I like to think of Macc as an intelligent dog, but his intellect doesn't stretch to this challenge. In the week since the biopsy he hasn't learned to make allowances for the big plastic obstruction that's suspended around his head. He's a dog who likes to lick his favourite humans. Normally that's a mixed blessing, but when the rough wet tongue is accompanied by the hard edge of plastic digging into nearby skin it's hard to remember that this is an expression of friendly familiarity. My other major complaint is the dog-door--in other households this might be known as a cat flap. Macc has been using it for about ten years. For ten years it's been big enough to accomodate him, but now the plastic cone is significantly bigger than the opening. The dogs sleep in my bedroom. The dog-door is there to allow them to go in and out during the night. Aauuggh! The sound of plastic bumping and banging against the surrounding wall as Macc insists on his right to pop out during the night is NOT a nice way to interrupt my sleep!
I started with yellow--nice! Red was next: the name on the tube is "scarlet". That gave me the predicted bright red. So far, so good. Mixing the red and yellow gave me a clear orange. Now blue. It seemed to be a pretty good match to the colour stipulated for my adult art class. Mixing blue and yellow gave me a green which would happily serve as grass in a child's masterpiece. OK here's the catch. Blue and red make purple, right? Not here they don't. All I could manage was grey. Any amount of red and blue I tried had the same sort of result. I can only imagine the disappointment of a child feeling as if they've failed the art lesson. From my adult perspective I'll be glad to include this little experiment in my lesson on tertiary colours. There's evidently a fair bit of yellow in both the red and blue paints. So blending the two is really like blending the three primary colours: blue, red and yellow. My colour theory tells me that should make grey-black. Pretty much right! Having got that out of my system, it's back to the assigned homework: mixing tertiary colours and stitching tints and shades of primaries. But first, I think another coffee and perhaps a little chocolate to help me regain my equilibrium.
I'm trying to skim through and put an initial framework of knowledge in place, rather than getting tied down in too much detail. And I'm trying not to panic.
I'm amazed at how much thread I've used on what are really quite small samples. I'll have to go off to the haberdashery department again today and buy a few more skeins. I think that this week's class will involve more colour blending. Our paint mixing this week was working on shades and tints, so I guess that's what I'll be stitching next week.
In addition to the fact that it's one of my favourite colours, I was fascinated by the combination of soft and hard lines. Plus the use of a zipper as a feature, which is a trend I've been aware of lately. Coincidentally my friend V sent me this link. She's been given a pattern to test for Nicole Mallaleiu. The challenge is to see how the design works on different body types. I'd happily be a guinea pig for something like this. I'm always looking for different solutions to my various figure ideosyncracities!
I decided to use the macro lens for this pic, even though having it out of focus would have enhanced the appearance of blending. One thing is clear, even though I'm less than satisfied with this first attempt, I'm not about to just have another go at it. There's too much concentration, time and effort involved and I still have a running stitch sample to do. I'm hoping the blend will be easier to achieve the second time round. The process is to substitute one of the six strands of the embroidery cotton at a time--still using only the primary colours.
Coincidentally, I have a frittata on my agenda today. I need to re-stock the easy-meal-supply in my fridge. I saved the last egg and blew it out rather than cracking it into the bowl. A good rinse with a couple of syringe-fulls of water and it's ok to keep for a while--though I will need to be careful to put it in a safe place. Now before I spend too much time exploring, I will need to finish off some of the more defined homework exercises, then I can get as engrossed as I like and I'll still be up to date come next Friday.
In the afternoon we worked on more basics of colour theory: hue, tint and shade; saturation and the illusion of colour mixing produced by juxtaposition. Today I need to recharge my batteries, bring some more order into my living arrangements and do some homework. This cone of yarn could contribute a little to each of those priorities. I pulled it down off the shelf because I need to move it into the studio. It's a mass of red fibre and an interesting combination of line and texture. Focussing on it for a few minutes is energising.
I think I'll hang on to these in the hope that this weekend will be quieter than the last one and I'll get a chance to do some reading. For the moment the titles are still exciting.
Even with the red-magenta spectrum in the pic the colours aren't coming up quite the way I see them. I guess that's a lesson in itself . . . and yes, there's also a lesson to be learned in how to adjust my photography, but that will have to be another day.
