Boris and I went away to Summerland with friends over the Canada Day long weekend. It has been many years since I last visited the Okanagan, and I’ve never previously explored this tiny town where our friend grew up. The weather was super hot, and Lake Okanagan was the perfect place to cool off in the afternoon.
We wandered, explored, snacked, napped, read books, and went swimming. The perfect way to spend a summer long weekend.
The Thirty Days of Drawing Project came to a conclusion on June 24, 2017 at Day fifty-five. This video includes work from June 13th through to the 24th. The final page ended up in colour because I had previously used it for a marker test and decided to incorporate this into the drawing. I did a few variations of previous drawings because I love to iterate.
And now I have been taking a break for the summer and thinking about what to do next. There are many drawings I have plans to turn into paper cut work.
Watch the previous sketchbook videos here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
These are the fourth and fifth pieces in the series of designs using circles divided into triangles. As with the previous two I shared last week, they are hand cut from 8.5″ x 11″ card stock, and made to fit into 12″ x 12″ square frames. Having a few empty frames on hand and a desire to fill them with new work is what triggered the series.
Detail and finished version of the white one pictured above, with detail and full view of the black one below.
There is so much more to do with this idea, and I also would love to see a few of the designs laser cut from wood.
I look at this finished project sitting in our green chair and part of me can’t quite believe I am the one who made it. I finished stitching the sashiko design over the weekend and felt intimidated to tackle sewing it all together. I am much more comfortable with hand sewing over machine sewing, but I also needed to learn how to do an invisible seam. It’s something I had never done before but I found this helpful video to guide me.
Here’s the pillow after I sewed two of the sides on the sewing machine and was about the start using an invisible/ladder stitch to sew the whole thing closed over the pillow form.
When I was finished, I held the pillow over my head and did a victory lap around the apartment to celebrate. It felt like a HUGE accomplishment to make this simple object.
Now that this is done I am either going to tackle the embroidery kit I also bought in Toronto, or begin a new freeform stitching design on a piece of clothing.
Here are two more from the series of designs I’ve been creating over the past few weeks using circles and triangles. These ones are smaller than the piece I shared previously. They are hand cut from 8.5″ x 11′ card stock, and made to fit into 12″ x 12″ square frames.
I’m discovering the best angle and flow of the piece only after the cutting is complete and the excess paper is removed. It seems to change it dramatically, and the way I was seeing it as a work-in-progress is not the same when it’s finished. It’s such a refreshing surprise.
Now that there are five of these, I’m going to stop and reflect upon their meaning and symbolism. It’s something I don’t do often enough and I feel it would strengthen my work.
I haven’t been sharing much paper work on the blog in the past couple of weeks but I have been producing quite a bit of new pieces behind the scenes. I started a new series of designs inspired by the first drawing I did in my 30 Days of Drawing Project Sketchbook. I’ve been creating compositions made up of circles divided into triangles radiating from a central point. They resemble things like bicycle wheels, umbrellas, pinwheels, seed pods, etc.
The one I am sharing here is the third in the series, and it’s also the largest to fit into an 18″ x 24″ frame. The photo above was taken as I lay the work in progress over top a finished piece to check the frame size, and I love how the two different patterns interact and flow.
I’ve been drawing and planning these compositions beforehand, which is not how I usually work, but I think it’s an improvement to my process. I’m also cutting away the excess paper around the finished composition to emphasize the intricacy and delicacy of the cut paper work.
The finished piece is pictured in the photo above. I have three other smaller pieces completed for this series, and fourth getting started today. I’ll share more soon.
Means of Production opened at Cityscape Community Art Space in North Vancouver last week. It is a show featuring the work of five textile artists working in weaving, rug hooking, and stitching while exploring the value, meaning, and metaphorical possibilities of of making work by hand in a digital age of increasingly rapid advancement.
The show features beautiful and meaningful pieces by Amanda Wood, Michelle Sirois Silver, Stephanie Symns, Lucky Poskitt, and Amanda McCavour.
Installation by Amanda Wood
Installation detail by Amanda Wood
By Amanda Wood
Rug hooking detail by Michelle Sirois Silver
Rug hooking detail by Michelle Sirois Silver
Weaving by Lucy Poskitt
Detail of Weaving by Lucy Poskitt
Weavings by Lucy Poskitt
Weaving by Stephanie Symns
Weaving by Stephanie Symns
Weaving by Stephanie Symns
Installation by Amanda McCavour
Installation detail by Amanda McCavour
Installation detail by Amanda McCavour
Means of Production continues until July 15, 2017. Visit Cityscape Community Art Space website for details.
When I was in Toronto a few months ago I visited a shop carrying gift items from Japan and came across their stash of sashiko stitching supplies. I bought myself some thread and one of the pieces of cloth with a printed pattern. I decided it would be good practice to try my hand at a traditional sashiko pattern.
It’s a square piece of cloth printed with a scalloped pattern in white to guide the stitching. I find it restrictive to follow these little lines, but I am making my way through it. It will eventually become a throw pillow for our green chair.
As I suspected, freeform stitching comes more naturally to me than following a pattern.
Nikkei National Museum is pleased to present its ninth annual BLOOM party and silent art auction on Saturday, June 10, 2017. This is the museum’s main fundraiser, to support exhibits and educational programs related to the history and culture of Japanese Canadians. Get your tickets here »
I have contributed a framed paper cut piece to the silent auction. Inspired by the Kimono theme of this year’s fundraiser I chose a Japanese textile pattern of cherry blossoms, and hand cut the design from black card stock. The photo above is a detail of this piece.
Bloom Fundraiser
Date: Saturday, June 10, 2017
Time: 2:00-4:30pm
Tickets: $25 + tax | Members $20 + tax
Dress code: Japanese inspired
A third look inside my 30 Days of Drawing Project sketchbook. This video includes day 22nd to the 31st. I should rename the project to 30 Days of Drawing +1 because there are 31 days in May. You can view the previous videos here and here.
I’ve decided to continue with this until the entire sketchbook is filled. I’ve enjoyed setting aside time each day for drawing, and I like the idea of seeing it through to the very last page of the book.