New Horizons

The three WOW pieces fill the dining room, awaiting only small finishing touches before the shoot, then of course all the labelling and wardrobe touches like hanging loops, then dressing instructions, and packing. However, I have already mentally moved on, and today spent some hours cleaning the house and actual studio of bits that are no longer required (AKA the permanent chess game that occurs here in every corner of the property!) It's been a stinker of a day, which can help when tidying, as you get so shirty that you actually throw things out! It might not look much better to outside eyes, but it sure feels good!

The overlocker corner, utilised to hang samples

 By 1pm I had to retreat to the Oasis (upstairs, in the cool air) and Matt slithered in from the shed shortly after, having also achieved good work. My next priority was sorting out my entry to the Burnie Paper on Skin Competition, which closes tomorrow. However, as I don't have to have made the piece and send a photo yet, I could submit a sketch and description, along with images of supporting work. I was so pleased when I realised I could do this - a new goal in the calendar to work towards!

Recognise this lady? Isolda, my WOW entry from 2014 enters a new phase of her life! And what a long life it has been - WOW, a tour around Australia as part of the Craft & Quilt Fair in 2015, long holidays at TAFE, and most recently displayed at Reverse Garbage. Now, she has been cut down into a number of pieces which attach to each other - as the competition is in Tasmania, shipping is a very important consideration. Whilst walking one morning I had the epiphany of using Isolda as a base, then the shipping conundrum hit me. It felt a little weird to cut into her, but to know she will have a new life (and get the heck out of the house again!) is totally worth it!
It has led to me revisiting my old sketchbooks from my Morphology exhibitions - there are always many ideas which didn't have time, or sometimes, the skills to get explored. So it's back to lichen - here is my experimentation with making a silk paper piece, embellishing it with free motion embroidery, and silk cocoons, resting on the wire armature covered in tissue paper mache. The sketchbook underneath shows a lino print of lichen which may also get utilised.

 I dug out these silk cocoons which I have had for years, and sorted them out - cocoons, silk waste, bug waste, and the circles which have been cut out of them to let the moths out (clearly didn't work in many cases!) These little circles perfectly mimic the cupola shapes in the centre of many lichen. This picture I took 10 years ago of lichen in Hamilton Gardens, New Zealand is a major inspiration.

Speaking of New Zealand, this lovely 7 page article on WOW 2017 turned up in TEXTILE Fibre Forum Magazine! Oh hello, Spike!! (Official name, Cordycephila!) And hello Organ Farmer by Fifi Colston - here's a happy memory of her win over me last year!!

Another piece is already evolving as an off-shoot of a WOW idea, and whilst I still want to pursue that one, this one could be fab for Wearable Art Mandurah 2019! All of these new creations however are relegated to 'after hours', as my main focus is now to finish working on my much loved and missed kombi, Storm.

Never a dull moment at StudioSvenja!!