November Update- projects

^Indigo flower in the vat (close up)

November was a month of writing in nanowri (http://www.nanowrimo.org/).  I now have another 50,000 word novel of pure unscripted fiction to add to my other writings.  Very pleased,

School is in the final two weeks, projects will be finished at the end of this week and the middle of the next, so we are all busy doing that.  The KSA show and sale is this Friday and Saturday (Dec.7 & 8) and that should be quite good.  There are a lot of tiny shops in town that are full of great art and craft work right now, just in time for the holidays.  I am about to begin making cards for mailing, and to start doing some personal projects and production lines in anticipation of graduation.

The class is going to be in a show called 'Make It' in Vancouver in April.  So part of the above mentioned work will go to that, as well as what I'm making in school this year.  We are pretty excited and in the process of fundraising for the trip.

I leave you with some my projects in progress:

  

I am more determined than ever to become a successful artist, be it art or craft or both ^__^  It is so exciting and rewarding to be in this program, and I can clearly see that my skill in sewing has risen to a much more professional level.  And that is exactly what I aimed for.

See you at the show?

A Range of Dyes

Range of nature dyes I've found with canvas and cotton fabrics- quite something.

'Chalk Walk' at Nelson BC Pride!

September 2nd, 2012- me and Brad started chalking at 6am in the middle of the intersection, moving onto the four sidewalk corners.  We were joined briefly by passerby, children, and another friend who gladly offered to help us out.  It was a great stage for the parade and I'm so glad the town of Nelson let me do this: Thanks!

pre- July 'Chalk Walk' kickoff

I don't usually carry chalk with me, but I had planned to do something with it if there was an opportunity.  It was just starting to rain, and there were some bare patches of ground I saw while walking home.  3-4 minutes later, the first spontaneous 'Chalk Walk' of 2012 was made.
 

Graffiti Thoughts

For the most part, I'd say graffiti is art, or has the capacity to be art. 

Now, following that statement, what kind of graffiti can qualify as art?  Is it all inclusive, profanity, tags, bubble letters, politics, cartoon, life-like, and any other imagery?  Don't know, but I still believe in the first sentence.  I've been thinking about a certain youth centre I went to a few months ago, where they did this amazing thing: they created a space for youth to showcase their art.  The majority of space of this centre was the main floor, where a variety of skateboard equipment was set up, including two huge ramps on either end.  On the walls and equipment was a variety of graffiti- all different, and there were plans in place for more. 

Now, there's sill graffiti in the town itself, but it seems to me that providing kids and teens (and let's not forget adults) a space that welcomes their form of art is important.  I would like to wonder what any given community would look like if there were designated spaces (inside and out) for graffiti.  In particular I remember seeing the graffiti tunnel in London, England.  In all fairness, I have to bow to my inner skeptic and admit that yes, there will probably always be people who abuse their use of graffiti due to current laws or regulations... but what about those who use a non- permanent medium for creating their graffiti?

I can think of some alternatives to spray paint, but chalk and what's called 'green graffiti' are sticking out as favorites.  I've often used chalk myself, as a continuing project called 'Chalk Walk' which isn't a typical form of graffiti, but it's related I believe.  Instead of walls, it's sidewalks, and it's often in blocks of solid colour and sometimes text and imagery as more people join in its creation.  There aren't any tags per say, and it washes away on the next rainy day.  Green graffiti is basically creating a mixture that when applied to a surface grows moss within a week or more.  I have never seen this in action though.

                                                                     'Chalk Walk'


With any luck in the weather, I hope to do a 2012 installment of 'Chalk Walk', and as always, I hope and welcome community involvement.  Here's to sunny days.

The End of Another School Year

It's always an interesting time/ very busy, particularily in March, hence the reason why I've found time to update this blog now.  We did felt yardages using secondary structures like lace, webbing, etc as a base for the wool, and that finished up that course.  Our first part of printing and design on fabric was completed, and I have to say I was surprised to find in myself a sudden and huge interest for using natural dyes.  I did not buy any new material besides cotton canvas, instead choosing to reuse old bed sheets (white or beige), overdying them and printing my designs on top.

