BE IN TOUCH - October

VIVIAN

After seeing Carla's photo collage with the shadow, I remembered the photo above with a reflection. I was at an art gallery where they had a mirror that was shaped in an S surface. My image was repeated and distorted ... as I took a picture of my 'other' selves. I was getting 'in touch' with my camera, doing what I love to do ... taking photographs.

On second thought, I looked back to a photo I shot that was similar to Carla's choice and decided to explore that. I was standing on the Pitt Polder Dike. It was early spring with the snow still on the Golden Ears Mountains and reflected in the Allouette River.

My challenge was to show the depth of the layers and my shadow stretching across the golden grass.
I used Derwent Intense blocks and many layers of stitching.

CARLA.

PHOTO COLLAGE  : 'BE IN TOUCH' 

"Shaking hands or holding up your hand in a sign of greeting stems

from an ancient tradition of demonstrating to those you do not know
that you have no weapon and mean no ill will."

HOME - September

CARLA

What really makes me feel at HOME is  caring for my plants inside the house and in the garden.

That is a thing I miss being away from home.

Coming back home after a holiday one of the first things I do is to check out the garden and plants in the house,which are always so well-looked after by our neighbour. 

My good old finger plant inspired me to do this small piece (20x20cm)  in home-dyed fabrics and organza.

Hand and machine embroidery was used to give it  texture and depth. 

VIVIAN

It started in my sketchbook

I painted on white cotton with Inktense Sticks

This is the back

And, then I stitched it!

We traveled a great deal during 2012. When I returned home this fall, I realized how much I had missed friends, family, garden and the comforts of home. Home is where my heart is! Colour has always been important in my life.

Techniques: I experimented with Inktense blocks. They work like a pastel, but are powdered ink pressed into a 3” stick.

I painted on treated fabric (I backed the fabric with freezer paper to make it easier to paint on), added water and the powdery ink dissolves into intense colour. The back shows that the ink has partially penetrated through. When I sewed the project, the needle caused dye powder to gather on the surface. I washed a small piece. The colour remained strong ... but there was a grainy residue.

FOREIGN - August

VIVIAN    Russia: Symbols of Power

I love working on these little pieces. They give me a chance to experiment and play!

The August topic was 'Foreign'. We were travelling in Russia - a river cruise from Moscow to St. Petersburg with a few days in Helsinki, Finland. (photos to come on the blog)

I was struck by the symbols of power that existed during the political turmoil of the last century:

The lavish and extravagance of the Tsars and princes is still evident in the beautiful buildings, the art collections and the churches they funded.

The Communist party is evident in the hammer and sickle, the symbols of the workers and peasants. As the Soviet Party developed, the Red Star appeared on public buildings. This one rises above the Spasskaya Tower in the Moscow Kremlin. 

CARLA

It was high time to use my embellisher again,which resulted in ' SUMMER IN SCOTLAND '.
Hand -and machine embroidery was added for some more detail.

During our stay we fortunately had good weather -to Scottish standards- and we were able to be out and about all day most of the time.
On some of the islands time seems to have stood still and this together with the peaceful and quiet atmosphere and the friendly locals made it a very worthwhile trip.
We enjoyed the lovely hills with purple heather,the beautiful skies above the scenery,many lochs and beaches.
There are many famous brand Whisky distilleries on the isles at the west coast,so we were never cold in the evenings....