New Sample Warp

A sample of a new warp I put on to play with some patterns. Not so happy with the colour but I am trying to use up some of my stash.




sampling, pre washed. Belinda Jessup


 



Small sample fulled, silk floats were cut before washing

Mells weaving

A little clip of Mell's weaving. Rayon, vintage silver metallic thread and feathers woven in pleats. My warp was not successful but will do some before and after photos. I want to dye the weaving black and print on it with gold leaf.

A Sturt Weaver

It´s amazing who you find weaving at Sturt. Mum dropped in and helped with some weaving.

--melly

A Weekend at Bundanon

Well here I am, finally writing another blog entry! I took my time!

On the weekend I visited Arthur and Yvonne Boyd's property 'Riversdale' and 'Bundanon' on the Shoalhaven River about 20mins from Nowra, NSW. I organized a group visit with the Friends of Sturt for an overnight stay and play. The 'Riversdale' property is one of the most inspirational places I have visited for a long time - I have been looking forward to it for ages!
So here's a quick tour of how I spent my time...

I started with some spinning looking out over the amazing view, because I hadn't spun for years and I was really missing it. The photo is of some of the other FOS gals.

But what I really loved was going for walks. I followed the creek for a while...
And found some natural weaving!
And settled down under a palm leaf.Where I started noticing the micro-world... as I usually do! - Beautiful, lucsious different types of moss.

And I do love the beautiful details of lichen. This is a great illustration of L-systems which I have been investigating lately.
And beautiful buttons of fungi - I find the different browns in this stunning!
And cute little orange buttons...
And this little stunner in reds - never seen it before.
And I did actually do a little bit of sketching - just some quick linework of the shadows falling on the page.
Had a very rejuvinating time!
--Mel

Bottocelli flowers

These are some of the flower sections I'd like to work with for some pick up or brocade for the lacroix weavings. I'll play about and stylize them a little - glam them up maybe?

There are apartenly over 40 different flowers in the paining (Primavera) all with specific meanings. Research is continuing..

It will be a good thing to do on the train trip tomorrow.

--mel

New Warp On..

Who'd have thought I'd finally get another warp on? Ok, so it's double weave tube scarves, with rayon, overtwisted wool and 8ply worsted wool. I hope it turns out how I'm hoping it will - there are 5 scarves on there. I'll keep you posted when they are off.

.. and this is how much threading I have done - a whole 3 centimetres. Guess what I'm doing tomorrow?

--mel

Threads of Influence

Last weekend we both attended the opening of the Threads of Influence exhibition at Sturt Craft Centre in Mittagong. The exhibition was to celebrate 50, years of teaching in the Weaving Workshop, primarily the teaching by Elisabeth Nagel. Elisabeth came to teach at Sturt in 1959 and has only stopped this year due to an accident. The exhibition included the recent works of 5 other weavers who have worked in the Weaving workshop with her.

Melanie Olde (me!) - resident 2004-9

Monique van Nieuland - resident 2009

Julie Munro-Allison - Graduate Resident 2008

Kay Faulkner - Resident 2009

Janine Binoth - Apprentice 1982, resident 2008

Elisabeth Nagel 2009

Elisabeth Nagel 2008

Liz Williamson (Resident 1991) also exhibited recent work.

--mel

Some Weaving for Winter

Ok so it's not winter yet, but I am trying to be good with my production weaving. I confess, I did enjoy these scarves - and I was making myself do a time trial. 5 scarves in 2 days from warping to finishing. But I did come home and collapse on the couch after!

What I Did On My Holidays

Well, actually, I worked during the holidays! I had a very enjoyable, though extremely hot, week teaching a Sturt Summer School class in beginners rug weaving. Here are some of my lovely students' work -

Jenny

Julie

Susan

and Susan and Leonie

All in all, it was one of my most enjoyable classes yet with everyone producing a beautiful result - and they were lovely people!

--mel

A Weekend at Bundanon

Well here I am, finally writing another blog entry! I took my time!