I've been using "Royal Auto" as my source: lots of landscape pics, cars, and ads of various kinds. Purples are rather thin on the ground and the gradations between colours are harder to find than I'd expected. I think I'll try to get hold of a different type of magazine and see whether that helps to fill in some of the gaps. As an exercise it's been enlightening and I can see my sensitivity to colour developing through it. Another homework task is to paint a colour wheel by mixing primary colours of paint. I think I'll tackle that one tomorrow.
She looked up and caught my eye--I can be loud like that. I explained that the name Rara was given to me by another young-old friend. Alexandra calls herself Ra and decided some years ago that I needed a nickname of my own. I've been Rara to her family ever since. Cathy explained that my namesake, the little elephant's name means, "naughty girl" in Thai. "She's not always naughty, but she's always cheeky", she explained. On the strength of that introduction I had to buy the book. However the relationship blossomed quickly and by the time I left the gallery I also had one of Cathy's original watercolour drawings with me. It's a working drawing for the cover page and I just love the cheeky elephant's smile. The watercolour work is also brilliant. I've been dreaming and planning for the children's room at my house. This gives me a focal point and inspiration for the decor. And it seems a great way to celebrate the beginning of my next adventure by embracing the work of an emerging artist.
Here's a beautiful straight line for this morning. Now my camera and I are going for a drive in the country. A friend of mine is visiting from interstate. I was to have caught up with her this last week, but life got too complicated and I asked her not to come into town to meet me. Instead I'm planning to head down the Princes Highway to Drouin. In a way it would be nice to stay cozy and quiet at home, but I'm sure the effort will be worth it.
The paper has been sitting on my table in a loose roll for several days... enticing... intriguing ... inviting... I've chosen it as my blog pic this morning because there's so much to say about my first day at the Textile Art course that I don't really know what to say. The buzz of excitement hasn't faded overnight, even though I know I'm tired. There are beginnings of ideas, relationships, opportunities... And the thought that this is a three year course, just reinforces the thrill of newness.. . . and did I really go the whole day without stopping for a drink of water!
The bad news on the "armchair" front is that the recliner mechanism of my favourite chair broke this week. It's hard to describe how emotional I feel about it. This has been the place where I've tucked myself in for comfort and relaxation for years. It's not just a piece of furniture, but a symbol of coziness. My rational self tells me there will be other suitable items of furniture, but it's going to take a while to get used to the idea.
Believe it or not, this morning's temperature was only 13 degrees--we're in the middle of summer here and a week or so ago the max was 40. So, starting to crochet a largish lap rug is actually an ok thing to do. I gave the yarn a good soak in some warm water. Now it's hanging to dry. That combination of warm water and gravity is all it takes to get the yarn back to a near-new condition. Meanwhile I've started the first few rows of the blanket with other colours. I'm using teals and brown as well as the red-burgundy colour. I'm liking the combination so far.
Maybe I should have known this, but all but one of the stars on the Australian Flag have seven points.This one will be the Commonwealth Star. It's more prominent than the others on the flag.
It's not one I would normally choose, but it works well and I'd like to play with it some time. One of the things I love about quilts in general, and particularly scrappy quilts, is the way a detail will jump out and catch my attention. This particular little scrap of fabric is a corner piece, so there's maybe 10cm by 3 cm of it in a mass of other fabrics, but there it is ready to interest and inspire me.
Twenty blocks completed in the space of a couple of hours! I was stunned. I was happy. I'll admit, I raved a bit! We had two women on sewing machines. J and L were part of my beginner Patchwork by Machine class last year. Their quilting skills are basic, but they each have a long history of working in the local textile industry as machinists. When they sit down to a task, that task gets done. Wow, does it get done! They're also long-standing friends, so it was a delight to see them working happily together, chatting away, sharing resources and commenting on each others work. Meanwhile V and I made sure they had a steady supply of materials. We also pressed and trimmed the blocks as the sewing was completed. Oh, and we cheered!
The Commonwealth Star in the Australian flag has seven points: one for each State and one to represent the Territories. To make it a bit more substantial and stable, I added seven rays of beads gathered in the middle. The fascinating shadow is just a bonus this morning. It's the third day in a row of temperatures in the high thirties and I have already shut down the house to keep out the hot wind--all except for my East-facing kitchen window.