Thursday, 29 September 2011

FROM SHOVEL TO NOZZLE


This is an improvement on a shovel.  Keeping my paddocks clean now is just one pull of a cord to start the little Honda motor and all my paca poo is safely deposited in the PaddockVac.

HEAVY LITTLE STEEL FELLAS

Another 3 creatures have appeared in our mini sculpture garden. 



"Echidna" is crawling out from some large rocks, "Galah" is standing guard at a water tank and staring out towards the dam is "Dog" (see bottom left in house pic).  "Dog" has quite a personality and came with a collar on its neck as well as a movable chain tail.

SILK + FLEECE + ONE PAIR OF HANDS

The felting has become a little manic, but the more I do, the more creative I become. 
One tissue silk scarf was the result of wanting to use some of Camilo's fleece (brown alpaca) which had been dyed green.  The purple circles were created by using purple tissue silk as an overlay with silk thread spots in the centre. Then the green Camilo patches and purple connecting lines were added along with a border.  The tissue silk was already dyed various colours and named "Tribal". 

Then the thrust was to use the same "Tribal" fabric to create a different look.
This time the principal colours are blue and terracotta.  The circles are from merino wool and the terracotta lines are made of tissue silk.

I wanted to follow up from my weekend workshop where I made a dress and use the same technique for a scarf.
The front is paj silk and light green merio and silk were laid on the back.


Finally it was time to use the silk laps I had bought at the workshop.  It is like working with a giant cobweb, but the challenge presented itself and my second largest piece - a shawl - was created using sheep wool which I had prefelted and cut into 1cm strips.  I found this wool very rough compared to alpaca (and won't use it again).  The design was inspired by an Art Deco gate.  It is very luxurious to wear - and took 7 hours non stop to become a reality.

Monday, 12 September 2011

OOPS - THE BABY ALPACAS HAVE MULTIPLIED!

Sevilla, Paz, Paco, Maya, Pepita, Miguel,Perpetua, Paris & Paloma

A bed fit for kangaroos.....

Never in my wildest dream did I imagine clover 40 cm high!  Our front pasture is so lush that there is evidence of kangaroos sleeping in it - lots of flattened areas and great to walk through with bare feet.

Charlotte Buch Workshop


Last weekend brought the much awaited 2 day felting workshop conducted by Charlotte Buch in Perth.  After much throwing and rolling my dress (tissue silk, wool and silk fibre) was produced - not perfect, but a challenge met and potential for improvement.

Once again, it is just amazing what you can produce with one set of hands and nothing mechanical - the fabric, seams and edges are all felted.

Besides the knowledge and experience you gain from producing something new, another great benefit is seeing what the other 14 students are also creating and how, for example, 4 people attempt the same task with very different results.  It is also good seeing everyone else's arms collapse!

My sense of satisfaction was accompanied by a bloody right palm - skin worn off from rubbing the edges of the armholes!  Hopefully this week some of my new ideas will become a reality.