Thursday, March 17, 2011

A Week to Forget

I feel overwhelmed by the recent events in New Zealand and Japan and the human tragedy that affects us all and leaves us helpless.I will be donating some money as I think that is what is needed most at this time.

On a personal front I have had a week i would rather forget. I went to see my mother last weekend and on the way home on the freeway- my oil light came on and  within seconds my car engine had seized. I had no mobile phone and those of you who live in Melbourne and Geelong, will know on Sunday afternoon there was a heavy  rainstorm- it had just started. The freeway phone was more than a km away- so after some procrastination  I decided to walk to the freeway phone- fortunately a RACV tray truck went past as I had just started to walk and stopped, and put my car on the truck as he was on the way to the other side of Geelong and could drop me at the depot ( I was about 15 minutes form home ). I can't thank that young man enough for stopping- as the rain got much heavier and the traffic was heavy. Then came the bad news- engine seized and needed replacing at a cost of $4900- need to sell quite a few quilts for that..... . Anyway after agonising for a day or so  decided that it was not worth repairing the car as there were some other things that would need attention in the  not too distant future , like a faulty ignition lock and wheel rotars- so i sent the car off to car heaven. I will think about what to do when I get back from Europe.But it was a very expensive afternoon.

So work on my sentinels has been slow because of  getting the car stuff all sorted, and also by the fact that nothings is turning out the way  I was thinking it would. First of all my stencil which I made of Vilene and which I coated with  a water resistant  lacquer is quite porous. It's leaving a residue behind the  stencil, which in the end I don't mind the result of. Australia Post seem to have lost the parcel of dyes and printing ink I ordered two weeks ago so I have had to make do with what I have got here . I had yellow printing ink and as it is transparent you cannot print it on a dark ground. So i thought I would print the white fabric first and then dye it- I had in mind the yellow print would act as a resist against the dye and I was thinking of a glowing reddish/ochre sentinel. However the only dye I had on hand was blue and black- so ok a dark blue then with hopefully the yellow  remaining yellow enough to provide contrast. Didn't happen. The dyed fabric  came out quite a dull blue  in colour ( that's ok I can fix that with heavy stitching) but the yellow went a murky olive green. I fixed the halo by adding foil but did not want to do that to the whole piece. So here are the results- I am still puzzling over thread colour- a deep red around the foiled area I think  and maybe an ochre colour around the dress shapes....and I can liven up the colour once it has been stitched with  some iridescent shiva sticks.
 So nothing turned out like I wanted so  now I have to think about how to rescue the situation as i cannot afford the time to ditch this  sentinel.I hadn't anticipated doing a blue sentinel but maybe this can be the midnight sentinel- the one for reflection and empathy- given  the natural disasters that have happened of late. I feel a little like I did  not have a hand in how this turned out, that something else was at play, pushing my hand and thought- almost like she is her own creation.

11 comments:

Susie Riley said...

I love your idea of transforming this into the more reflective sentinel. It's pure syzygy, given the timing of such frightful world events and your own personal crises. Lemons to lemonade... a reminder here for us all.

Oh, how I love the title of your blog!

fiona said...

this guy is working....perhaps not what you expected but he does have a great presence, sometimes these little wobbles sideways open up huge new vistas

Shirley Goodwin said...

I'm sure this will look fabulous (as usual) once you've stitched it.

Rachel said...

I think the piece has great potential, even if it didn't work as you intended it to!

Garnered Stitches said...

A lot of great pieces come from disasters in the early stages, keep with it, maybe the events of the world and your life are working into this piece and could end up being the best of your Sentinals as it will be the most atmospheric!

Potiron said...

This piece you'll remember always as what you were doing when these historic world disasters are operating and everyone is holding their breath with the "what next" question in their minds...

What is happening with your sentinal also reminds me of the Japanese Reiku pottery system - you know what you're doing, but never are sure about how it will really turn out in the end. (How appropriate I think with the situation in that country).....

I'm very positive as to how this will turn out for you.

big bisous from France...

Anonymous said...

I think she looks pretty good and once finished I am sure she will look great. It's better to fix than start over, you already have so much work done...embellishment time :) I hate to hear of your car trouble I have had my own share of that. I hope things look up for you. Take care, hugs. Connie:)

Unknown said...

Since last year it feels as if we are being told to expect the unexpected. I am deeply moved by the human suffering that is being experienced globaly, it seems to touch us all.

I find the progress on your piece quite intriguing and am grateful that you chronicle it for us. Your perserverence is commendable and is an important quality for an artist to have.

look forward to more.

Hilary said...

Just stumbled on your blog......you do amazing work.
Wow.

Kyjo's Cave said...

If I hadn't read the blog and had only seen the picture, I would never have known the colors were not intentional. Still, it is very beautiful. Thank you for the inspiration. :0)

Shirley said...

Aaargh, wat een week, duur grapje is zo'n auto, en balen dat je nog geen baan heb gevonden (nou ja, naast de uit de hand gelopen hobbie ;P) Ik vind de sentinels heel mooi, de laatste in wording ziet er ook weer veelbelovend uit.