Dreamy Isabel

I'm back...with a new website and blog!

2011-04-16T16:14:00.000-07:00

Phew...what a crazy few months that was! For those of you who are new to my blog, I was just in India for 3-months, traveling around and checking things out. It was amazing but I must say that I'm happy to be back in Vancouver!

So what's new? Well, since being back I have designed a website and with that comes a new blog--so that's where I will be updating from now on so please update your google readers or whatever you're using to visit my lil bloggy blog.

I'm hard at work designing my new Spring/Summer collection which will consist of really beautiful light woven scarves for the warmer weather. These will be totally cooling, promise! :) Pics to come soon on my new blog but in the meantime, I'm getting ready for a move beginning of May which will also include setting up my new studio! I'm really excited--and yes, I will post pics of that as well.

Til then dear readers,

Happy Holidays

2010-12-26T10:19:00.000-08:00

I'm so happy that so many of you still visit me...I haven't been a very good poster as of late due to some traveling and a little bout with a virus. I'm much better now and am out east hanging out with my fella and family.

I wanted to let you know about my new blog that I will be updating while in India come the new year.

http://dananaindia.blogspot.com/

Please follow our adventures here. I may periodically post here as well, and I def will use this blog again upon my return to Canada.

xo to all.

Gentille Alouette tonight!

2010-12-03T11:14:00.000-08:00

Why not come out to Gastown tonight and check out a little textile arts show happening and the very cute Gentille Alouette shop? Textile art, mulled wine, and snacks=fun times :)

It starts at 5, come and visit!

see you there

winding down...

2010-11-24T10:03:00.001-08:00

I'm starting to wind things down now...sales are finishing up, only a couple of commissions to complete and well, it's clean up time in my studio...reason being in mid December, I will be going east--first Montreal and then to spend the holiday season with my family in Ontario until the new year.

After that, I will be in India for a few months...I'm very excited about it! We will be traveling around spending most of our time in the South...but who knows...everyone I have spoken to that has been to India ends up staying longer to explore more.

I hope to post while I'm away but I'm not sure how often that will happen...I will do my best.

circle craft

2010-11-21T09:44:00.000-08:00

I completed my last shift at Circle Craft yesterday...it was so busy and awesome. I took some pics...not the best but it gives you an idea of the amount of space Circle Craft gave Capilano Uni textile program this year--it was amazing! We have mostly had a small booth but this time Circle Craft reserved the middle of the market for student work from local schools, ours being at the front. They are such great supporters of craft and student work.

above a pic of Sasha's indigo quilt...she dyed and printed with indigo...kind of a big deal...the prep work alone for this quilt was crazy...and check out the size!

Julie's woven pulled warp series. So pretty. Julie does some lovely and tres complicated work.

This one maybe a little hard to see but it's individual balls of lint! Stacey collected lint over a period of time from her own dryer and kept track of the date (that's what those little white tags are). When she presented this project to the class, she had projected a video on it of her taking laundry out of the washer and placing it into the dryer...over and over again. Brilliant!

I'm off to do some work.

yowsa

2010-11-19T08:25:00.000-08:00

this is really tickling my brainy brain...Erin over at Design for Mankind posted about a carpet made of disposable forks designed to mimic traditional Persian designs...I went to the We Make Carpets blog and was amazed at other ones they have made...like this one made out of coffee! And the mustard seed carpet. Love it!

I'm over at Circle Craft again today and tomorrow. Hope you'll swing by the Capilano University display. The design team over at Cap did an amazing job displaying student and alumni work in such a lovely and thoughtful way.

So we got a bit of snow yesterday here in Vancouver...of course it was so wet that it melted as it hit the ground. The best part for me was watching people downtown flip out over snow--there were so many smiles. Being from Ontario, snow doesn't excite me (it's the exact opposite) but it made me smile watching how happy it made people here.

