Scratching The Surface - A Show

Letting you know

I am still stitching away for this

and slowly getting my mind around

all the administrative stuff....

....as well the six hours it is going to take us

to drive up there!

Will also have to steel myself

for a big opening

since the SAQA show

Structures will also

be there.

It is so natural to stitch away in my studio

openings are not so much!

But galleries full of textiles

is always a good thing.

More Woodland Graffiti

Think this is my favourite so far.

Don't have a name for it yet.

 From the First to this one

the stitching has become even denser.

As I stitched I was thinking of the holes

in dead standing trees

put there by the shy

Pileated Woodpeckers

and others.

All on a cotton cloth

left in our tannin rich stream for a few days.

Obviously wrapped around a bit of rust too.

Love those stains

travelling from top to bottom.

All quite accidental

Love not having control

Love surprises.

Right now stream is completely dried up

If it weren't

I would be out there sinking more bundles.

The pale colours that result are just what I need

for this series of stitchings.

Woodland Graffitti

We live surrounded by Acadian Woodland

Where trees somehow manage to grow

out of rock-filled soil

Where the summertime foliage

hides not only trees

but camouflages

deer who could be just paces away from you.

and where streams abound.

First Graffitti

Think I will call this one

Edge of the Woods.

I decided to leave a strip unstitched

and once I did that

the piece reminded me of 

The edge of the Acadian Forests in these parts

that look completely impenetrable

from the outside!

My inspiration or starting point
came from this sketchbook page
based on a photograph of tree bark.
It was way back in 2012 that I shared
this potential starting point.
So as you can see
sometimes
it takes me quite a while to get down to things!

But of course I never really follow a sketch.

Just like graffiti

I follow wherever my needle and thoughts
take me.