More Sentinelles

My goodness..... I meant to report in on the 23rd of October - my  seventh anniversary for my blog- but it didn't happen. However i do have a winner for the Teapot and Rosewater Jug give away to celebrate- Chris- Textile Traveller from Tasmania- can you please contact me?

I need to find extra time and energy to finish everything that has to be done- somehow last week disappeared without much getting done although I have started work in earnest on the catalogue- rewriting some of my explanation and rationale and working on the page layouts- I suppose that takes time too.

I did print some more linocut sentienlles.They are for sale for $15AUS inclusive of postage.

Ideas are Jumping

Yesterday we shot photographs of my sentinelle work in a studio- they came out so good..... the only thing lacking is maybe the work itself and the fact that I did not finish the sixth sentinelle in time ( I sold the sixth ochre sentinelle in France earlier this year-I had not intended to sell  part of the series yet as they will be exhibited in Prague and in Beaujolais next year but  as sales have been way down these last two years economic necessity determined otherwise and so I have to make another- different but still referencing the desert). So I am working on a seventh and have to finish the quilting- she will be the lady of the bilbies- creatures who are endangered that live in the desert and are thought to be important in maintaining vegetation in desert regions) So thank you to my teacher Michael Brand for allowing me to shoot the photographs and helping me set it all up- and my other teacher Christine McMahon for letting me loose on InDesign and on making a catalogue! The photos came out  so well that it's got me sparking at all the edges thinking of interesting ways of  using them and then making  the catalogue have an edge of difference!

Then I have to think about how to get money together to get it printed so that it is affordable.

I just wanted to share lady of the Forest again with you- she exudes a sense of mystery to me that obviously derives from the hand dyed fabric:

And this little one is a printed panel that has been hand stitched- I sit and do these at night- the look is so different to the machine stitched pieces- I still have a few colonial knots to go but then she is done!Thank you so much for the feedback on this little panel-  those who have emailed me to buy them ( the printed panels are $15 each) tells me I am on the right track as well as your comments on my previous post.

This  icon/madonna/spirit/sentinelle/mother/earth thing has been floating around in the brain ether for a long time and has in fact made various appearances in journals over the years and even as a small linocut  quite some years ago ( though I can't find the linocut any longer)And when I travel and visit cathedrals I always seem to be drawn to the Magdalene/Madonna churches, but it isn't only about that- it is also the way they look out into the world that draws me and the message they send- and then being able to somehow encapsulate my cultural heritage and express love for the land- i love the spirituality with which many indigenous artists have connected to the land- but theirs is a sacred journey - my european connection is different yet I to feel that  the land is an essential part of my being. I also love how Fred Williams came up with such individual marks for creating his landscapes and his changes of perspective- he found a voice with which to express his connection to the land- it's very intimate and personal and I marvel every time I see his work. These sentinelles are expressing some of this feeling and yet of concern too- that's why i want them in all corners of the world and already they are  finding places in different parts of the world. The stories are important!

Sentinelles- more

I have 34 days until I go to Prague and France and in that time I have set myself a schedule which I probably can't make- I always think I can do more than what I actually get done. It's been a bonus that the course work in part of my course is finished and they are happy for me to make a book/catalogue that I want to get ready before i go. I want it devoted entirely to my sentinelles- the different ones that have emerged and ideas associated with them and how I have made them- I am a bit stumped with number of pages at the moment- I am thinking about 28 or thereabouts.I also get to photograph my sentinelles in a proper studio with lighting as photography is part of my course as well- so I am doing this on  Thursday- so I am trying to get as many done as I can. Below you will see another printed panel- this time red ( the panels are for sale- handprinted on hand dyed cloth $15 per panel)

The bottom sentinelle has been printed onto lutradur and stitched- she is also for sale  but as she has been stitched  she is more expensive . She measures 18 cm x 47 cm and costs $100US inclusive of postage. I photographed her surrounded by some of the indian wood block stamps I have.

Don't forget I am teaching at Sew Bright next weekend 22/23 October- machine quilting in which you will make a machine quilting sampler of lots of different quilting ideas and Linocutting- where you will make your own texture linocut/stamp and one stamp with a design and you will print your own fabric. I will also bring some of my linocuts with which to play. And some of the work of the tutors  will be on display- maybe my  Sentinelles will make their Australian debut!I t will be the last teaching I do in Australia until next year unless you want to come to my house and learn something!

More teapot and Rosewater Jug

Another teapot and rosewater jug- I don't think I have made it in greenish colours before. It's hard to remember though I know I tend to stick to warmer colours.
Thank you for all your comments and feedback on my new sentinelle linocut. Sometimes when you are close to the work  it's hard to know if you have achieved what you set out to do.

Don't forget- leave a comment and you will be in the draw for a teapot and rosewater jug  little panel that will be drawn on 24 October- which is a give away to celebrate 7 years of blogging.