Also a reminder that I will be at the student sale over at Capilano University on Tuesday. I have some wishing stone necklaces, cowls, cards and hopefully a long woven scarf or two but that depends on how much time I get in the studio over the next couple of days.

be well.

circle craft christmas market 2010

2010-11-16T08:06:00.000-08:00

hello lovelies,

Some of my work will be at Circle Craft Christmas Market starting tomorrow and running until Sunday at the Convention Centre, downtown Vancouver. I will be "womaning" the Capilano University table (my alma mater) for a few shifts on Thurs, Fri and Sat. I hope you'll come by and say hello. We're not selling at the Cap booth but there will be lots of student work to see. And of course, lots of booths that will be selling amazing handmade things...nice place to do some shopping.

Oh and a week from today, I will be at the Student Sale over at Cap...it runs from 11-7pm. Lots of great stuff for sale here too.

Also I wanted to mention that there will be a little fibre art show at Gentille Alouette on Dec. 3...some of my work will be displayed there as well plus there will be munchies and mulled wine! So do come out to Gastown and check out this amazing store. Eliza (the owner) does such a good job putting together her store, such lovely things for sale most of which are locally made...she is such a great supporter of local artists. I heart Eliza.

K, I'm off to get ready for my day.

one last pic...

2010-11-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

and I'll lay this to rest. I really like this pic, the model looks so lovely. (again, photo credit to Marlene Karas).

I will be at a little private sale at a friend's house on Sunday...that's going to be fun. It's rainy here in Vancouver, perfect day to catch up on my weaving.

be well.

more pics

2010-11-09T21:14:00.001-08:00

a few more pics from the show to share...wearables made from woven, felted and hand dyed cloth...

photo credit Marlene Karas

a few pics from VFW

2010-11-08T14:57:00.000-08:00

I don't have my pics yet but here are a couple from around the web (thanks to VFW blog and creativitality.com).

This is the dress that I wove. It's made out of silk alpaca and I ombred the fabric after I wove it then constructed the dress. The neck piece is a pulled warp piece that I did a while back made of silk and merino wool with hand sewn pearls.

This is the first of the felted dresses that I've made. I made this one back in school and have posted about it before. Nice to see it on a live person.

This one is made of silk organza using shibori techniques and sericin removal. The skirt is made of wool and silk chiffon, shibori for texture and magnets. The skirt is actually 3 panels that can be changed using the magnets. All hand dyed.

Now that I have had time to reflect on the whole experience, I'm not quite sure that I would do this again. I loved seeing my wearables on models but this type of cloth making isn't conducive to high production...it's slow. Slow clothes--this is so not what the fashion world is about. Overall, I'm glad for the opportunity, like I've mentioned, it made me produce a lot of work in a short period of time....I'm at my best when I have some pressure but it's not really what my work is about.

I have more pics to show...coming soon....

Be well.

the day after

2010-11-05T12:34:00.001-07:00

So last night was my runway show with Vancouver Fashion Week and I'm happy to report that it went really well. I will post pics soon. I had a total of 8 looks, a combination of woven and laminated felted cloth. Everything was hand made. It was really well received and I'm happy with the positive feedback that I'm getting. Textiles seems to be one of those things that people just don't think about how it's made, so I'm happy that this actually made me people think, even just for second about how cloth comes to be.

With that being said, that was really a stressful time. So much goes into planning a show like that and I found myself sort of retreating until they came to find me before my show so that I could dress my models.

Overall it was a really positive experience. I have some great pics to show you...soon.

But in the meantime, above pic of some of my "make a wish" wishing stone felted necklaces (available at Gentille Alouette).

I'm off to relax the day away.

a mini update

2010-11-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

Portobello West went really well for me. I always have fun at those types of sales. I was surprised at how many people read the Georgia Straight article--I got a lot of positive feedback about it which was really nice. Above is a soy silk scarf I sold and I also debuted some wishing stone necklaces at the sale--you'll notice the cream one on the dress form.

I'm just putting the finishing touches on my collection for Vancouver Fashion Week. I'm really happy with the way things are turning out. The collection is a nice mixture of woven fabrics, laminated felting and shibori--lots of texture. I describe it as pretty, soft and moody.

