April 2007

April 1st - 5th

Just time to add a few images of recent work. Some of these scarves will be shown at Chapel Gallery, Saltram House near Plymouth during April. The show is called Threads of Inspiration. The scarves shown here are based on imagery associated with the island of Malta.

The inspiration for these scarves came from Ta Cenc on Gozo, and the spectacular cliffs there. The enhanced photo on the left indicates what I have been attempting to achieve with texture and tone.

April 6th - 18th

In the centre is a picture of my mother, many years before I knew her. It was the photo she gave to my father, who kept it with him through the years of the Second World War when they must have wondered if they would ever meet again. On the left is my lovely grandmother, on her wedding day in Malta in, I think, about 1908. On the right is me. I am very much older than both of them in their images, which I find an odd thought. I'd put my daughter's picture here too, but it might embarrass her.

I make no apologies for including this very personal entry on my website. There is no way that the loss of my mother won't alter the way I work and think. If you have followed this blog over the past few months you will realise I have been much preoccupied with my mother's decline and have spent several weeks away from home since last autumn. My mother was Maltese and although I was brought up in England, she returned there many years ago. I wrote about her courage some time ago here. She died in peace last week, aged 92, courage unfaltering and mind unimpaired. I was happy I could be with her.

I am gradually reassembling my emotions, thoughts and my studio here in England now I am back home.

April 19th

The last lines of the poem Valedictory, by Glencairn Balfour-Paul, drifted back to me last week during my mother's funeral. By a series of coincidences, the poem was sent to me today by a friend and I then asked Glencairn's permission to publish all of it here.

There were no daffodils in April in Malta; these were the flowers from her own garden that I picked for her.

April 20th - 23rd

Back to work on the Ahimsa Silks and working with natural dyes from Couleurs de Plantes. I mordanted some eri /eri Ahimsa Silk and also some commercial silks, using alum and cream of tartar. The colour produced is disappointingly like diluted Tomato Soup and not at all the shade I'd hoped for. I will need to think about overdyeing. I wanted a colour nearer to pink and am now advised that cochineal is the dye I'd need. However, having avoided destroying hundreds of silkworms during the production of my Ahimsa Silk, it would seem somewhat perverse to opt for mass slaughter elsewhere in the process so I am going to look at other options.

April 24th - 29th

I madder-dyed a length of de-gummed Ahimsa Silk (cotton warp, Tassar silk weft) using Couleurs de Plantes powders. I achieved a stronger colour on the heavier weight than with previous silk but may have left it in the dye-pot a fraction too long. My impression was that it was redder about 15 minutes before I removed it and it went a little more tan or rust after that point. It spent 45 minutes - 1 hr at 60 C. I had stitched and tied a resist. The resist worked well and colour looks great on this fabric as the warp remains slightly lighter (see below right).

However, as a total design it still looked thin. So I ordered some logwood powder and tried a second dyeing. I also overdyed the eri / eri silk using clamped techniques. Results centre below. It has veered towards brown which is a shame as I wanted a more purpley effect, but it is a totally delicious chocolate brown for all that. I am thinking of doing a final indigo overdye.