Water 3

This piece was the first started but last finished, partly because it spent the best part of a 3 weeks wrapped together with shards of rust from the  groins along Ryde beach. As with Water 2 I had dyed the fabric with Dylon.  This time I used the patching and piecing technique to assemble the fabric and then machined stitched it to bring it together. On reflection, this is preferable to the patched approach of the previous piece. I hoped that the rust dying would add another dimension to the surface. However, the rust didn’t take to the Dylon. I had incorporated small pieces of previously rust-dyed fabric into the patching and those were intensified by the process.  The cotton sheet on the back is a nice rusty colour too! The soaking had slightly muted the Dylon colours, so I was happy with that. Again, I used my funky foam print block to add green and copper acrylic (stamped on to scrunched paper and them applied to the fabric). This time in circles surrounding the marked out holes. The holes were cut away and, using broderie Anglais technique, were secured with some naturally dyed wool.

Peering through the holes you can see another layer. I intended to conjure up the idea of a vortex behind, but I was impatient and didn’t sample and have ended up with something resembling a cut tree stump or thumb print.  Its okay though and, after all, it is just the backing and you’re only getting glimpses by peering through the holes. The prints were created by cutting a lino block and printing with white acrylic. I machine stitched swirls of tricky to use embroidery thread into them. I liked the mixture of fabrics including velvet, linen and denim. I think it would have been great to have patched and pieced this side too, but time is money!

I was pleased with my bias-binding edges, not used since my City & Guilds.  Machined on the front and hand-stitched on the back. The hanger is great too – a really useful find at the Knitting & Stitching show last year.

So that’s all my pieces for the TRAC Spring Exhibition at Quarr Abbey (2nd-14th March), but I think I will utilise my other sketchbook drawings and photos for a few more pieces related to this theme. So watch this space.