For centuries women have used cloth as a tool of comfort and as an expression of beauty within their homes. Creating cloth for warmth, cloth for shelter, our female predecessors embellished these linens with hand stitch using laborious and time consuming techniques thereby enhancing the functional beauty of objects which enveloped and protected their families. Inspired by these women I hope my creations pay tribute to and recognise the devotion expressed in cloth by our female ancestors .







''the use of traditional often time consuming process alludes to the devotion of a mother''. c K. A. Ruane 2007







Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Ta Da!! Here it is.

Well, here it is, 'swaddling band one'. The end of a long road. What do you think? It's really been a pleasure, a suprising pleasure, using coulor, using different fabrics allthough I did succumb to the lure of silk for the lining as you can see.
Hooks and eyes won out in the battle for the fastening allthough to tell the truth there wasn't really a battle at all I find it so therapeutic sewing these on. I have found it quite difficult to photograph this in it's entirety but for the record it is approximately 35 x 5 inches, or 89 x 13 cm. Now for the real test......'swaddling band one' will be in the shop later tonight.




Thanks so much to all of you for the positive feedback on the sketchbook work. I told you there was more! I have started the first tentative steps putting the book together but I'm not happy really, seeing it flat on a page doesn't excite me, I am very tactile when it comes to my work and I think it needs something else, not quite sure what yet but the brain is working.
These first three pictures are simple pen and ink with a little newspaper collage. I was examining the surface of lace.

I think they are a bit 'scruffy' but they inspired this piece of very open, free work on very fine cloth which I absolutely love. The lace on the edge was added later, I'm afraid I can't take credit for that.

Lastly, for today anyway, the earliest piece of university work I can find that includes text. (2003 again) It's quite freaky really how even here I am rendering the text unreadable.



and yes, the lace creeps in again! For the record, I had used text in my work before university, the final pieces for my foundation degree comprised of tiny notes rolled up and stitched down so you couldn't read them. Boy I sound wierd!

12 comments:

Jackie said...

Really lovely. I thought of you at Christmas when I got a felted scarf with applique flowers exactly like your 6 petal motif.
Where did you do your degree?

Jane said...

Absolutely beautiful and I love the hook and eyes. I was hoping they would make an appearance

Ulla said...

I'm so glad you used both hooks and eyes and made the edges meet! The red makes the band look warm.

Gina said...

Beautiful Karen. I understand exactly what you mean about text. I recently stitched out a whole shopping list and then covered it with reverse applique so that only glimpses were showing!

Gayle said...

This is absolutely incredible...so impressive.

Jacky said...

What a sense of achievement to have finished your first swaddling cloth and it is incredible!!!
Of course, I love the colour (no surprise at all he hee) and those hooks and eyes. So much detail and so truly beautiful.

Love your pages from uni. Not only the stitching still appearing in your work, but also that lovely flower shape.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

Threadspider said...

Not only do I adore the swaddling band, but the pictures from your sketchbooks too. They shine a very bright light on my understanding of what I need to do for my C & G sketches, which to this point has been a dark and murky place. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

syko kajsa said...

amazing work!! I am loving the hooks and eyes, I am loving the mix of folk style and luxurious silk!

jude said...

beautiful karen, the fastenings are a marvelous addition. and i love the layering in the sketchbook. you are bursting with energy!

Michala Gyetvai (Kayla coo) said...

The finish is wonderful.
I love how you have used the hooks and eyes.

Love seeing your sketch book too!

Victoria said...

The hooks and eyes look amazing! How you find sewing them on to be relaxing is beyond me as it would drive me stark raving mad! I am so happy though that this is not the case with you, as to see this work is really wonderful.

Also, fascinating the correlations between these pen and ink drawings and your current work!

Sara lechner said...

this piece with the hooks is so impressive! I love so much all the new turns your work take!!