Also there is still time to enrol in the on-line linocutting class but you will need to hurry as it starts this weekend! Email me if you are interested.The cost is $55 US and the lessons take you through many steps  to help you master the tools and various ways of using images for linocutting and various  ways of printing and  colour printing.

Working on More Sentinelles

So much for school holidays- I barely know where the time has gone and I have a commission to do ( a cot quilt) but I like to think about the fabric when I make a quilt and I haven't quite decided what to use yet, though there is a few fabrics auditioning.

But I want to make more Sentinelles for Prague both small and  a few large ones ( for which I will make a new stencil). I had made a linocut previously for small sentinelles but somehow they did not seem quite right, so I cut a new linocut- she is such a mix of influences that she  is quite different to the others- she has a classical Greek feeling about her but I am sure that is only because of the way I made the headress.

Here she is printed on bamboo paper- I know the print is not  quite clean- but I prefer hand printing on paper and  live with the slight mistakes ( though I must admit a press is on the wish list and has been for some time- one day in better times...)

Here is the linocut beside the paper printed sentinelle.

printed on lutradur with  transfer dyes and placed over a aqua coloured piece of fabric.

Printed on cloth with gold ink.

Printed on lutradur with  transfer crayons- a much softer effect and perhaps not sufficient for what i want.Now If you are interested in buying a single sentinelle panel- you can buy one from me.Each panel measure 6 inches x 18 inches (15 cm x 45 cm).The cost is $15 AUS inclusive of postage.

 My aim is to get them to all corners of the earth ( I can't believe that I have visitors from 191 countries visit my blog....) one way or another- they have a message and it's for a better world. I have also written previously about their message and am still working on refining it- it takes time and I am slow- this idea has been with me such a long time when I look back through my journals that i can't rush.

And then after reading Lucallian Delights today ( one of my favourite food blogs and one I have read for many years now- I love the food and the photos) Ilva mentions she has been blogging for 6 years- which made me go check my own archives and blow me down on 23 October I will have been blogging for 7 years- can it be all that time?? You  my readers have been through so much with me- the travelling, the amazing places I have been, my personal up and downs, and my work- always my work ; you have left many comments, encouragements and I have made many friends, so I will have  the following small piece as a gift to thank a lucky reader- simply leave a message in the comments box and I will draw out the winning name  on October 23.( I will be making some more of these in the next few days so you dear  reader( and winner) will be able to choose which they would like)

And don't forget- there will be another on-line linocutting class running from 14 October- just email me if you are interested or want further information.

1061- post 1061 that is.

Somehow that number struck me- not sure why- 1061- 1061 pages, don't know how many photos or how many words and how many comments...it just seems a lot.

Spent the last 4 days at Textile Fibre Forum in Geelong- it was cold, numbers were down, sales were down ( I was selling things for Pukka finds and Desirables) and all in all there were moments- actually hours where the only people around were the other traders. That makes for slow time- so quite some stitching was done on the travellers' blanket . I was next door to  Peter Radford and Barbara Schey who sell paper and Barbara's wonderful shibori  scarves. paper is almost as enticing to me as fabric- as I have a yearning to make books. I have made some in the past but I feel there are some waiting in the wings in the boiler room that is my brain.Peter was giving away strips of hand made paper with every purchase over $20 and if you made something with the strip of paper you were in with a chance for a $20 voucher. That occupied me for a day- and I was the only taker and therefore the winner of some lovely mulberry paper. The strips were very book like- so i made 4 altogether devoted to a couple of different entries in my journal.

Seed pods ( bought by Barbara), icon images, patterns and then my fountain pen ran out, and Jean Cocteau's cat which was bought by Inga Hunter- so that passed the time a little. Working on the strips was kind of fun- a scrolling kind of hierarchy- so they gave me a whole lot more on which to draw. The ink of my fountain pen runs into the paper a little and  though its doesn't quite run it does slightly blodge the line.

And it's official!!!

I shall be leading a tour to France next year in April- we will start with the Quilt Expo in Beaujolais, go onto Lyons, then have a wonderful 6 days in Paris- where I will show you the Paris i love and then onto Giverny and Monet's house, the ruined Abbey at Jumiege, landing beaches, Bayeuax and tapestry, Rouen, Tours and castles. If you are interested please email me and I can send you the full itinerary and costing. We have included plenty of things to interest men as well as women- for example whilst we are in Beaujolais there is also some kind of wine festival event happening

I shall also be teaching another online linocutting class starting 14 October so please email me if you are interested.

And I have not done a lot of hands on teaching in Victoria this year- not sure why, but I am available to teach. However I will be teaching at Bright on the weekend of 22/23 October for the Bright Spring Festival.I will be teaching one day of free machining and one day of linocutting- which will see you make 2 stamps to take home and to hopefully spark you to create your own unique fabrics. I will also bring my own linocuts to print with .