On Becoming a Potter

 

Pottery, my new Passion

I have become a member of the Creative Clay Studio on Mt. Pleasant Avenue in Toronto.  This studio is certainly on the right street as it is extremely pleasant to spend hours in this space.  It is beautifully curated by Karie Andre who leads each session with enthusiastic passion and grace.

This piece I hand built and is part of my hands series....see what I did there? hand built hands.....

and someone in the studio suggested it looked like a hug.  I agree.

For the first few sessions I was afraid to approach the wheel and so concentrated on hand building, but this session I took the plunge!

These are my first few pieces from the wheel

Neither are masterpieces to be sure, I am still very much a beginner but I love the feeling of the clay and although glazing remains a complete mystery to me, I am loving the learning curve!

Recently, in an effort to 'give back' to the studio, I offered to make some new aprons.  In this (not particularly flattering) photo some members are trying them on for size and fit, and discovering their ins and outs, and ups and downs.

The bib of the apron has an angled side so that it covers more of the chest area without getting in the way.  It also sports a pocket in a contrasting colour that has been sized to fit a cellphone.  It is a very unusual fabric that I found at G.K. Fashion Fabrics on Caledonia.  The outside is made of a water resistant material which is perfect for the studio as it is completely wipable, water just beads off of it.  So, the fabric wont hold the dust which is a constant concern in a pottery studio.  But the inside is fleecy so it is cozy to have up against skin or clothing and will grip clothing.  It wont be slipping and sliding while you work.  the straps are made from a very durable binding of denim with a fun yellow stitch on each edge.  I embellished each apron with different colours of satin stitch.  The skirt is two rectangular pieces overlapping for 8 inches.  This helps when you are at the wheel, you can surround the wheel with your legs and not be pulled by your apron as it is separating with your legs while totally covering them.

A more poised shot as the members give their positive feedback.  

Members hard at work in their new aprons.

And then I took one for a spin!

Karie gives her extra two thumbs up of approval with her million dollar smile.  Thanks Karie for all your positive energy!

Birds Redux

Birds

I made this little 'nine patch' many years ago. If I blogged about this piece then, for those of you eagle eye followers, I apologize for the repeat post.  But, as some things do come around again, this is a post about that; birds redux.

 I was playing with the notions of de-saturation, (trying to compose something without obvious colour) and was having fun with bird shapes.  Some real, but most fanciful.  As you can see, some of the birds refused to stay in their squares.

This is a progress shot where you can see how they wanted to go beyond the borders.

(each bird was designed and free-motion quilted, and then placed on the background).

Eventually this young lady admired it and hung it in her office space.  This is where another beautiful young lady saw it and loved it too!

And so,  I made one for her as well.  Of course, I wont make the same thing twice, but I felt this had the same esthetic; limited colour palette with white whimsical birds.  As her plans were to move away, I wanted her to have a little something from here.

She has found a very lovely spot for her new birds in her new apartment.

 

Shall We Dance?

Shall We Dance?

                                                                            29" x 54"

Detail:  This is the second work I do in this way.  In this detail, draped over my cutting and ironing tables, you can see the first stage of the design.  I have painted over white cotton using setacolour paints for fabric.

Detail:  I have included this detail because if you look closely you can see some of my pencil sketch that I wasn't happy with.  I didn't know if I would be able to remove the pencil marks completely but I did manage.  I consider the cotton much like paper, and erased the pencil marks with an eraser.  However it is easier to use the erasable marker that can be erased with ironing.

Detail:  In this photo you can see the big difference between when it is quilted and where it is not yet quilted.

Detail:  Highlighting the negative space;  not sure if there isn't too much.

                                                                               

                                                                         

Details;  Having always been interested in the animal kingdom I was motivated to create a piece that highlighted animals in a whimsical way.  As I started the design I realized that they were moving around and about, as if they are dancing and having fun.  

Detail:  This work is slightly wider than the previous work that is barely 26" wide.  

I am wondering if the narrower shape is better.  

Detail:  The echo quilting emphasizes the movement of the animals and suggests the dance.

                                                                         

                                                                          

                                                                

Details:  Some of the animals received hand embroidered embellishments such as this goldfish.  But I didn't feel it was necessary on all of them, and sometimes too much is really too much.

