Journal painting of my paintbrush jar

While I was away from this blog I started a visual journal: it was to be a non-precious place for ideas, collage, painting and sketching.

 

I am loving the painting side of things so much that the ideas, collage and sketching are being pushed aside. The paintings have been mainly colour and texture so far.  I've ventured into some patterning and other play but I have to admit to adoring the sheen of my cheap acrylics that even the pages with nothing but colour slapped on are seductive to me.  I can't stop running my fingers over the surface and it makes me hungry to produce more.  The paint provides instant colour gratification.

 

The pics here have been altered to remove the spiral bound centre of the book I am using.

Riscy and I went to the Latrobe Regional Gallery today and saw an exhibition of works by Bruno Leti which was very enjoyable.  Looking at the images of his work online just now makes me see the similarities between my journal 'butting' and his split field works (I made that term up, is there a proper description that I should know about?)

Anyway,  tommorow I'm off to Geelong for the week.  I'll be back on Sunday 1 October... the same day as the opening of the ARC Yinnar Drawing Prize Exhibition.  So no doubt there will be lots to talk about then.

A page from my journal

A more orderly shot

I currently have Deb Menz's Color in Spinning out of the library.  I think I'll get my own copy.  Not that I'm inclined to get too technical with my dyeing or spinning.  But it is good to be reminded of what is possible.  

My normal approach to dyeing is rather 'freeform' but  I generally like the results :-) I dyed the fibre above last Christmas and spun it this week.  My singles are hopelessly uneven, but I'm sure it will knit up fine. Its funny how it works out.

Here is a more orderly shot:

Curly singles

My resolution to stay focussed on quilts has taken a backward step.  I have just finished a three day paper making class with Meg Viney (over three Saturdays).  Meg is a sculpturer working in paper and felt and probably lots of other things.  Her paper is made from all sorts of fibre - including vegetable scraps left over from making soup!

The above photo shows a sheet of paper I made from Flax.  We drove out into the country side to harvest the fibre.  This flax was taken from some enormous clumps growing on the road side in front of a farm house.  We also collected leaves from Red Hot Poker, Daffodils, Irises and canna.  The red hot poker creates a reddish brown paper and the dafodils and iris made green and the dried canna leaves made the most beautiful chocolate brown.

I never realised how simple this process is!  We chopped the leaves up and the boiled them with a few tablespoons of caustic soda for an hour (or until slimy).  We rinsed the mush to get the caustic out ... and thats the fibre ready to use to make sheets of paper or to mould into a scupture.  I started a large vessel yesterday and I hope to work on it more during the coming weeks :-) 

The only problem with that plan is that I am attending the Geelong Textile Fibre Forum next week... once again diverting myself from my quilt making.  I'm going to learn how to make shoes on a last.

Flax paper made from scratch