At a crossroads...of the rusty kind

How do you know when it's time to let go?

How do you know for certain that it is time to move on?

These are a few of the questions that I've been pondering of late - 

most recently this morning as most all of my rusted cottons and organzas 

were transferred from 3 work drawers into 1 storage bin.

Discharged cottons

as well as a few that were eco printed found their way into a second bin.

When visions of pieces yearning to be created flit through my mind, these days they are not of the rusty kind.

So...how do you know when it's time to let go? And just what form does letting go take?

Do I put the bins in the basement where out of sight will equal out of mind, but where they will be accessible if some future day finds me dreaming rusty dreams again?

Or, and this is a bit scary even though it is what my brain says makes the most sense, do I truly let go and offer the lot for sale as yardage? Fat quarters or bags of...bags of what exactly? Bags of rusted cottons? Would it be priced by the piece or pound? Would anyone even want it?

In truth, I feel as if I already have moved on...to tea bags and other scrumptious papers. Did I just answer my own question? Probably. But will I listen to myself? Hmm...

I could really use your help on this one. What do you do with old materials when you move on?

Thanks in advance!

Another Saturday night

The girls are asleep.

The husband is downstairs watching football.

Me?

I'm in the studio

 stitching

 

on discharged cotton

while watching the last Harry Potter.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Merry Christmas!
 

Firsts

I'm a bit excited this morning. You see, Leslie Merola of hunt + gather studio, is featuring some of my discharged fabrics and photographs on her blogs, merola + moya and hunt + gather blog. It's my first time being featured on another artist's blog. It's slightly surreal, actually, to see my work somewhere other than here, but it also feels really nice.

Thank you Leslie!

On the studio side of things, I was rolling along last night, making progress on my Christmas cards, had even decided what the text would say and was ready to print. Only then did I realize that there were 10 blank cards left. Yikes! Placed an order and now it's a waiting game.

Guess I have no excuses left for finally getting to work on the rusted boro piece...

Studio time

After organizing the studio and procrastinating for a while, 

I managed to get in a wee bit of stitching today.

Another Saturday night

After a two week hiatus due to Hurricane Irene and vacation, it's nice to spend a few hours in the studio actually doing something creative.

Art equation #3

It is possible 

 for 2

  to become 3.

Art equation #2

When does  

1 divided

= 2?

It did today around 11:45 am eastern standard time. I've been looking at this piece for nearly a week and debating whether to leave it whole or divide it. In keeping with my mantra of Just Do It, I decided that there really was only one way to find out how it would look and that was to just do it. So, I did. And I may do it again. 

What do you think? Should the top piece, after division, be divided again? Bottom piece is staying as is.

Art equations

 Black cotton + rubber bands + wrapping or

twisting or folding

+ imagination 

+ experimentation and creativity

 + a wine cork or two

+ foam brushes 

+ bleach and sun = 20 yards of newly discharged cotton.

 These are my favorite bits from the latest rounds 

of discharging black cotton.

Friday morning

Remember the pile of black cotton from my last post that had been folded, twisted, tied and wrapped? This morning while the girls were at preschool, the discharging stuff was all carted out and I set about plunging the bundles into bleach before allowing the sun to have it's bit of fun with the cotton too.

And then there were 16

16 squares, discharge fabric © Jennifer Coyne Qudeen

with 19 more waiting to be finished.

more discharge squares © Jennifer Coyne Qudeen

The first 9

Hey Pam! This one's for you!

Actually this post is possible because of Pam and Noela Mills of the wabisabiart blog  When readying supplies for our artist retreat at Pam's house in June, I was inspired by Noela's book of rust dyed silks and satins as well as her waxed silk kimono book. The quiet power of each spoke to me.

A switch was thrown in my creative mind and the discharged fabrics had a life. They would be a simple book dealing with pattern and texture via hand-stitching. Hmmm...color, texture, pattern, play. Just what my weaving had been about too. Somehow, it never occurred to me that the same principles I had applied to my weavings could be applied to the discharged fabrics...or the rusted cottons...or the monoprinted fabrics either.

Keep it simple.

Just do it.

Twenty minutes later, there were 20-something 8-9" pieces of discharged black cotton laying on my work table waiting to be packed for the trip. Just do it. Don't think about it. Just do it. Don't analyze. Just do it. That's what had been running through my mind as I tore the cotton into squares.

Fast forward to Pam's house and the unveiling of the discharged squares. Pam takes one look at them and asks if I've hung them yet. Hung them? No. They're going to be pages in a book. A twinkle dances in her eyes as she suggests we venture into her studio so I can humor her and hang them for a better look.

Twenty five squares later, I stepped back and said "wow". Keep it simple. How much simpler could this be? Just mount the pieces and viola! Instant installation.

Fast forward again to this week and specifically last night. There was a lot of cutting, stitching and gluing happening in my studio.

Discharged black cotton, set of 9 © Jennifer Coyne Qudeen

The first set of 9 is complete. They are mounted on black on black foam core because I wanted something light and easy to ship just in case they are excepted into any exhibitions out of the area.

So...a big Thank You to Pam and Noela.

Oh! And Dorothy Caldwell. Can't forget Dorothy. This discharging and hand-stitching is all her fault anyway. Taking her Mark Making: A Book of Marks workshop in 2006 was what rocked my art world and set me on this path. Thank you Dorothy!

In the studio

An Inspector Gamache/Three Pines mystery by Louise Penny in the cd player.
A glass of wine within reach.
The little urchins in bed...and hopefully asleep by now.
Husband watching the Tour de France from earlier today.
Plenty of discharged fabric to stitch on.
Aaahh...what a great way to spend a Saturday night.