I will post pics of everything when it's all said and done. In the meantime, wish me luck.

wheeee

2010-10-28T13:35:00.000-07:00

A little article about me in a local paper...

dressing a loom when tired

2010-10-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

I was dressing my loom last night for a woven piece that I will be creating for VFW...I know, I know, I'm cutting it close but good things happen when I'm under pressure.

So of course, because I'm doing about a million things at once (felting, dyeing, wrapping hundreds of marbles for shibori, emailing, etc...) I had a threading mistake. Don't worry, it's fixed and it wasn't hard to correct but annoying.

I'm finding that preparing for a fashion show includes many details that I had never really thought of...like picking music, background projection, accessories, models! Eeep. It's actually really exciting and a bit nerve racking...luckily I have a particular vision in mind so it's just a matter of finding things to fit that vision.

I also wanted to post a reminder that I will be at Portobello West on Sunday. Please come by and say hello, I will be the one sleeping at my table.

BIG news!

2010-10-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, so here is the big news that I have been holding back on until finalizing the details...I will be debuted a small collection of my work at Vancouver Fashion Week! Yay! I'm part of the Emerging Designer runway show.

I'm really excited about this but also a little overwhelmed since this is happening very quickly. But with much thought, I came to realize that this is a great opportunity to see my work on live models! And that's very exciting to me.

So, as you probably can guess, there is a lot of work to be done so I must go. But if you are in the Vancouver area, my work will be on the runway on November 4th at 630 at the Empire Landmark Hotel.

another shop around town

2010-10-23T15:06:00.000-07:00

Some more news...if you are looking for some of my woven super soft scarves, they will be available at The Cross Decor and Design in Yaletown starting in November. Yay! You will def see the Janna scarf there. It's a really beautiful store, so I hope you check it out!

2010-10-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

I have some exciting things coming up that I can't wait to tell you about...I have to wait just a few more days for things to be finalized but in the meantime some news I can share is that a really rad store here in Vancouver will be carrying my line of felted/shibori/magnet closure neck pieces (they are made of super soft hand dyed merino and silk chiffon) starting next week! Yay! So if you ever find yourself in Gastown, please check out Gentille Alouette.

2010-10-21T17:21:00.000-07:00

This is a woven piece that I have done with recycled sari silk yarn that I hand dyed. I like this close up photo, the texture is delicious.

I think the rain is coming Vancouver...we've been spoiled with sunny, warm days lately.

Vancouver grey

2010-10-20T09:50:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I love grey. I've written in the past how it makes me feel and why I love it so much so it only makes sense that it's a constant theme in my work.

I'm working away on my new shop, on some new items for Portobello, promotional things and well, everything else like taking pictures.

Above: the Vancouver Grey scarf. It's made of cozy hand spun merino with some alpaca and silk in there. It's subtly ombred (hand dyed). Perfect for the upcoming winter months, I've already started wearing mine around town. This will be available in my shop over at big cartel as well as at Portobello on October 31st.

a shiny new shop

2010-10-19T20:08:00.001-07:00

I have a new shop! Yup! It's over at big cartel. I'm just starting to add goodies in there...come over and visit :)

xoxo

a little update

2010-10-19T00:02:00.000-07:00

I've started preparing for my next date at Portobello West--which happens on Halloween. I'll be working on some new woven and nuno felted goodies and possibly a woven accessory for men (hand dyed woven tie made of alpaca silk maybe?) I'll see where the inspiration takes me in the studio.

In the meantime, this is a piece that I did a bit ago. The dress is made of silk organza--the design was made using a process called sericin removal, hand dyed and using a folded shibori technique. The pieces you see around the waist and around the shoulders are panels I created using the nuno felting technique, shibori as well and its held together by rare earth magnets so that you can change the shape and decide how you want to wear it.

