Inktense Experiments

Now this is an adventure! At Sketch Club the other day I finally made time to test out the Derwent Inktense pencils (which become permanent when water is added) on fabric. As I cleaned out my stacks of fabric, I found some white cotton and cut it into rectangles for my Textile Sketchbook. I taped a piece to a small piece of plywood and drew my favorite succulent plant, which has red-edged leaves, with a Micron .08 tip (permanent pen). The large tip made it easier to draw without catching threads.

Then I started adding color by dipping the pencils into water first. I rather like the bleeding that is developing. More fun ahead!

Out & About, 14

For lunch in a restaurant, I wasn't feeling particularly inspired, but they did have good seafood.

Having coffee in an expensive café (with lousy service--one remembers the small things) I had enough time to people-watch and sketch.

In the Stacks: Progress Report, 2

Now I remember why this clean-up job got put off for so long; it's just very time-consuming--every evening I iron and fold and iron and fold.

No regrets, though. Look at all those beautiful, orderly stacks!

And I thought it would take more room to squeeze in my new summer acquisitions. 

Nope. With the fabric generally ironed and folded carefully it all fits.

However, when I turn the corner, more disorder awaits me...

Sketch Club, 2

After doing the blind and negative spaces sketches, I tested out my brand new 72-set Derwent Inktense pencils. This turned out to be exciting because there are several ways to apply color and get different effects. I discovered that there is a learning curve.

My friend said: "I can hardly wait to see what you do with the Inktense on fabric."

Me, too!

A Tree & Bus Waiting

Being out everyday in my orchard, trees are taking over my topics of conversation in sketching. 

Then there was a taxi driver who had an interesting tea glass holder attached to his dashboard. He can sip his black tea all day long. It's so strong that it is served only in very small glasses or cups. This beverage got me through grad school, but now I wouldn't dare to have even a sip!

Sketch Club, 1

A friend and I meet once a week for Sketch Club. We pick an object to sketch and sometimes we play around with new materials and techniques. Yesterday we drew a potted plant. I got out my Sketch Club book, which is an old planner with really bad paper, and warmed up with a blind sketch. Then I did a sketch of the negative spaces. I added the water color backgrounds later in the evening.

So much fun & no expectations!--Just foolin' around...

In the Bus & a Waiting Room

Thanks to excursions to the dentist's office in Tunis, the bus theme appears frequently lately. An idea for a Textile Sketchbook page is nagging at me, gestating. A crossover into fabric. A beginning for...well, I was thinking about a whole busload of life-size people ! Hmmmmm.

And having to do waiting room time, I managed a rather detailed sketch of a part of a hospital in my small journal. Hospitals may make it into fabric as well...the aging/retiring theme...very geriatric! 

In the Stacks: Progress Report

Having to iron every evening to get my fabrics under control, I'm pleased to see that I've made it up to the blues--over half way. I've been tough with myself, giving away or tossing a number of items that I know I will never touch. 

Comparing all those beautiful colors to the browns and beiges on the right, you can see my progress...my heart sings!

Out & About, 13

Into Tunis in a taxi, and back in a bus--out and about.

In the Stacks

Well, I'm not in the book stacks, but the fabric stacks. Trying to find space for my new fabrics gleaned this summer, I found I had to do some ironing, re-folding, re-stacking, and generally visiting my old fabrics. The current state of the blues and greens leaves something to be desired.

However, the warm colors are looking good: Lights on the top shelf and darks below, then each stack has patterned fabrics, followed by stripes and plaids, with solids on the bottom.

Coming from a family with obsessive-compulsive tendencies, I try to channel it all (this would explain my needle turn appliqué). Looking at the orderly stacks, I feel like singing. And what a wonderful palette--I will always prefer fabric as an artistic medium over paper and paint.

Waiting for Buses, 2

Stanley, my 8-year-old granddaughter's paper doll who is traveling the world, stands beside a girl waiting for a bus.

And yes, I carry my journal with me just about every place. The small size and use of ball point pen make it easy to have along. I add color at home in the evening.

Look What I Found!

Last night I went to bed all jazzed up because I finally started integrating all my new fabrics into my stash. I have to re-stack/align the piles of each color because things have gotten slightly mixed up over the years. I only got through the yellows, for which I have the smallest quantity, but just ironing and handling those fabrics made me so happy. Add to that the pleasure of seeing my sewing table being cleared of fabric, and order prevailing--it's a wonder I could sleep at all.

And then I woke up early this morning, excited for the day to start. I haven't felt like that for a l-o-n-g time. A new day...

So here's what I found folded in my stacks. I knew it was there, but had forgotten it: my favorite quote about literature (by E.M.Forster).

I used a piece of an old men's shirt to write with a permanent pen. Ahhhh, so many possibilities. I am so jazzed!

Waiting for Buses, 1

When I go to Tunis, I take the bus home. This always provides interesting subjects--creating a theme of people waiting for buses. Lots of waiting. There doesn't seem to be much of a set schedule. The bus comes when it comes.

Climbing Mt. Everest, 1

After finishing my vest with a spot, which was fast and easy, I felt acute desire for a challenge. I was aching to climb Mt. Everest, the Mt. Everest of my stitching world. Yeah, yeah, I know...I'm supposed to be finishing the Pomegranate Tree quilt, but the work is just that: finishing work. I needed high adventure!
        And then I knew I would be sitting in a hospital waiting room yesterday morning for a long stretch of time...nothing serious, just a necessary procedure for a family member. I took along my sketching kit, my stitching kit, and "He Went to Work Everyday, Then He Retired." 

This is Mt. Everest for me because there are so many challenges, like the collars, cuffs, and front buttons, not to mention the layers of fabric that will become entangled and the large size. Here I've only attached two of the five shirts. I just sew a small part at any one time, whatever seems do-able. I managed to finish a couple strands yesterday.

My techniques are honed and I feel physically fit (from working in my orchards).
 I have been training to climb my stitching Mt. Everest for a long time.