My classroom aloe plant has found a summer home in the studio, and finally after a week off from everything I'm back in the studio again too. A few more rows of running stitch on my endless brick wall project brought me to the decision to jump into the text detail.
I enlarged the graffiti-esque alphabet from my sketchbook onto tissue paper and transferred it to the stitched cloth. Except guess what? Transfer does not really work all that well on bumpy stitched fabric.... So I went back and used a washable fabric marker over all the letters so I could see them. Could have saved myself a hell of a lot of time if I'd just freehanded it.
But at last, at last! Not only am I back in the studio, I've finally gotten through all the boring background stitching to get to do some fun detail stitching. I'm using stem stitch to give a calligraphic feel to this urban sampler.
In other news, I received a lovely shipment from Dharma with some Kona cotton, silk organza, 5 lbs of soda ash, and a lb of sodium alginate. It's about time, too... look at the state of my last batch of mixed alginate:
It has turned an odd dark amber color and returned to a liquid instead of gel state. I'm afraid to open the container for fear of the possible stench it will elicit!! It is 6 months old now, so it's really not a surprise. HA!
Anyway, I'm hoping for more time and experimentation in the studio over the next few weeks. So nice to have my "artist hat" back on and give the teacher hat a rest. Anyone who complains about teachers getting summer break needs to spend a day or maybe even just an hour teaching in a classroom!
No comments:
Post a Comment