I'll be back with another update soon--maybe with a preview on some Portobello items. Oh and with some very cool news that I'm just finalizing the details on.

xo dear readers

inspiration and some more awesomeness

2010-10-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

On the latest cover of American Craft is work by fibre artist and weaver Kay Sekimachi. I'm always on the lookout for new inspiration and when I saw Kay's work, it really made stop and appreciate that natural palette she uses. Her latest work is making woven jewelry using found objects. It really spoke to me since the last little while I have been busy collecting feathers, shells, stones and other misc. pretty things. I'm not quite sure what to do with it all but for now I just like looking at it...really looking--noticing the small colour variations, shape, texture, line...

On another note, my friend Janna is up to her usual awesomeness by starting a Fibre Club to raise money for the Fibre program she is in. The money goes to help pay for things like a grad catalogue and student exchanges. One thing I know for sure is Janna's love of beautiful material and inspiring colour combinations so you're in for a real treat if you sign up!

Happy Thanksgiving dear readers.

some inspiration

2010-10-09T17:35:00.000-07:00

I've been following Kate's new blog about her recent Kyoto trip. Lucky lady, she was served coffee by Hiroyuki Shindo!!! Imagine that! Her blog is so well written and there are some really pretty pictures on it...hope you'll go over and check it out.

I'm focusing on healing my back at the moment...it seems I've pulled something yet again. Ouchie. So I'm laid up on this rainy day with a heating pad and pain killers.

be well

whoa

2010-10-01T21:37:00.000-07:00

I'm really loving these spool vases from skujeniece!

My friend Janna just got one of her beautiful knit designs published, check it out! Janna was known for taking knitting needles to class (especially art history) and walking out wearing something she just knit during the lecture. A beautiful and talented knitter indeed.

pretty

2010-09-28T21:24:00.000-07:00

Tonight in Vancouver...we were on a walk and blinded by the sun. Love the colours and the brightness!!

xoxo

Portobello West update

2010-09-27T10:13:00.001-07:00

Hello, I am very happy to report that Portobello went really well. I sold things, made some exciting contacts and also received feedback on my work which is great. It's always a bit scary putting yourself out there but I never regret doing it, it's always positive.

I want to thank my lovely friend for helping me for the day. It's super fun to have a friend there with you. And of course D, he's the bestest most supportive partner.

I'm taking the day off to sleep and do nothing.

2010-09-25T10:49:00.000-07:00

It's the day before the show, I'm finishing up last minute things (e.g. hand printing labels!). I applied to be a part of Portobello West about 2-weeks ago...so I have been preparing a small collection in two weeks...uhm...well it's been stressful and busy and I'm exhausted BUT at the same time I feel really good about being so productive. It took a while to get here--since I graduated from the textiles program--I hadn't done much other then sketch some ideas and research techniques. So this really made me get down to work and try out some of those ideas. I have experimented a lot over the last couple of weeks--not everything turned out the way I wanted but everything has been worthwhile. I think I've dressed my loom about 10 times in the last 14 days...yikes!

Enough rambling...I have some more work to do. Here is a pic of part of my studio...sorry about the poor lighting, it's a bit dark in here today.

I hope you'll come check out Portobello tomorrow from 12-6pm...

2010-09-23T08:36:00.001-07:00

As I continue to prepare for Portobello West, I'm thinking about the delicate art of pricing.

Anyone who has ever made anything that they were planning on selling, goes through this dilemma.

On the one hand, I want to make things affordable so that if someone wanted to purchase a super cozy hand woven scarf, they could. On the other hand, the time and materials doesn't allow me to really make it super cheap.

The run down...I use only the best materials. I stick with alpaca, silk, and hand spun merino wool. No acrylic! I get why people use acrylic but I just can't. I prefer natural fibres--the look and feel of them is heaven. I guess that makes me a bit of a materials snob. Also the process of making...if I'm weaving, depending on the project, dressing the loom can take from 4-12 hours...and then the actual weaving...a plain weave scarf can take 3-8 hours depending on how long the scarf is and how fine a weft your using. And then there is the dyeing. Why dye? Because I can. Because I want to get that perfect shade of mauve grey or work with the most perfect blue on Earth (indigo!).

