The Red Boat - in progress #3

There's been a whole lot of piecing materials together,

stepping back to look,

noticing little details and, of course,

sewing.

There's even been a curator's visit and selection for an upcoming exhibition so, while the full piece can't be shared yet, The Red Boat is complete. Well, as complete as a work is sans hanging device. Does that count?

My mind is now contemplating what to make of the remnants...

The Red Boat - in progress #2

Last night I dreamed of being back in Newburgh, Scotland and standing by the river's edge, searching for the red boat even though India let me know that as of her last visit, it was no longer anchored midst the Tay.

In my dream, a low, gentle sound could be heard in the background. 

Almost a low rumbling, like very far off thunder, 

but not quite. 

Regardless where I walked along the shore, this sound was present. 

 It wasn't threatening, but was insistent.

Sort of like the friendly growl one receives from a pup who wants to play.

Not an airplane though, nor cars driving through town. I woke from the dream shaking my head and stifling laughter (didn't want to wake the house too early) because my waking mind recognized the sound immediately. Can you guess? 

By Thursday night, I'd printed what felt like hundreds of layers and had sewn 6 panels. This was how the display board looked at quitting time. Good, but too many panels.

Yesterday morning, I decided to see if it would be possible to crop the photo so that the whole boat fit on one page. To achieve this, the paper needed to be 13 inches x 11 inches rather than 11 inches x 17 inches as the rest of piece is. 

It worked great - one panel replaces two, giving a less cluttered look and feel. As this is all one humongous learning curve, I've been sewing the photo in strips - or panels - as cropped in Photoshop. While I like the look of the uneven panels as well as the movement they afford, I still wonder at my original intention to sew it all together into one big piece, rather than it being one large piece comprised of smaller components. The jury is still out on that one.

The extras stack is growing, providing ideas for additional works.

My one complaint about my printer (Epson Photo Stylus 2200) is that it gives no warning when ink runs low. That lovely yellow in the middle should have been red. Seems I'd worn out the light magenta.

So, have you guessed the sound that was present in my dream yet? Yes. My sewing machine. Time for a break today, wouldn't you say? Enjoy!

The Red Boat - in progress #1

I've practically been glued to my sewing machine so far this week.

Once I overcame my fear

of totally screwing up when the sewing began, that is.  

At some point yesterday, after panel 2 was hung (left side of photo), I stepped back to look...and breathe...and admire. Is it proper to admit that? Yes. After all, if I don't like my work, how can I expect anyone else to? Still, there's something special at play here. Perhaps it has to do with place, people, memories.

As the stitching continued throughout Monday and Tuesday, my mantra was keep it simple, just keep it simple, let the photo be the focus, keep it simple, simple, simple.

After feeling stagnant all winter, the energy in the studio is welcome and wanted. The ideas are flowing, some so fast that they are only snippets or shadows moving across my mind. There, but not. Or there, but not yet fully formed...or formed enough to be cohesive yet.

Midst the whirlwind that is presently my creative mind, panel 3 was begun, bringing with it the first glimpse of the red boat.

The Red Boat

This past Wednesday I had an idea, a grand what if involving my favorite photo of the red boat that was on the River Tay in Newburgh, Scotland back in 2013.

I use this particular photo all the time when working with the tea bags - partly because of the beauty of the place and partly for the memories and profound effect that week in Scotland had on my art and life...and continues to have.

What if I printed that photo large? Not 10 inches x 12 inches or even 24 x 36 large, but L A R G E. Six feet wide type large. Could I? How? What would it look like printed on multiple sheets of tea bags? Did I actually have enough tea bags? There was only one way to find out - just do it.

Thursday found me sitting at the computer and figuring out how to do all the technical work in Photoshop. Friday I cut freezer paper to 11" x 17" and attached it to the same size printer paper to help add stability to the page when feeding it through my printer. Yesterday morning, I lightly ironed tea bags to the pages and began printing.

And printing.

And printing.

Between 35 and 40 pages. So far. 

Multiples of the same area to allow for depth, and possibly movement, when all is done.

There were minor blips, a few tea bags became wrinkled a bit going through the printer. 

The Red Boat, in progress

still attached to freezer paper

71 inches x 54 inches

The fun begins tomorrow when I start sewing...

#8 - a challenge

As I got #8 out a few minutes ago to stitch on, I paused to look at the area still to be stitched. The page measures 9 inches x 20 inches with the work area being 3 inches x 13 inches. So far, only the top 3 inches have been stitched. More holes needed punching which caused me to wonder...if I go ahead and punch holes along the remaining 10 inches now (instead of an area at a time as I'd been doing), is it really possible to accept what is there and not add more holes as the process continues?

Sounds like a challenge to me. Let's see how it goes.