Sunday, August 04, 2013

Stitching is a Slow Process

I had a busy week and made a number of decisions regarding next year, so whilst I have been quiet here I feel as if some progress has been  made. I must admit August is my least favourite month of the year- it is long , cold and wet which means I can't get out into the sunroom to print etc much as it is way too cold out there.

I visited my friend Robina Summers up at Montsalvat during the week. She and Margaret Summerton are doing a residency in one of the studios that is all about yarn bombing and making yarn bombed things. I had a largish amount of wool which I had been carrying around for 20 odd years with the idea that one day I might get back to knitting, but as it hasn't happened and as I am trying to rationalise how much stuff I have i thought Robina and Margaret could make better use of it than I. Check out the link to see what fun things they have been up to.Montsalvat is always such an interesting place- so many nooks and crannies and it is good to see things happening there and to see tne Nillumbik Prize.
Yes this steed which was apparently created by Judy Jacques for a jazz festvial some years ago is getting a yarn make-over- it will do her the world of good as she is rather worse for wear and has some odd protrubances.

  Painters studio at Montsalavat- although there was no one around and below the door to the kitchen of the studio Robina and Margaret are  habitating.

 Wonderful iron gate  near the Great Barn.

I have also been working with the figures from the Royal Portal at Chartres and had reduced one drawing ready for  making a gocco print ( similar process to thermofax printing). It's been a while since I made a print this way so I  had not used the riso screen material for awhile and so I did not realise that it had actually been affected by the heat because where I had stored it gets direct sun. So the print was not entirely successful and the plastic film not only burnt off but was also lifting off in various places. Sigh shall have to be buy some more  riso screen material and unfortunately it is not cheap.
I am still stitching pages int he khadi book but using photos for colour clues- i like the effect of the lines of stitching and love how the feel of the page changes form a papery feel to a much softer feel.


And decisions. I aim to be in Europe a lot more once my youngest daughter goes off to university in february of 2014 and my dilemna has been that I did not want to rent a place, as I will be away so much and I had hoped my block of land in the Otways would sell so that I could buy something in France, but  nothing is selling down there and our economy seems to be worsening . So what to do.... I do have a shed on my block and it is lined so I will go and live down there as  it means I don't have to pay rent. I am not actually enthused about the prospect of living in a shed , but we will do some work to fix things up and I shall have to do something about the power situation.Anyone want to come help once the weather warms up a bit?We will have to build a bathroom of sorts . At least it has finally  resolved itself as a solution to a dilemna , being a place where I can store my things and I won't be there all the time, and that has actually given me some peace of mind.

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