So there it is. If I keep all that in mind, and actually priced my work according to time and materials, it just wouldn't be all that affordable. As a result, I have to keep thinking about how much I love making. How honoured I feel to have the ancient knowledge of weaving and how much I want others to own a piece of hand woven cloth. How happy I am creating things.

I guess there is no easy answer. I need to give this a little more thought (and do some more research).

Happy rainy day!

**above a pic of my dye pot

2010-09-20T10:47:00.000-07:00

Portobello West is fast approaching...I've been working non-stop in the studio, weaving, sewing, dyeing, felting...it's been quite enjoyable. Here are some pics of weaving in progress along with 'judy' who has several warps draped on her ready to go (sorry about the quality of pics, it was pretty late when I took these).

be well.

the knitting clock

2010-09-15T10:21:00.000-07:00

This again came via Design for Mankind...Erin has been posting some amazing things, I highly recommend you jump over there and check it out.

The latest, Siren Elise Wilhelmsen's Knitting Clock.The project is called Developing Time--Time Developing. This clock produces one two meter scarf per year. This really just tickles my brainy brain.

In other news, I'm knee deep in projects at the moment, preparing for Portobello at the end of this month. It feels good to be busy doing things that I love.

Inspiration

2010-09-14T07:45:00.001-07:00

It's no surprise that like most, I'm inspired by what's around me. I say this a lot (ask D, I say it every time we go for a walk which is practically everyday), Vancouver is SO beautiful. We are lucky enough to live in an area that is about an 8 minute walk to the water. Along with that we get beautiful views of the mountains and the city.

I am so lucky.

These are some pics of scenery that I have been taking the last little while...it's really inspiring what I'm working on lately. Lots of moody greys and indigo blues. Nature even provided a beautiful ombred sky.

2010-09-10T20:57:00.000-07:00

It's the end of the week again, how does that keep happening?

I've been in full production mode...weaving and making small little goodies.

I felted some wishing stones that I collected when I spent the weekend a while back with Janna on the Sunshine Coast. It was such a great few days...we spent a lot of time on the beach...I collected wishing stones and Janna was strumming her guitar singing beautiful songs.

Happy Friday!

Upcoming show

2010-09-09T08:50:00.001-07:00

One of the benefits of working from home is that you are very much in control of your own schedule. Yesterday I got to have coffee by the water with this lovely lady and then in the late afternoon coffee with another lovely lady.

I'm highly caffeinated...for a while there I wasn't drinking any at all but now, I'm back up to at least 2 a day. Yikes. Why does coffee need to be so delicious?

Anyway I have some good news. I was accepted and will be at Portobello West at the end of the month (Sept 26--the last Sunday of the month) and October too (Oct. 31st). I will be offering lots of woven goodies, all hand dyed, some other interesting neck pieces--perfect for the cooler weather, some hand dyed cards and maybe some felted wishing stones which will be part of my display but also for sale. So I hope you'll come check it out--maybe do some early Christmas shopping? :)

Coffee time!

PS Above a pic of a another weaving I've finished recently. It's made out of silk and I left parts of the warp exposed as a design. Then I dyed it a dark charcoal grey.

Weaving

2010-09-08T09:15:00.000-07:00

I often get asked why I love weaving...I was thinking about this recently because every time I have someone who is unfamiliar with the process to my studio, they are amazed. But really, like anything unfamiliar it always looks complicated and scary. Weaving isn't easy but breaking down the process really helps and eventually dressing the loom and weaving goes a bit faster.

But it's not a fast process. One of the things I really love about it is the slowness.

Also being able to have a connection with every thread that was used...that's special.

Above is a recent scarf I wove. It's super soft, made of silk, alpaca and hand spun merino angora...perfect for the cooler weather. I'm going to be dyeing it next--ombre or dip dyeing, I haven't quite decided yet. I'm calling this scarf, Janna--inspired by my lovely friend.

textiles and music

2010-09-07T08:54:00.000-07:00

equals perfection. This is by Jamie Isenstein. A little rug weaving using harp strings as the warp...brilliant!

