Spring Rabbits

Here is a series of yardages I printed for my final Surface Design project. The pink one represents my first attempt at silkscreening with thickened natural dyes. I used cochineal and osage orange. I had mixed results with this particular fabric (smooth, shiny cotton with a very high thread count-- lovely to touch but not very good at sucking up the dye). In the end it was a very satisfying experiment and I hope to do more printing with natural dyes in the future.

Back to Earth

We've been back a week from the fabulous Thistlethwaite family vacation to the British Virgin Islands. What a time! The highlights were sipping cocktails while relaxing in the sun with my wonderful family and snorkeling among the reefs, just a stone's throw from our door (I wish I had pictures of the sea turtles and the scores of beautiful fish that we saw every day!)




Here is my nephew, Michael's first snorkeling excursion. He is accompanied by his dad and Uncle Andrew.




and on a craft-related note: I made myself a skirt for the occasion.

Show

The Ferry Building Art Gallery is in a fabulous location- on the beach in West Vancouver.


Opening night of the show went really well. Quite a few friends and family members came out and a good time was had by all. It rained and poured and most of the pictures from that night were dark and dreary. Here's one of the good ones. My sister Maryka made the trek from Bellingham, WA to West Vancouver.
The rest of the pictures were taken on the day the show closed, when I went to pick up my work.








A quilt by Emmily Stephens. Shibori, indigo and mineral dyes.


A fabric book by Gayle Ramsden. Silkscreen, cotton, lace, knitting needles.


A weaving by Maddy Andrews. Copper wire, wool.









This is an extension of my crochet project. It turned into quite a compulsion .


Rose was weaving all week at the Silk Purse Gallery just down the lane from the Ferry Building.


And here I am with the lovely and talented Kimberly Francis, just before we took all the art off the walls.

Grad Show

Today is the opening of my grad show. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures.

Moth: The Final Weaving Project

Our final weaving project was an open one. I chose to revisit tapestry (my first foray into tapestry was in my first semester). The image of the moth in light came from Holy the Firm by Annie Dillard, which I first read ten years ago. There are many passages within that little book that have stayed with me. One the most striking involves a moth that flies too close to the flame of a candle. Her wings burn and shrivel and her abdomen is caught upright in the candle's wax. The abdomen is hollowed out by the fire, but holds the flame. What is left of the moth burns as a second wick until she is blown out, late into the night.
So, this tapestry is an attempt to capture part of that story. It is 9.5" x 8.5". Woven with cotton warp and wool, silk and other unknown fibres in the weft.



The golden-tan wool was dyed using arbutus bark. The greys was dyed with arbutus and then dipped in an iron post-mordant. Arbutus is a tree native to the Pacific Northwest. Incidentally, they are plentiful on the Pacific Gulf Islands were Annie Dillard wrote Holy the Firm.

Hey, Crochet!

In my 3-D class we were given an assignment to learn a technique, create a project, and teach a workshop on this technique to the class. Our workshop was "Crocheting Around Things" and it was very fun. I stuck to crocheting around things I found about the house, while my partner in this endeavour, Stephanie, went farther afield. Stephanie has embarked on an ongoing public crochet project. In the back alleys, phone booths and construction sites of Vancouver, Stephanie is leaving her mark. And for the life of me, I cannot get her pictures to load into this post. So you must to go to her flickr site and see for yourselves.

Empty Studios

So, I'm not the world's most diligent blogger... I've had my little nose to the grindstone. As of this past week I am completely finished. It's a bitter sweet feeling. I was so busy toward the end and it feels great not having deadlines. But these two years in the Textile Arts program at Capilano College were fabulous. I learned so much and met many wonderful people. I'll especially miss the studios. We had access to so many materials and resources. Now I'm faced with the daunting (and exciting) task of setting up a studio of my own.