Contradictions and Shortcomings

It appears that this blog has reached a standstill.  I am always meaning to be more on time as it were with posting, as though this was a kind of school project with concrete deadlines.  It is not, however... and I realize over the course of the last few months that my creative style can do without undue stresses.  So, I now propose that this blog shall be updated in a most un-punctual manner.  Sporatically I shall upload what I have been up to in the processes I call my art.

There is a place for order, though I've gradually found that the haphazard approach was to my own advantage.  It suited my style, more and more.  I go from project to project, and some of my best work is that which is experimental and in a spirit of 'let's try this'.  I realize also that most of the work I've posted to this blog has been fibre related; well, let's add other kinds as they are created.

I have, with the closing of the year and the beginning of this new one, been working on finishing leftover projects and doing standard clothing repairs.  I've mended sweaters, pants, shirts, and drafted a few patterns in preparation for a clothing line of sorts.  I've just now been working on creating a slipcover pattern to be put in use with the four dining chairs I've gained from a friend- the vinyl like fabric of which shows off the puncture marks by my cat quite well.  You could say that I've been focused on items closer to home.

And that leads me to the areas of study I have been pursuing on my free time for the last many months: permaculture, gardening, homesteading, DIY, plastic free living, whole system design.  Instead of a mid-life crisis I would say I've been having a mid-life revival.

In the midst of this though, I have applied and been accepted to the 2015 SWAG in Saskatoon, a one night gala of wearable art worn and shown off, and then had those two entries accepted into a gallery show made up of the gala entries which will run in March 2016 I believe until April 2016.  In between that I went to Greece with my Aunt for two weeks in September 2015, and I saw a lot of what I'd learned about in university.  It was also a nice parallel to what I'd learned in art history with artists taking the road to Greece and trying to gain inspiration from the ancient ruins.  But I am a bit of a romantic, so that's not surprising.  It is a beautiful country.

Here are the accepted pieces, a reconstructed silk headdress and a felted dress:

            Until next time then.

Linen Gusset Pants and Cheesecloth Creations

I'd cut out the pattern for these linen gusset pants a few weeks ago, finally sat down and put them together last night.  I used hemp twine for the gathered waistband, and no elastics for once.  Gave them a test run today and they are holding up wonderfully.

And then I made bags from cheesecloth for holding produce when at the grocery or farmers market, and some simple tied sachets for spices to deter insects/freshen air.

Completed Project: Jacket for Ponyo Cosplay

I finished the original pattern, and began to finalize the striped jacket, when I found the perfect stripe pattern for the cosplay I was working on.  So I left the small stripes on the hanger to finish later, and moved right along to making the final jacket:

 

Got some fun photos in the mirror, along with making a fushia/pink ascot for the costume:

I've been wanting to make this for around 3 years, so it's great to finally check it off my ever growing 'to sew' list!  It's a good jacket too, so I will probably use it for a tailor made linen jacket for everyday use.  Here is the cosplay of Fujimoto, from the movie Ponyo:

Jacket: the prototype and the start of the finished product

Week of Patterns

This week I give you photos of my new ironing board with self made cover, and patterns for a simple tank shirt, pant with gusset, harem pant, and a jacket (currently still in progress).  I don't know why I prefer the use of cloth patterns over paper... possibly because I always have fabric on hand, possibly because I like the way that fabric clings to other fabric and I find I have to pin it less- who knows.  It works for me at the moment, though I do contemplate having some card stock patterns in the future.

You would think I spend most of my time creating- in reality, I do a lot of prep work generating ideas, creating the patterns and designs, choosing fabrics and colours, and keeping the studio space organized.  The actual sewing is a much faster process in comparison, even if the sewing itself takes a while to do (adding details, top stitching, hand stitching, etc). 

The jacket pattern is useful for a myriad of designs.  I have a stock jacket pattern that I've had for years, but recently it just won't work anymore.  My shoulders are larger for one, and no one likes a tight fit across the back that will rip seams if you move your arms.  The personal hobby motivation I've given myself to complete this design is for cosplay (of course!) and the deadline is about a month and a half.

One of these days I'll go to a con where I haven't been sewing the week before.  Or the day before.

I will start putting up completed projects as well as their in progress steps, so expect to see a blue and white striped jacket in the near future.  Until next week then.   

2015 January- April

I thought I'd take the time to catch up on all that's been going on in my life and my art and place it in this post- photos are upcoming in the new week though so don't despair ^__^

I've had to focus on working more than creating lately, and so I now have three jobs.  The first two I've had for just under a year, the third is directly tied into my goals for what I want to do in the future.  It's sewing for a local boutique named 'It's Sew You'- http://itssewyou.ca/about/ .  I'm sharpening my production skills along with gaining experience with industrial machines and top stitching, among other things.  It's a wonderful work environment and if you need any of the listed services I'd highly recommend it.  I also love that the business is sticking to local Vancouver.

 This job is becoming my full time job, and I'm downsizing my other two to gain more free time on weekdays- so starting this week, I'll hopefully be able to get more of my own work done.  I have a ton of ideas and plans and can't wait to start testing it all out!  A goal I have for this blog is to start posting every Monday, or at least bi-weekly on Mondays.

Let's see if I can do that, starting tomorrow.  Cheers, Shawn.

...this holiday season (2014)

I made hats, shrugs, felted rugs, cards, and an artist book. 

Felting in a bathtub is fine... it's much more challenging to add a wooden blind to roll the felt in and keep it in the same bathtub!

Experiments in how the curtain hangs... mostly for the benefit of the cat

These were so much fun- just the kind of humor I needed ^__^

Found a 'W' stamp and put it to good use

I love the way paper photographs