This came via Design for Mankind. Maybe you remember a while back me writing about creating little tapestries in public...this reminds me of that, in the sense that you can really use anything as your warp as long as it's under tension. Makes me want to get out in my neighbourhood again and use my neighbour's fences as a warp.

Too much? Meh.

I've been very busy lately in the studio, creating away--I'm working on some new ideas for a little mini collection that I hope to debut this Fall at some local Art and Craft shows. I'm also doing a bit of teaching, still weaving for this lovely lady, and was lucky enough to get some commission work, which didn't completely work out but I learned a lot--and sometimes, that's really what it's all about.

It's September...the best time of the year!

2010-09-06T14:21:00.001-07:00

Fall is my favourite season...I know it is for a lot of people. Here in Vancouver, the temperature has gotten a little cooler, the days a little shorter and the rain has set in. A whole lot of grey everywhere, which to me, is very inspiring.

I'm a big fan of grey. All kinds of greys. You may think that grey is just simply grey but nope...it's quite complex.

So cheers, to you dear readers, and to grey!

PS above, a bunch of different materials I just finished dyeing...grey.

More magnets and other news

2010-08-11T20:26:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot to post pics of one of my magnetic weavings that I completed for the end of term...OR maybe I have--I can't remember. Anyway this was one of my favourite projects to work on...I used silk linen for the warp and weft and inlayed some recycled silk sari yarn and some of my own handspun silk. I hand dyed everything using mineral dyes--it really makes it look like silver. And there are magnets that I embroidered into the cloth...it's all throughout so that you can change the shape of the shawl depending on how you want to wear it.

I have been weaving lots lately...I work for a very lovely lady and talented artist...I'm pretty lucky I get to weave for her.

I have also started some of my own projects including something for Circle Craft Scholarship show early next year. Also, stay tuned for a line of accessories coming very soon...mostly woven.

Lots happening in the lady shack these days...I'm feeling very lucky to have dedicated creative space. I have D to thank for that. (Thanks! xo).

I have been fighting off some sort of stomach flu the last couple of days...it hasn't been pretty but I'm hopeful that I will feel better by tomorrow.

Be well.

boooo-berries

2010-08-05T09:02:00.001-07:00

Yup.

keep cool.

Blueberry picking and napkins

2010-08-02T14:24:00.000-07:00

I have been enjoying the lovely summer Vancouver weather a little too much (read: taking a lot of time to just be outside and do a whole lot of nothing)...so I thought I would get back to work and finish up some napkins I printed AND go blueberry picking!

I picked about 3.5 pounds of blueberries. I froze some but we also made some blueberry pancakes and I made a Blueberry Grunt for dessert.

On another note, I finally have a floor loom! I was given a floor loom from a very lovely friend and have it all set up in my almost set up workroom. I'm calling my workroom "the lady shack". It's full of fun stuff like looms, yarn, fabric and the like. I will be sure to post pics after it's all set up.

Back to work now!

Feathers and Ties

2010-07-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

This upcoming Sunday one of my good friends is getting married. It's going to be a beautiful wedding...the ceremony is going to be on one of Vancouver's most lovely of beaches--Third Beach.

D and I have been preparing our wardrobes...ok well, I have...I bought a vintage silk tie and I silk screened a feather on it (I collected feathers and made the screen).

He's going to look spiffy.

Biking around

2010-07-06T08:22:00.000-07:00

FINALLY, the weather has cleared up and it's starting to look like summer in Vancouver. D and I went on a bike ride yesterday (as we often do)--we wanted to do a "tour de duck"...there were little baby ducks by the athlete's village on the weekend but because I worked, I didn't get to see them so D wanted to take me to see them and sooooooo begun our tour de duck which turned out to be more of a tour de birds or something....whatever, it was fun!

