bet your life something else is being planned in my head aside from the supermarket shopping and the housework. I will have that here, in this ledger. Inspiration for future work, a prompt,a spark for when those blocks appear. And another very important reason for gathering ideas in this way.....it's the best kind of ''play''.
I am currently surrounded by white. Partly it's inspiration to draw on for Helen's bridal bag and partly it's to keep my mind ticking over. I glance at this every so often and get a sense of another piece, a tiny germ of an idea.
I did tell you that I never throw anything away and this is why. All these little pieces of work are samples created some time ago but carefully stored, laid on top of books actually, to keep them flat. Today they are the basis of a list. A list for Simply Stitch 3 as these techniques will feature there along with basic, simple hand embroidery. It is possible to create massively different surfaces with the most basic of embroidery stitches and these are proof of that.
Helen's bridal bag is ongoing......as is my body bag. In case you missed it my sample cloth is now going to become a human sized pocket, a body bag. It will be nicer than it sounds, trust me. When have I ever let you down? Today's pictures are of the newest section for that, another piece of silk dupion being titivated to the extreme. Well, maybe not the extreme but it's certainly getting a lot of attention. This piece will take a very long time to create. There is a lot of pleating to be done and I still have certain things I wish to sample before a final decision is made on the complete make up of this. I'm not 100% sure that I know everything I will include here technique wise. As there is no deadline for this, it's for me, I'm keeping it , I am happy to ''play'' and sample for as long as it takes. I can almost guarantee that I will still be working on my body bag during simply stitch three. In effect that could mean it isn't finished until next year. Well that's OK because I plan to still be here next year!
Well maybe not EVERYTHING but certainly everything I have around me today. A gathering on the table. I'm hoping it will inform, spur me to make notes.....I don't know why but I feel the need to make notes. Notes about what? Not sure really...I'm having a funny day, a good day but a day filled with a lot of ''I want'', ''I need'' moments in terms of creativity, embroidery, goals, aspirations. For example, I feel the need to have an ''open studio''. It's not going to happen....can't swing a cat in here but It's a hankering of mine. I feel the need to share, to share my environment, my creative environment at least. To have people come and rummage through my things, pick up ledgers and leaf pages, handle cloth, sit and stitch with me.
(no I'm not having a meltdown. Today for the first time EVER I would welcome intrusion into my personal space....... if I had time to clean up first.)
I think I know why I'm feeling like this. It's the working in isolation 24/7...... 99.99999% of the time I prefer it that way. I'm just at that minuscule percentage point in time where the above would be good. Anyway, enough already. I'm certainly not unhappy. How could I be? Look at all this stuff I have to keep me amused.
I want to take you back to this post now and the overwhelming response. Thank you again...I'm really blown away. I have made progress in the planning aspect and have an overview with dates and information here. I plan to open this at the weekend, maybe Friday. Meantime go have a look, take time to ponder.....
