Faux pottery

My latest vessel is a faux pottery piece about 8 inches tall.  The form is pellon.  The skin and lining are white cotton painted with Dye-Na-Flow and Lumier.  The exterior is finished with Golden's Heavy Gel (Gloss).  A bias piece of burlap faces the inside of the opening.

The undercover story

While the vessels I have constructed to date seem to be sturdy, I believe they can be improved with a few extra steps in construction.

I am still butting the pellon edges together and using a zig- zag stitch.  This maintains a relatively smooth form. I have added a stabilizing strip to each seam. This step does not increase the sewing time by very much and makes the form stronger, less likely to slip or slump.

The lining has been attached at the bottom and top edges holding it in place. This time the fused lining has also been tacked to the form at various points hidden in several seams. The added tacking will help to keep the lining smooth on the inside of the form if the fusing should come loose.  I can call upon my tailoring and clothing construction experience to improve the quality of my vessels.

The more I experiment the more options I find to choose from. I can use batting to soften the form or fuse for a harder look.  I can fold over the top edge or face it on the inside, or use trim to accentuate the line.  The sky is the limit. The undercover story is the foundation for these vessels.  Without good technique in the process of creating the form, the exterior decoration cannot be showcased.

I am very excited about this project. I want it to work into a long term exploration.

Rework the pine cones

After listening to several critiques of the pine cone series, ( see post Jan.5, 2014) I rescaled the pinecones on the same backgrounds and re-matted them on black.  I used stiff pellon to keep the pieces flat, showing off the dimensional texture.  I did not mount them on stretcher bars.

I am very pleased with the results.  Constructive critique can be very beneficial.  I am glad I was open to suggestions and took the time to implement them.  Please compare the pictures of the before pictures on the Jan 5, 2014 blog and those posted here.

A "WORD" for 2015

Focus is a word I have used to help me with my art in the past.  The ability to block out external interference and to concentrate on a project.

Intention is also a word I have used. This connotes decision making, and action in taking the steps necessary to completing a project.

Present, being in the moment, with observation, emotion, thought.

These are all good words, good concepts to employ in life and in art.  They are close, but not quite where I need to be.  This year my word will be "mindful".  A more thoughtful intention. A more considered focus. A more complete involvement.

A friend in our art support group brought The Slow Stitching Movement to our attention last month.

Take a look at their site- http://www.slowstitching.com.  I think I have been inching my way to this philosophy for quite a while.  More on that journey later-

Fortunately I am comfortable at this time in my life - the hectic duties are in the past. I can pick and choose my activities.  What I am doing in my art now can be considered, redone, evolving and a process I enjoy from start to finish.  Mindfulness will give me a better product, a better journey and more joy.

I can practice mindfulness in every phase of my life and be better for the use of my time, the results in my body and soul, the connectedness of my actions and decisions.  Maybe a better example .

I hope I will have a good report of my progress in future posts.

A handmade Christmas gift

Growing up in the 50's, in a simpler time, handmade gifts were frequently exchanged.  A gift, handmade, was appreciated for the effort and creativity and resourcefulness of the maker.

I continued to make gifts as a young homemaker, stretching the budget and enjoying the process.  I encouraged my children to make cards and celebrate the holidays sharing in cookie making and handmade decorations.

As a working mom with less time and more income, creativity took a less important role and we were the poorer in spirit for it.  Christmas, especially, can be too commercialized, and multiple gifts for each person is the norm.  We all say we feel the spirit of giving is more important than the dollars spent and received.  I think we all really believe this, but are not confident enough to reduce the amount and increase the meaning of our exchange.  The fact that most Americans, those of my acquaintance, have enough.  Enough food, clothes, gadgets.  I know this is not the case everywhere and certainly not in places of destitution. 

One Christmas several years ago, a family I know, chose to donate the wealth they would have spent on each other to a family in need.  This included sisters, brothers and their children, celebrating the season giving to someone outside their family. How satisfied would I be doing that?  Am I confident enough in the love in my family to not express my love in a material way?

This year, my granddaughter will be spending Christmas with an African family.  She took two suitcases with her in late October. Much of what she took has been consumed; some special snacks, bug spray, her journal. All she has are her clothes and a few small gifts she brought to give for Christmas.  A new person is staying with the family, an aunt.  With a piece of paper and origami instructions, a paper crane will become a gift for the aunt.  All my granddaughter has to give, with the expectation that it will be accepted lovingly and with respect.

The spirit of Christmas is an extraordinary thing.  Peace on Earth.

Another vessel construction technique to try

I want to try a smooth vessel -  a more finished look.  The zigzagged seams pinched to the outside of the vessel, if not a chosen design detail, is a distraction to me.  I want the fabric skin or the image on the fabric to be the focus along with the chosen form.  I am looking for a different construction method.


This vase has a smooth exterior and interior.  The Pellon pattern shapes forming the vase are butted
together and zigzaged with the last seam done by hand.  The orange lining was completed by machine, all six seams, with the same pattern as the form, sewn just a hair smaller.  The fabric was fused to the inside of the Pellon form with a small iron after the lining was sewn together and slipped into the Pellon form. The exterior is commercial cotton fabric, over-dyed and stamped with metallic paint. These pattern pieces were sewn together by machine a hair larger than the form. This outside skin was slipped over the lined form and the seams of the skin and the form were aligned.  The bottom was covered and hand sewn onto the form and a  bottom piece covered with the lining fabric was  positioned inside the vessel.  The top was finished with a bias strip tuned to the inside.

I like this vase.  I can see things that can be improved. I am looking forward to the next vase and where this will take me.

Vessels for Africa

I am working on my vessel construction.  I have been having technical problems with re-visiting the vessel I made in Mary McCauley's workshop.  (The wonderful twist is just not quite right. ) But---- I have a deadline to get two vessels ready for the friends that are hosting my grand-daughter in Zambia. So, while I work on the three-sided twist, I have made a pattern for a flat sided, open bowl.

My third oldest granddaughter has been talking for years about a trip to Africa to visit friends met here in America while the head of their family completed schooling.  At the time, they had 2 little girls and a third born while they were here.  My granddaughter babysat the children and become very close to them.  Since then,  the families have stayed in touch and after high school graduation and before school or career kicked in, an opportunity presented itself for her to visit.

She is there for three months - during  Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.  Fabric vessels are light weight and a thank you gift is definitely in order.

The first vessel/basket has been constructed per Mary's lesson, with zigzag seams pinched to the outside of the unit.  This method allows the seams to be a design detail, and I have used a nice blue thread to compliment the orange commercial fabric.

The three-sided twisted vessel has been conquered! Thanks to the return of a copy of the pattern from a good friend.  I was "off" pattern by enough to have to start over.

Again, a bright commercial fabric was used and the same zigzagged seams were used on the outside to complete the vessel.  They will be hand delivered in January by my daughter.  I am anxious to hear all about the visit and all she learned.