March 2007

February 22nd - March 5th

I have been away for a few days again due to the continuing ill-health of my mother. I am now back in the studio and contemplating fractured months ahead with several further breaks in studio work, teaching commitments to prepare for and Art in Action in July.

For those curious about the left hand image from last month I can now reveal to the many eager senders of postcards that none of them got it right - especially a Mrs Trellis from North Wales, who should stick to writing to I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. So I shall retain the very valuable prize I had intended to bestow on the winner. The answer, as you will now see clearly, is that it is a block of pure beeswax purchased from the local honey farm. They melt and filter it and then pour it into plastic containers. When it's solidified, it can be broken out of the container and sold as a block. I haven't tried using it yet, but it's on my little list.

While I was away this week I had a good view of the lunar eclipse. I took a few images on a timer. Below is my best shot with the moon totally eclipsed at about midnight. It looked like a dark pink pearl in the sky. I find eclipses magical and humbling experiences and can only imagine the power they had in societies where none of the science was understood. The last lunar eclipse, a partial one, I remember in Waingapu in Sumba, Indonesia. We had only just arrived, frayed after a typically eventful internal flight from Bali. Those who have made internal flights in Indonesia will better understand the sense of amazement and relief we felt to have arrived at the correct destination, in one piece and with all our baggage. We sat sweaty and bemused in the hot darkness on the hotel roof, with the moon coming and going between waving tops of palm trees. The glass of Bintang was going down well but I kept telling myself that although this was a strange and exotic place, the moon couldn't possibly be a different shape to how it appeared in the rest of the world. And it wasn't of course, because there was an eclipse going on, with the moon low and large in the sky. Writing about it prompted me to research the date - and this website can pinpoint the exact date and time - which was 28th July 1999.

March 6th - 8th

I have been working with gutta again, to produce a small series of scarves for an exhibition in April. The first samples were made in January. The title of the show is "Threads of Experience" so I have decided to use imagery related to my life-long experience of Malta which I have been visiting since I was a small child. Due to my mother's continuing ill health, I have been there very frequently in the past few months.

I must produce the new work to a high standard within the short studio time available. So I am using gutta, which is a tried and tested method for me. I suppose this is a neat rationale for the work, as both subject and technique reflect current experience and necessity.

I will present a series of 6 scarves. I have made 4 so far, but am only confident about 2 of them at the moment.

At the same time I am trying to further my work with the Ahimsa Silk. I have some powdered madder from Couleurs de Plantes, purchased through Llynfi Textiles in Wales who have also provided some very helpful notes on mordanting for silk. As a result I have also bought some alum and cream of tartar from Fibercrafts. This is recommended for use with the alum. Then while tidying the studio, I came across an article on mordanting with alum by Michelle Whipplinger, published in a Surface Design Organisation Newsletter. I need to mordant and dye a sample soon.

I am thinking about ways to add some movement and focus to the fabric were I to make a long shawl or hanging length. Currently I am making gathers so I can tie knots on the tops of the folds, rather like smocking.

March 9th - 16th

Last weekend I was fortunate to attend the weekend workshop given by Betsy Sterling Benjamin at White House Arts in Cambridge. I found out about the course early last autumn, when I contacted Betsy to ask to buy some of the brushes she sells.

Here are the 6 ro-fude, and the shikibiki brush I bought from her.

Betsy gave a very thorough and focused workshop over the two days. The attending group of 10 reflected her attitude with high levels of concentration and a variety of samples based on the techniques she demonstrated and the tools we improvised and altered, constructed, or even deconstructed! Here are mine:

I came away with so much new information that it will take a long while to sink in. But I have already been using the snowstorm technique and am gaining some command over it - although there is still some wax reaching the floor! A big thank you to Betsy Sterling Benjamin, all at White House Arts, and the many members of the Batik Guild who contributed so much to the success of the event.

Regrettably I forgot to ask participants' permission to use images so I can't show any of the other work.
Instead here is an image of the Bridge of Sighs on a Cambridge evening, and a still life at a friends' house where we stayed.

March 17th - 19th

I've been working on a set of scarves using the snowstorm (ro fubuki) technique I learned from Betsy Sterling Benjamin. It requires knowledge of the correct wax temperature, assessing the height at which to tap the brush, and the number of times to tap before returning the emptied brush to the wax pot. It also requires concentration, as I have discovered. Lose the plot, and large ugly splodges reach the silk rather than the small droplets I want. I am using card strips rather than masking tape to mask the droplets and am using the design idea of the tones, patterns and rhythms on water when ripples and waves cross each other and there are shadows and areas of glittering sunlight. I took this photo from the Ta Cenc cliffs on Gozo last autumn and have thought of it often. I've heightened the contrast to explain the effects I am after.

Because I am still learning this technique I am keeping the design very flexible. Photos to follow.

More Ahimsa..

I've also worked more on the Ahimsa Peace Silks, trying a wax-out and crackle technique on the sheerest of the fabrics. I want to create some ovals on a crackled ground - for reasons which will eventually be revealed here if my idea works!

Despite the care I took in waxing, the wax flaked badly around the ovals and dye bled outwards spoiling the outline of the oval. The dye bled and spread down the wrinkles that cut across the ovals. Not surprising, now I think about it. Sometimes the bleeding obvious (that's a pun..) is only apparent after the experiment.

So I may have to create this design in two wax / dye / de wax / steam processes, first doing an overall crackle dye and following it up by waxing and dyeing the ovals.

I noticed, (on the right hand sample above) that the partial de-gum I had done last month was showing an effect in the take up of the dye. Note the much darker strip up the centre of the oval. The fact that its outlines coincide with the bleeds and wrinkles is just that - a coincidence. The darker dyed area inside the oval area is where the degumming had taken place. If it makes this much difference on such a sheer silk, imagine how much it might make with a heavier weight. So I am now degumming the remainder of the sheer fabric.

I rinsed out the silk after degumming, and dunked it in water with some white vinegar. This is recommended after its alkaline treatment in the soda ash solution. I have the benefit this recipe from Yoshiko Wada's book Shibori Now.