Pink Candy and Mocha - #the100dayproject 25-31

These were days of scarlet cheeks, candy pink and blush grey hair and mocha mushrooms!

This combination really stretched the imagination, and the first day I resorted to a pre-stamped embroidery which I think summed up the week - wandering from colour to colour, subject to subject ....

First came a couple of mushrooms - the background of these are machine stitched. Scraps of fabric are laid down on a base fabric and , using the decorative stitches on a sewing machine, rows and rows of stitching create the effect of a new background fabric. I often use this technique to create unique backgrounds for applique and feature stitching. The mushrooms are raw edged appliqued onto these essentially pinky red backgrounds. Do these colours make them fairytale like or just a bit sinister?

You might have noticed a theme of red polka dots in these little works .... that just reminded me of red cheeks, and so a series of quirky characters was born .... a party girl, a pair of nerdy teenagers and a rather sophisticated mature woman. These are all free machine stitched and then coloured with Prisma pencil. I enjoyed this technique - it's like drawing with the sewing machine and colouring in later. The "drawing " isn't perfect and that's what I like about it - the stitching lines are free and seem to add 'life" to this little odd portraits. The backgrounds are made from old whitewashed book pages. I guess you;ve worked out I like drawing people with glasses and rosy cheeks!

Hope you will also check other posts in this series ...

Sunshine and black and white

Pistachio and dark chocolate

Greens with mustard

Ready, Steady, Go

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Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks .... The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or my husband or from off cuts gifted to us from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks. Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as w...

From my workshop page....

Current Workshops Offerings Thinking of a workshop for your group in 2022? Art Doll Workshops : - Garden Thread Dolls (one day workshop - WoW -(Woman of Wisdom) - embellished stump doll with either cloth head or clay head. This is an a rt doll workshop .... either offered as a series of workshops or 2 full days days! - Message/Story Stick doll - doll made with found objects and upcycled cloth. ( one day) - Elemental totems - stick doll variation , with sculpture ( one or two days, depending on surface decoration of fabric) TEXTILE AND MIXED MEDIA WORKSHOPS Temari - embroidered wrapped balls in traditional style. - Dipping Into Tea - tea and embroidery on canvas with photo transfer on fabric. ( two days) work by Judith Bee, workshop participant. - Tea Bag sculpture : ...

"Temari Or Not Temari?" Tutorial

Background Information: Temari (literally translated “hand ball”) is a Japanese folk craft that is alleged to have originated in China and was introduced to Japan five or six hundred years ago. Traditionally, the balls were constructed from wrapped kimono fabric remnants and silk threads. They were made by mothers and grandmothers for children to play with. Nowadays, decorative embroidered temari represent a highly valued and cherished gift symbolizing friendship and loyalty. Recently I've wondered if your don't use traditional techniques whether you should call what you create "temari". That is an ongoing debate but today I share what I do to make a "non-traditional temari".... 1.I start with a polystrene ball ( traditionally the balls were wound silk scraps or other organic materials) and begin to wrap with approx 4 ply wool, turning the ball as I wrap. 2. I then wrap another layer of wool in a similar fashion , this time a 3 or 2 ...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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