-It should be said here that there is a strong bias for using natural materials and dyes in this school.  There's nothing wrong with this, and it is an environmentally conscious thing to do.  I however, am more inclined to 'use up' or 'reuse' materials that would otherwise be thrown away.  Once made it can't be undone- so to speak.-

Textile history went along with an essay on the use of textiles in armor, something I will be exploring next year.  Ah, and weaving- I finished two orange/green scarves of cotton, and a macrame hanging from fabric scraps I'd had leftover from the year.  I didn't give that course much of a chance to like it, and I found that once the initial set up of the loom was finished I was actually pretty fast as weaving.  So next year I will try and make more of a yardage type of woven fabric, and get more out of the course than I did.

The year end show was a success, lots of people coming in and taking a look around.  The sale was less so I think, though a lot of pottery sold.  I think it's safe to say a lot of students were more interested in sales outside of the school, such as the many summer fairs that are approaching, and other previous plans.  But I ended up selling one of my woven scarves, a vest, and potentially a felt scarf (if it all works out by the end of this week).  It was a good experiment on pricing and what people are looking for.   

on theatre work and extra projects

Volunteered to help out the capitol theatre in the costumes for the upcoming opera that opens March 8! So far I have cut out many tiny leaves of various fabrics, and assembled a few simple tunics that had to be sent off to be dyed. It is called Khaos, and is entirely produced by local staff and talent (something I learned was very rare).

Extra projects resulted in the recent week break off school- I made these interesting apron/pant garments, in the process of finishing some imitation corsets, a small backpack bag, and sewing another cosplay. And of course, as always, a ton of reading to do. Nice mix of earth spirituality, sewing/textiles, and gender. Still haven't finished some books... should really do that before I go back to school in September.

the end of the month

And the end of felting- I made a small rug [one side has a spiral (orange, green background) other side is a mix of purples, blues, and reds] and a larger one that is as long as a bed (and about as wide if the bed is a single) that is a mix of dark green/brown for a background with symbols of bright orange over top. And it has 13 orange tassels made of jute on each end. It is very warm, even when just lying on top.

We are in the process of preparing for our final felt crit on March 13, where we will present our final project: yardage. A lot of thin felt, sometimes using a secondary structure such as lace or mesh to support the wool. I am planning on making a cloak out of a couple of pieces I made, still pondering that one.

Thursday we begin the first part of surface design, that won't be finished until next year- and next year will be amazing, I am sure of it. For one thing, I will have a full course load, and there will be no chance of repeat courses like drawing and design to have to try and get out of. There is only about 6 weeks of school left! Amazing how the time goes once December is over.

What else...weaving has been slowly explaining itself to me, though I'm still not impressed very much by the whole process/result. I think I will have to do a 3D weaving project for my final piece, just to try and find a way to put my own interests into it so that I have more drive to do the course work. Going to try the first project though, two scarves- I have my warp threads all wound into a chain, got to wait for a loom to be free to put it on... if I can remember all the steps in doing that! We will see what happens.

Weaving: the brand new class

An interesting past two weeks/ we have continued felt, where the entire class made a large rug. We felted it in about two or three hours, then drew a name for someone to take it home with them. A neat concept, though I winced at the amount of wool that was used. I just really want to get started on my own rug, it's going to be probably five feet long, and three feet wide or so. Something to lie down on ^_^

Weaving is the new one- a lot of information in that course, and it's only been two classes! A bit overwhelming, but I know we'll all get it eventually. Last class we set up the looms using the thread we'd wound into what's called a 'warp chain' the class before. I did the winding for part of the rainbow threads, I had red, orange, yellow, and green... and someone else had green, purple, and blue.

There's some homework starting to gather, but it's nothing compared to the end of last term. I'm still waiting for the workload to kick in ^_^ Should be an exciting second part of the year.