The Doors Keep Coming

Finally finished off door 4 this week and then started on door 5. The pictures below give you a close up and a wide view of the whole fabric. You can just see door 5 border.

More Doors

At last door 3 is finished, well I still need to add the furnature. A friend asked me if I was going to stitch the directly on the fabric (which I was) or stitch the furnature on another piece than tranfer to give more depth..... ERRmmmmm nice idea, so I am planning to explore that.

The hoop has been moved ready to start door4. I have until the border is finished to select a pattern. I wouldlike todo more hardanger this time. Door 3 almost felt like it was never going to end.

A few weekends ago we visited Shropshire including a morning at Blist Hill victorian village were I took lots of photos of doors. Shall be using those for inspiration for door 4.

More on Doors

I am almost there with door 3. As you can see below, this one does not have any hardanger, but is meant to represent a paneled door !

Also been experimenting with creating door furniture. Here are some I think work. Generally I think stitching them in gold thread works well.

Been busy creating a very personnel piece of art. The latest issue of Cloth Paper Scissors had an article about creating a collaged affirmation piece of work which would show positive messages. I was quite inspired with this and as there was a boxed canvas waiting in my studio I set about creating my verion, as you can see below. I liked that the head is off the top edge as faces are not my strong point. It is going to be hung in my studio. It was fun playing with paint and mix media instead of thread =)

More Doors !

More time over the last two weeks to start working on my final piece. The spider as you can see is now black. I am not sure if I will add more colour. I thought about adding metalic either in paint or cream but felt that this could make it look too much like a piece of jewerly. I have toyed with the idea that I add shadows with greys, but may now wait until the doors are made then see how the doors add shadows first.

I have also made progress on the book about Louise. It is concatena style with windows cut into the pages. Now I have coloured both sides , added charcoal drawings and quotes from Louise... as well as my own notes.

The front is yellows and greens, while the back is red, blue and purple. The pages are made from water colour paper and painted in fabric dye.

Now for the doors. I calculated that the doors need to be 4" by 14" !!!
Thus I now have all the materials and have started to make the doors. Mean while been making a few drawings of doors.

As you can see there are two here. A close up of the white one below. I plan each door to be a different colour. Which showed how hard it is to find colours other than white and echu in 8 and 12 cotton. After looking in the library for books on hardanger, I finally ended up in a second hand store with three great books for new patterns.
It has been pointed out that these are a little light around the edge. Thus been also making some samples to improve this ! The idea I like most is below, where two edges has added to , feel this gives a dimensional quality.

I am also considering door furnature. Started while stitching on the train. Above you can see a thread covered bead as a door knob. Also looking at using wire .

Then there is the whole throught round how to join the doors at the end. Wire is coming back as an idea which would work better with the style of the dummy and spider.. Better than the ribbon I had first thought!

I am already forming plans of how this should be displayed. A high pondum which stops the viewer from looking down into the work. Forcing them to look though the windows.

Sunday ~ Update

Been working on the covers for the book. My original cover idea was just not working out then I saw some tisue I had with images of Paris on and an idea formed.

So here it is. I was not planning to add anything more to this... Well not yet. The back contains a copy of my notes from a visit to the V&A. Includes comments from a friend who attended too !

Doors and spiders !

Yes two weeks to catch up on. A weekend at my parent-in-laws limited the output a little but I have been making headway with the doors !

First I have been looking at the dummy and spider shape I have already made. While in London yesterday (went to see Prism 2008 - see my main blog), bought some milliput to give the spider a little more body.

Had a test run creating windows using machine lace and disolveable fabrics. As you can see have not gone very far. Need to look again, as I felt this piece was pulled out of shape too much for the look I was after.


I have been putting a few more sketches for the final item together.

I want to have the dummy with the spider and pins only just spied !! I may add a tape measure or a length of ribbon. I keep thinking about the ribbon coming out between the doors as the lead in for the viewer ?!?!?!

The dummy images take me back to the pin cushions created by Louise B, but I feel the dummy is pointing towards me too. I have a dressmaking back ground, the colourful and fun shape and the ribbon is me !! The spider though is the item which really shows where the starting point has been.

I have made the first same for the doors, all in hand worked hardanger.
I experimented with different thickness thread for the blanket stitched edges.


This morning it went into the Paverpol !

Shame I was not able to have a video camera running. As you would have seen me blowing on the holes to ensure the Paverpol did not fill/close the holes up !! LOL ..

Now just waiting for the drying to finish. I'll use the time to work on the spider and think about the stitches for the door panels.

Update : Been busy this morning !

After finally washing the milliput off my hands I now have more body to my spider =) Now you have to imagine it black !!

Also the door is drying well. Here it is stood up by the window. What is holding it up ?? It is just leaning against a book but it is holding the shape !! Next I need to make one the right size for the dummy I have been making and see if the door will still hold.

Fabric Cells !

Most of January has past by and the master class work went with it. I felt quite lost with no direction and no inspiration. Although I have been stitching - see my main blog for the January finishes. http://witchypoos.blogspot.com/
I also spent time looking at egg plants as part of a true colour challenge from Cloth Paper Scissors. So far I have made a paper quilt and a fabric version too. I have added a slide show of this work on the right hand side bar.

Friday - had my first tutorial of the year ... The discussion came round to Louise B's work and other elements in the exhibtion. We were talking about the book of another artist work which I have been planning to do on Louise, and we discussed adding windows to the pages of the book.

Afterwards I looked at Louise's work that uses windows. Below is one of her Cells. Louise has made a whole series of cells, where she was aiming to make her own architecture rather than depending on the musuem space. The cell hold different displays of times in her life. As you walk round these you cannot go in,only peek in though the the windows. Although the one I have shown here has a lot of windows some are make up of more solid doors where you only have a letter box to look at the contents at different angles.


This started me thinking and the sketch book finally came out. YEY !!!
Here is the first page were I was thinking about shapes which have struture (like a sculpture) with windows. Ialso thought about how this could be created in fabric. On the right although you may not be able to read the writing I was looking at creating windows with machine lace or hardanger.
Next I used a lngth of water colour paper to create a cell.

Then started to sketch the shape, how the shadows fall inside and create more window shapes.
Finally worked a small sample of stitched windows.

So where next ? Want to follow this cell idea more. Look at creating the walls and then stiffening the fabric so that it holds itself up. At the moment it would only be for in door display until I can sort out how to stop the items going limp outside.

What is inside my cell ?? Looking to go back to my fold work/sketches. I have made a creature before using kantha running stitch and stuffing to create a shape. So if I take silk then create a shape which uses folds and running stitch to create walls. I would need stuffing to hold it up. Again I am back to Louise's 3D work, although not sure how organic mine will be.... you never know ;)

Also want to make a start on the book about Louise. It will be concentina, with a window or two, sketches of her work and notes about her written around the sketches which is how Louise herself keeps notes about her work.

Update~ Sunday 27th Jan~

Been looking at the items to go inside the cell. Started to think about a dressmaking dummy and other items which would be in Louise's version... But I was looking at creating a dummy which is more my kind of style. So here is the body need to speak with hubby to create a wooden stand.

As you may just be able to see I have a wire spider on the shoulder !!

Been thinking about creating door shapes in hardanger/machine lace, then making then solid with the glue ... then hanging them together with hinges !?!?? To go round this body need to be quite tall. But as the fabric would be an evenweave it would be slightly opac and you would see outlines from the shapes !!

Happy New Year !

Nothing new to post , just marking the year !