Doodling

I really fell off the trolley creatively last week and it takes time to pick up the pieces, plus I am still trying to think what I will make my mother for her birthday as we go visit her for a few days tomorrow. Guess I will have to find something amongst my stuff that will fit the bill.
The doodle above I made when I was in Damascus last year- trying to capture the feel of the countryside and the little villages dotted all over the place with the minarets towering over them. However doodling on paper is quite a bit different then transferring the doodle to fabric. I didn't want to make a gocco screen ( the same as thermafax but a little cheaper) because the image would be too tiny- I wanted it to be large. There is still a lot more detail to go in, but i had to wait for this section to dry. I have been pondering how to get the textile printing ink onto the fabric and suddenly it dawned on me that i could put it into a squeeze bottle and draw it onto the fabric as you would with gutta. It had the added effect that the drawing was a little more spontaneous in order to keep the flow of the textile ink reasonably even. I may dye paint some of the areas- or simply do a soft dye over the top once the ink has been fixed and then perhaps overlay it with coloured lutradur to reveal areas. The thought of overlaying and revealing in the context of this image is very much inspired by the work of Syrian artist Abdullah Murad- whose work, whilst abstract has a lovely lyrical quality that appeals to me- there is layers being revealed- each a small story in its own right. He is also masterful at the use of yellow, almost as good as my beloved Bonnard. I was again reminded how much I liked his work after leafing through the book he so kindly gave to me of his work at the Ayyam Gallery opening I attended last year( and which I finally managed to bring home). And the little round discs on the roofs are the satellite discs every house seems to have for television.

And there are quite a few Hungarian quilters reading my blog.My friend Clare Smith is traveling to Budapest sometime soon- and has some days to spare- she wants to know what is "must see" in Budapest. She also teaches in case anyone is interested?