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  • Home
    • About Us >
      • Ann >
        • Sonja
  • Our Blog
  • Galleries
    • Smaller Art Works
    • Larger Art Works
    • Unlined Jackets
    • Lined Jackets
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    • Other Small Items
  • Events & Venues
    • Workshop Offerings
  • Threads of Resistance
    • Creating Word Power
    • Artist Statement

Partners In Art

Evolution of Ann's Latest Artwork

10/22/2018

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In my last post I shared a picture of the piece I'd recently started using the leftover fabric trimmings from the flat-felled seams in one of my jackets.  I have just completed that piece.  It took a path I never would have expected when I started it.  Not that I ever have any set expectations for what any piece will look like in the end, but I don't think I ever imagined anything like my final result.
Picture
Fighting the Blues
I call this one "Fighting the Blues."  Not only did the looks of the piece evolve in unexpected ways, but the theme evolved as well.  Here's what happened.

I brought the dark blue piece to our "just us" art night at the library.  (Sonja and I are meeting weekly for stitching and conversation.  I had done about as much stitching as I thought it needed, but it didn't really feel like a finished piece.  Still it wasn't suggesting anything specific that it needed.  I asked Sonja for suggestions.  She said one idea would be to cut it apart and put it back together in a new way or adding in some additional fabrics.

I liked the idea of doing that but couldn't find fabrics in my stash that I thought would work as additions.  What I did pull out was another of my recent experiments.
This is another piece created with the trimmings from those flat-felled seams.  In this one I sandwiched the the strips between two pieces of sheer fabric and then machine stitched over it all to hold the layers together.  In the side shown here, the sheer I used was already composed of two layers with strings of white novelty yarn between them.  The other side is just a plain white sheer which leaves the colored strips more visible.

The colors of the two fabrics coordinated.  So I ended up cutting apart the dark blue one and layering it over the white one, leaving spaces so the back fabric shows through.  The dark pieces were appliqued down with  blanket stitches using Stef Francis hand-dyed silk perle thread.
Picture
As I mentioned, the theme of this work changed a bit as well.  When I started, it was simply a joyful piece.  I was feeling a lot of joy due to having Sonja and her family living near again.  But despite all my happiness on the home front, the current political climate and the venom from the Trump administration was getting me down.  (And still is.)  Again my artwork was functioning as a pep talk to myself--hence the title "Fighting the Blues."  I am reminding myself not to lose hope.
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Art Night Tonight

10/2/2018

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 Finally having a chance to send a progress update on the big move.  It's been a hectic time, not quite so much for me but certainly for Sonja.  Such a myriad of details to be worked out in settling in to a new home, a new job, putting your child in daycare for the first time, getting a second car...on and on it goes.  She hasn't had much time for art, but she now at least has a designated space for it.  (Though Tyler has designated it his playroom too.) 

Sonja's begun to get her studio organized and I am happy to report that she and I are going to have our first "Just Us Art Night" tonight.  We are going to meet at the library that's at about the halfway point between our houses.  The library has a nice little "cafe" area with some comfy chairs and tables.  We'll bring our tea and stitching for a bit of relaxation and sharing.  We hope to do this on a regular basis now - it's been too long.

"My Heart Took Flight" is finished.  Now I'm putting my energy and joyful feelings into this new work.  I don't have a plan for it but I'm having fun and using up scraps.  (I've been doing flat-felled seams in my new unlined jackets which generated all these colorful strings of fabric.  They seemed too pretty to waste so I drizzled them over a plain black fabric, covered it all with a fine blue tulle, and began stitching.)  This is what I'll be bringing to stitch on tonight.
Picture
My Heart Took Flight
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Happy New Work
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    Mother & daughter, Ann Lee & Sonja Lee-Austin share their joys and struggles in their art and lives.

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