Details:  This was a lot of fun to make and went much faster than the first one because I felt more confident using the paints.  I used more than just the opalescent collection and they were very easy to blend and apply.  I proceeded in a slightly different way this time.  For example;  I outlined each subject with free motion stitching through all the layers before doing the hand stitching but the product is the same.  I found it better to stabilize the layers earlier.  I am not sure how many of these I have in me, but I plan to carry on for now.

 

Florals in Fibre

 

                                                     Florals in Fibre

26 x 53 "

detail: 

 This work began as a painting on white fabric.  A new idea.  I used 'Setacolor' Fabric paints that were Pearlescent.  I had ordered them from Dharma Trading, a small sampler pack to try out, but I have since found out that they are available in Toronto.

detail:

I began by drawing the design on the fabric and then painted. I enjoyed the painting process a lot, and will try this idea again.  For my first try I chose a simple floral design with the inspiration of the bugs and flora that I could spy from my window in the woods in the Laurentian mountains of Quebec, my happy place.

details:

The painting process took some time.  There was a bit of a learning curve to understand how these paints behave, whether they are blendable, how they 'lay on the fabric'.  In fact they are quite easy to use, and I would highly recommend this product if the idea of painting on cotton interests you.  I was able to achieve the details I sought and found as a first layer, it was quite successful.

details:

After the painting was done, I covered the motif with embroidery stitches, using a 6 ply, divided in half.  It is a bit more difficult to sew through the paint, it makes the fabric less porous.  It changes the hand of the cloth.  Not an insurmountable issue (obviously😏) but you do need a thimble.  My embroidery stitches are pretty simple.

                                                                                                                                                                      

Details:

After I was satisfied that there was enough embroidery floss on the canvas, I layered it up and covered it in free motion quilting echo'ing the motif.  I learnt some time ago, that quilting on top of the motif created the inverse of what I expected.  It pushes the motif to the back in effect.  I had hoped that not quilting on the flowers, but around them would bring them forward.  I do believe this is what happened.

Detail:

The echo quilting had another unanticipated result:  It gives a bit of a vibrational effect, as if the flowers are moving.  I went around each element until it 'bumped up' against the next element which creates a sense of movement that I am quite happy with and will try again.

Detail:

I left a few negative shapes at the top unquilted.  This too created an effect that I wasn't sure would work, but I like it.  It looks like little white clouds floating.

Of course, never one to leave well enough alone, after the quilting and finishing was done, I added  some beads to some of the flowers.

This took me about 4 months to complete, working on it pretty steadily.

 

Home

                                                                            22" x 44"

This project has been a very personal exploration which I picked up and put down over several years.  It began with Adobe Illustrator wherein I gathered together all the places in the world where I have lived.  This compilation of many different maps became my own map, my life journey.

Detail: After the map was printed onto cotton, I layed a layer of batting  behind the surface and began stitching.  Many of the threads I used are irridescent and so 'in person' this piece glimmers while reflecting light.  The stitching became a fairly obsessive meditation on where I have been and what has landed me to where I am now.  I like to think of each stitch as a step on my path.

Detail:  At some point in the making process, a poem, my version of a Haiku, came to me.  Trying to respect the idea of adding words, out came the fabric paint  and on went the Haiku:

Placed

re-placed,

grounded.

Search for Connection,

Exploration is the Home.

Detail:  Where the stitches created circles was where I have spent larger parts or more significant parts of my life.  In this image one can see Toronto.  I added extra batting before I added the backing fabric behind these places and so they come forward towards the viewer.

detail:  Some of my steps led me in circles and some were linear.

Detail:  shot from the side, this image is an effort to illustrate the extra dimension of the places of significance.

Detail:  The map of Lac Notre Dame is of great significance,  This place has been my home away from home since my parents purchased a piece of land there in the 60's.  I covered the lake in white embroidery stitches to indicate its significance.

Detail: view of Lac Notre Dame

I have been working on this piece on and off for many years.  I gave myself time to think about what I wanted to do with it and how I thought these thoughts might be best expressed visually.  It has been a personal journey, but then, aren't all life journeys ultimately very personal?

 We try to grow in a positive way, create a meaningful impact, and leave a helpful trail for those who follow.