Some pics:

This little guy was posing for my pics.

lots of birdies at Stanley Park

downtown Vancouver

the Olympic torch

whale--this was by the torch

a giant bird! (at the Athlete's village)

he looks friendlier at this angle

globes by the science center.

I also collected some really pretty feathers along the way. Since I started collecting them, I've noticed them everywhere!

xo

Shrug in a new colour

2010-06-23T12:07:00.001-07:00

I've been trying to get into the photo studio to photograph some of the many things that I've been working away on. One of which is a new colour shrug that I'm excited about. I ombred some yarn (meaning I dyed it going from intense colour to lighter) and then knit with it. The result was this shrug...I'm pretty happy with it.

And of course I used super soft hand spun merino wool. It's funny cause I don't really wear my shrug in the winter...its more of a spring/summer/fall type thing to wear (especially in the evenings over a cute dress)...although I must admit that I have worn mine to bed a few times in the winter when I need a little extra warmth.

Earth Hues and Indigo

2010-06-19T09:21:00.001-07:00

This week I have been working with one of my past instructors testing some new things in the studio.

First, I got to play with some natural pigments that are called Earth Hues...I don't have a ton of technical information on these (although it's coming) but I wanted to show you the lovely colour palette that's available with these lovely pigments. In school, we didn't really get to play with these so much, this is the first time I was able to screen with them. The fabric prep for these is quite long...we had to scour for 2-hours, mordant for an hour and then make fresh soy milk so that we could size the fabric too. These def require some planning!

Second, we tried out several indigo recipes. Mostly we were looking for one for wool...success! We started a vat for wool that left the wool still feeling soft.

I also was able to play with devore--which is when you apply a mild acid to a blend (for example silk linen fabric) and the acid "burns" out the cellulose (which in this example is the linen). It's pretty fun to play with. I tested it on a soy and silk blend and well, the soy behaved like a protein instead of a plant fibre! So it didn't burn out but it left a very cute pattern. I also dyed the fabric in indigo.

xo

Out of school and looking for inspiration

2010-06-09T16:18:00.000-07:00

I must admit that since I graduated I have struggled. Struggled to find inspiration. Struggled with motivation. What's wrong with me? Am I just burnt out from working SO much these last two years?

There are so many questions that I just don't have answers to at the moment. What do I want to do? What do I want to make? What ideas do I want to develop further? AHHHH.

Ok, I'm being dramatic but the thing is, when you're in school (especially textile art school), it's quite easy to be inspired...inspiration comes from lectures, professors, your peers...it's a challenging environment but it's so great for creating. Maybe I just need some pressure?

So this leads me to what this post was actually supposed to be about...inspiration and some of the things that I have been thinking about lately. I have been thinking about a couple of Louises and a Lenore. First, the passing of Louise Bourgeois. Second, Louise Nevelson--a quote of hers "True strength is delicate"--I've been really thinking about the concept of delicate strength and working on some ideas surrounding this. Third, Lenore Tawney--my most favourite of textile artists--she is a constant source of inspiration for me.

So this post was written, mostly for myself. I have been wanting to get a few things straight in my creative mind...this helps. I hope it helps you too.

I leave you with this beautiful picture of Lenore...this was my desktop for a long time.

xoxo

Gold

2010-05-11T14:22:00.001-07:00

Upon a recent visit to the Silk Weaving Studio on Granville Island, I came across these beauties. They are silk cocoons from Indonesia and guess what? This is their natural colour! Amazing! They lose their colour if they are processed for the silk so I'm keeping them the way they are.

No wonder silk was considered gold once a upon a time (still is in my book).

Double Dupes!

2010-05-09T17:40:00.001-07:00

One of the weaving techniques that I worked on while in school is Dupe Leno. It's weaving technique that crosses the warp threads by using handmade heddles on the first harness (well that's the way I did it anyway)....sorry that's a lot of shop talk but this is what it looks like in progress...

I made two pieces with this technique. The white piece is linen, silk and alpaca. The black piece is all linen.