On the weekend I visited Arthur and Yvonne Boyd's property 'Riversdale' and 'Bundanon' on the Shoalhaven River about 20mins from Nowra, NSW. I organized a group visit with the Friends of Sturt for an overnight stay and play. The 'Riversdale' property is one of the most inspirational places I have visited for a long time - I have been looking forward to it for ages!
So here's a quick tour of how I spent my time...

I started with some spinning looking out over the amazing view, because I hadn't spun for years and I was really missing it. The photo is of some of the other FOS gals.
But what I really loved was going for walks. I followed the creek for a while...And found some natural weaving!And settled down under a palm leaf.Where I started noticing the micro-world... as I usually do! - Beautiful, luscious different types of moss.
And I do love the beautiful details of lichen. This is a great illustration of L-systems which I have been investigating lately.And beautiful buttons of fungi - I find the different browns in this stunning!And cute little orange buttons...And this little stunner in reds - never seen it before.And I did actually do a little bit of sketching - just some quick linework of the shadows falling on the page.Had a very rejuvenating time!
--Mel

Distort Exhibition

From my recent exhibition Distort this is my artist statement...


What makes our subconscious distort everyday emotions and objects into strange new worlds during day-dreams and night dreams? What process of subconscious flow creates images in our minds that can portray deep emotions or fanciful sojourns? I do not attempt to explain the functions of the process - I delight in the pleasure of using such mental meanderings by articulating them in stitched collage and weaving.

Within my processes I have borrowed ideas and methodologies of surrealists – most predominately that of 'the omnipotence of dream ... the disinterested play of thought' ¹. My work is not entirely true to this ideal, as I constrain myself with boundaries and objectives at the outset of the construction of the work. I always reach a point where I stop thinking about what I am creating and let my subconscious take over. The making of the work is more like a day-dream – a little control in a fanciful world.

In my own dreaming, I experience recurring themes, which, when reduced to intent, can be related to desire, innocence and trickery, and growth. The patterns these themes create are not always identical but rather, are part of the distorted whole. I relate this to my weaving by using separate but similar recurring patterns within the structure of the fabric. The viewer who considers the patterns notices that the repetition occasionally diverges from the expected. Often when the pattern repeats, the shading and colours change. I enjoy this as a metaphor for subconscious musings.

Glowing colours and threads enhance the depth of the image and evoke the lusciousness of the mind's conceptual interior.

Simple elements inspire my intuitive responses when I make the collage work. I have an initial inspiration and then try not to think about the subject further, allowing nonsensical wanderings to articulate themselves in the work from the initial ideas of object, line and colour. This gives collages that rely on the surrealist ideas of unconscious play and are pleasurable in their spontaneity.

The viewers orientation is relaxed, and the viewer chooses what the subject and final meaning are.

The collages are pleasurable in their spontaneity and almost nonsensical wanderings from initial ideas of object, line or colour. I try not to think about subject more than that initial inspiration while making the work. The construction is able to rely more on the surrealist ideas of unconscious play. The viewer's orientation is intended to be a relaxed one; it is entirely the viewer's choice what the subject or final meaning is.

In constructing the series of scarves I wished to play more on the viewer's and wearer's idea of how a scarf should be. Instead of starting from this end point, I considered 'How would the subconscious make a scarf?' The only constraining factor of a scarf is it's usability as something to be worn around the neck. So I decided to experiment with how not to make a scarf – cutting, pulling and distorting the fabric up to but not including the point of destruction – so long as it still functioned. It is up to the wearer how they are worn. The scarves are the functional articulation of the concepts I used to create the artworks.

As James Gleeson succinctly states “I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us... " James Gleeson. So I encourage the viewer to consider the work inside their mind – stare at the pattern for five minutes. What does it evoke in your mind? Something, or nothing, that's ok.

1ANDRÉ BRETON Le Manifeste du Surréalisme, 1924

- cheers, mel