March 31, 2017

In Dreams I Drifted Away - New Work in Progress

In Dreams I Drifted Away, WIP, Image 1
I really do dream about these pieces in The River series. I look at and think about the river a lot, I always have, so themes and ideas about it float up from my unconscious when I'm just about to wake. If I'm lucky, I catch them. This title, and the general sense of it, came to me last summer and I got to work immediately on it. I pulled a vibrant piece of turquoise felt for the centerpiece, and auditioned fabrics to accompany it. Not all of them made the final cut, but they helped to set the tone.

In Dreams I Drifted Away, WIP, Image 2
 I laid out the riverbank/border fabrics, a variety of silks with different patterns and textures, and needlefelted them onto the felt base. Next I laid slivers of wool and silk on the river and arranged them to show movement.
In Dreams I Drifted Away, WIP, Image 3
 A layer of wool roving and lots of sparkly mylar fibers came next, and were also needlefelted into place.
In Dreams I Drifted Away, WIP, Image 4

 I was happy with the work so far, and the title and general direction, but was still not entirely clear on the conceptual underpinnings. To give me more opportunity to reflect, I began hand stitching on the piece. Embroidery, like beadwork, is a very meditative process.  I worked on it, off and on in the odd spare hour, just enjoy the feel of the textiles and the repetitive motion of the needle.
With the embroidery complete, I added a layer of batting and a backing and quilted it improvisationally.  
In Dreams I Drifted Away, WIP, Image 6
 I hate forcing a work, and I'm OK with having a variety of works in progress, so I pinned this one up on a design board where I could look it over and ruminate on it from time to time.

Up next, the fog begins to lift!

As always, thanks for reading and commenting.

1 comment:

Martha Ginn said...

I enjoy seeing the process, especially liked the hand embroidery. This makes me eager to get back to some handwork!