Doesn't time fly?
So many time consuming interests and not enough time to do them.
However, I have managed some more textile pieces which have been inspired from my visit to Dubai.
These pieces are all based on the beautifully designed speaker pods which surround the lake area outside the Dubai Mall. When the fountains are on, the music to which these fountains dance, come out of all the speaker pods. Incredible sight and sound.
The first piece is an interpretation of this speaker as it is. I used a silver metallic sheer which sandwhiched a layer of silver angel hair. I created the pattern and free machined the whole thing using silver thread on top and underneath so that it can be viewed from both sides. Once the machining was complete- and I machined it all twice - I cut away the unwanted areas leaving an open fret which is how some of the speakers were on the approach to the Kalifa tower. I couldn't use a soldering iron as the sheer is metallic and wouldn't burn so great care was taken to prevent any fraying.
I intend to use all these small pieces to create a new fabric. Can't possibly waste them can I??
I wanted to set the textile piece into a stainless steel frame as the Dubai speakers were so my OH found some stainless steel rod and tubing and made me a frame to mount the piece into. At the moment it is hanging on a wall but I would love to use it free hanging as a mobile or divider.
Here is a close up of the top secion which on the actual pods were boxes.
As I mentioned, the top section of the pods were boxes so....... I created a box using the same design. The frets were created first but this time, as I didn't have enough sheer, I used black voile mache over silver lame. This time I could use the soldering iron to cut out all the spaces.I used opaque draughtsman paper behind to match the effect of the pod boxes. A pretty good representation.
I used grey felt for the inside of the box and stencilled the design onto the felt with silver paint.
Onto the next two pieces which are related as they are both jewellery, a matching bracelet and necklace.
I used silver leather covered with the black voile mache to take some of the glare away from the leather surface. It was backed with grey felt. I chose a part of the fret design on the speakers to create two design - one for the necklace and one for the bracelet. They were free machined onto the leather using silver thread. When complete the spare was cut away and the edges satin stitched. I didnt cut away the fret this time. Couldn't decide whether to or not so played safe and didn't. I used a toggle and ring fastener for the bracelet and made a stainless steel ring for the necklace. I also added some silver beads around the edges. Not on the speakers but this was jewellery so some artistic license!
The next piece was an evening purse. Again I used the fret design as the source. I created another square similar to the top of the hanging. This time I used the black volie mache over silver lame and a siffener for the back. I stitched the design twice and removed the excess with a soldering iron which sealed the edges. Much needed for a purse which would be opened and closed a lot. The main body of the purse was made from a silver grey dupion slub silk. Perfect for the job. This was quilted with the design from the main column of the speaker pod. The silver fret square was free machined ontoo the front flap. The lining was gey satin and I used a silver chain for the short purse handle. I also made two bag tags - one being a smaller version of the necklace.
This is the back showing the quilted design.
That is all so far from the 'speaker pod' collection. I have more in progress. Sometimes a design can produce a lot of ideas. It is knowing when to stop!!
One piece which did take a long time was one which used a jug I saw on a shelf through the door of one of the Heretage village builldings. I couldn't get a good image of it so I had to source another one from the net.
I like this one but it was ambitious and took a long time to stitch. It was all stitched by hand.
I decided to create this piece using padded metallic leathers - gold, silver and bronze. The background was a traditional tapestry canvas sprayed with gold paint. The areas not covered with padded leather were stitched with black metallic fingering and cross stitch to give depth to match the padded leather. I also used silver and copper fingering to stitch abstracty jugs over the background. It is stretched over a gold frame and the background it is displayed on shows through. It looks better in reality than this image.
That is it as far as textile work is concernedJust before I started this blog post, I embossed two divers onto silver shim. They are the divers from the waterfalls in the Dubai Mall. More of them in the next post.
I have been doing a lot of photography and last week spent a day at a sculpture park. I am doing a project on sculptures so have a few more visits planned to other sculpture venues. I hope the weather is better than last weeks. We suffered every type of weather in just a few hours including a downpour of very sharp ice chips which really hurt. I think they call it 'sufferring for your art'!!!! Hmmmm. At least my macro photography is inside where it is nice and warm.
I have also created a couple more AVs. I have begun to make my textile projects into AVs and set them to music. At least, this way, I see the work which is sadly stored away in boxes and only seen when I give talks to interested groups. Fitting music to the textiles really works well and enhances showing the projects. I can view the projects whenever I wish and they are much nicer viewed with music that complements the themes of the projects. I am on with the AV for my Egyptian project and found some wonderful music by a lady in America - Gale Revilla - which fits the subject perfectly. My problem is which piece of music to use. I like so many of them.
Must away now and get on with all these things I want to do so cheers for now.
