Thus Far ...

After trying and rejecting several colour combinations I decided to try something completely out of my comfort zone and found myself clutching a tube of bronze acrylic paint. I was looking for colours to reflect the subtle stem shades along with the burnished hues of the approaching autumn. The gold foil was an afterthought suggesting the golden rays of the sun.  

We all like to stitch a perfect circle and the free machine stitch on the tubes would have been excellent practice were it not for the melting and distortion of the heat gun.

On that note it is time for a good tidy up and hiding of some equipment including the heat gun. Two of my grandchildren are arriving shortly for a half term sleep over and whilst they are both very competent on my sewing machine I fear for my workroom if they get their hands on the hot air gun!

Stubble and Stems

A few months ago I could walk through the fields and listen to the sound of oats, wheat and barley swaying in the breeze whilst running my hands through the heads of grain. After the harvest had been gathered in, the golden ripe grain fields have been reduced to lines of stubble; such a stark contrast in such a short space of time. Although the crops are no longer tactile or moving, the stubble lines remaining are quite severe and make a statement of their own. For the past week I have found my eyes drawn to the lines painted by the changing of the seasons and my camera has been busy as I walk.

I do not use a sketchbook, I have tried but it is not a process that comes naturally to me. I prefer to work with samples in a more physical fashion enabling my hands to endeavour to interpret what my mind is imagining. When I visualise a finished item I have to work backwards, unravelling a design until I am at the point of the beginning; I often find this process is very helpful when it comes to the actual construction.

After a day spent trying various methods of making stems (tubes) it was clear that the most robust were those made from Lutradur. I ended up with a small selection of short stubby and a few taller slender cylinders to help decide on a design or two.

And thus the work process begins......