shrinky dink and leather and industrial felt

   
 

The trouble with production craft is it can be horribly monotonous. I found a new series and new mediums to play with – world premier to be found at the ccnl gallery this Wednesday at their ‘Lend Us Your Ears’ fundraiser.  
 I’ll have more fun shrinky dink drawings later this season. I’m starting with feathers, because…. well… feathers.  Looking to get better at controlling my lines and my colours in the slippery plastic.

Updates

whale tails complete and delivered.

 

going in today to make a few minor alterations. I wasn’t able to see how they looked when velcroed together until I delivered them. I hadn’t had a space the right size and shape.

And 

‘The Messenger’ was fully funded! Which makes me so very very happy.  

Today I am working to fill summer store orders – metalworkings   for me for the next few days.

  

  

whale tales

so. I’ve been busy… making life sized blue whale tails. I wish I had had the sense to show you the journey as it happened.  I did not. I guess you could say I was focused.(nay stressed).

I made the pattern tiny and used math to make it real sized.

   

   

then I assembled the pattern and cut out pieces and assembled those.

  more sewing insued.  then I painted.

   

 

then I added propellor strikes

  

roughly two months work.  I admit there were times when I wished they would make themselves. There were times when I hated them, was embarrassed of my work. I was tired and needed distance and sleep.

This morning I like them. There are things I will do differently next time. If there is a next time.  

I thank the staff at DFO for this opportunity and challenge.  I hope they are pleased. ( Truly I hope they are over the moon, but I’ll take pleased.)

Thank you to Matthew Elementary, the Anna Templeton Centre and My Parents for letting me use their spaces.

And to Erin at Fiber Lily.  For ordering giant amount of canvas in the perfect colour in such timely fashion.  

near and dear

My art and craft is almost exclusively about birds and their importance and their upsettingly drastic decline in numbers. 

I don’t do this very often. In fact I may never have done this before.. I’m not one for pandering or asking for help…. I feel like there is enough of that in our lives already.

 So that will tell you how important this is to me…. and to all of us.  

And yes. I do mean all of us.

Www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-messenger–3

It’s a film about the dramatic and tragic decline of birds worldwide.  And why we need them, and what will happen if we don’t have them.

They only need 50K. that’s it.

I could rant here about how it only took a few (brilliant) actors a few days to raise millions of dollars for entertainment purposes…. A project I look forward to and will enjoy , no doubt.

BUT this Messenger project has been up for weeks and hasn’t crossed the 20K yet.  I gave what I could and decided I could go without fancy coffee for a few months.

If you have 10$, it’ll help. and maybe we can all help.

Thanks to Jody Allair for making me aware of this very worth while project.

Educate yourselves. Knowledge is power.

things I do sometimes

Test floatation of dead seabirds with gps tracker attached.

The actual floaty thing looks like this:

I’m helping with a study for dispersion of birds during oil spills….

(The ducks have feet – though I have yet to drip plasti- dip over them…it’ll have to be soon).

thy still need feet

I abandoned screen printing and went straight to acrylic paint… easier to mix and more control over application.

When they dry I get to stitch them up and see them to the now footless bodies.

Feet! They need Feet!

The very first thoughts from my mind on waking today.

It is true. My ducks need feet. That will be my today, drawing feet, cutting out stencils of feet, printing feet, sewing feet, stuffing and attaching said feet.

A little bit of outside insight

Have you met Gloria Hickey?

She’s great.

Which is why it means so much to me that she would choose to write about me and my work.  We’ve been increasingly close as it gets time to oil my ducks.  I’m stalling. I’m sort of searching for someone to shoot a video of the destruction…is this you?

BUT the real reason I write this is to link you to Gloria’s Internet Writings. 

have a good one!

r

all together with horrible photos

Yup.
That’s what’s been taking up my life for the past 2 months.
There are two of them.
The photos are horrible. I apologise.
I will endeavour to take better shots soon.

Today I go purchase the liquid rubber to drip all over these millions of stitches….. my anxiety is at a minimum – for now.

I’ve been working… promise

Big thanks to the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council for helping me out with this latest project. I’ve been pulling 10 hr days for the last 8 weeks.

It’s been a solid roller coaster of being proud and confident and tired and defeated. The above are photos of the pieces I’ve printed and embroidered.

I’ll post photos of the finished product shortly.