Fun times! I may weave more dupe leno in the future--with the white piece, I really liked that there was stretch in it because the weft I used wasn't stiff so it's springy.

xo

Upcoming Grad Show

2010-05-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

These are the three works that have been chosen to be in our grad show over at Cityscape Gallery (North Vancouver). I'm really excited to see how they put the show together. The dress on the left is one of my new ones...it's made out of silk, while the waist piece is made of silk and a bit of wool--oh and some rocks--I felted little wishing rocks into the wool. It's held together by magnets. As well as the woven work you see in the middle--it is also silk and has magnets in it so that you can change how you wear it easily. All of it hand dyed etc... The last piece on the right, you have seen before :)

I'm still recovering from being so busy during school. Recovery means organizing my life (like cleaning my apt and unpacking from my last move--yes I'm still not completely unpacked), and of course getting some rest.

Happy Friday!

Brief Vacay

2010-05-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

So I just got back from a long weekend...I went to Phoenix, AZ to visit my partner (he's working there for a month) and I had SO much fun! I couldn't think of a more perfect way to end my school term--after working non stop for two years, it was nice to have a bit of a break.

Phoenix is really beautiful. We did some hiking, some art watching, and boating. One of the things I really liked about it was the hot, dry weather! I was not cold once and that's big for me.

Above are some pics of Sedona, where we hiked (oh and got lost but took some amazing pics!)

I also went to see Janet Echelman's sculpture called Her Secret is Patience...it was so brilliant! All the pics that I've seen have been taken at night, here is one that I took during the day.

And finally I visited the Heard Museum and took some pics of some really amazing weavings and other artwork...I will post those soon!

Textile Arts Grad Show

2010-04-27T19:28:00.000-07:00

This is really unbelievable to me...I finish school in ONE day! I have no idea how that even happened! The last two years have been such a journey...I've learned lots, made great friends and started to create a body of work that I am happy with. The Textile Art program at Capilano University is such a special and unique program in Canada--you can't really find anything like it here...not to mention we have some of the best instructors. Ruth Scheuing, Mary Lou Trinkwon, Anthea Mallinson, Eleanor Hannan--such amazing teachers and artists.

So with that being said...I cordially invite you to our grad show. Our show runs from May 14th to June 5th, with the opening reception on May 13th. It's at Cityscape Community Arts Centre in North Vancouver.

Ugh delinquent yet again

2010-04-18T18:02:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the absence...things are crazy busy right now with the end of school coming up in two weeks. It's insane really, that two years have gone by. Remember when I was preparing for my move? Yikes that was so scary...quitting my full-time, well paying job, picking up and moving across the country to follow my dreams. I still can't believe that I did that but I must say it's the best thing I ever did.

Not only have I learned tons and produce a body of work, I met a ton of great friends. I feel really lucky to have such supportive classmates. Also I was surprised when I found out about a month ago that I had won the Circle Craft Scholarship--I swear I had to check my record 6 times to make sure. I'm truly flattered and am feeling really blessed.

And the icing on the cake is that I've met someone really awesome and we've been seeing each other for a few months now. He's the bestest!

Ok, well enough gushing. A quick update on what I've been working on: I'm working extensively with including magnets in my textiles. It's been challenging and fun and I can't wait to share. It all started with this piece--something I created for my 3D class...it's a neck piece that can change shape thanks to magnets that I have built into the felt. I really wanted to work with the idea of change and being able to change a wearable at a whim. My final pieces for most of my classes play with this idea of transformation and change (all thanks to the help of magnets!)

Anyhoo, off I go to study for my art history exam.

2010-03-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I've been working away on school projects and just finished up another one. I call it my "bib" series. A series of 3 neck pieces made from some unusual materials.

The first is made from paper. Hanji paper to be exact. I've felted the paper, sewed it and added some copper.

The second is made from soy silk fibre. I used a process called silk fusion to make this piece and then beaded little seed beads on it. I am sad about this one because I lost it. I think I dropped it walking from my car to my apartment. I think it slid off the hanger and I didn't notice until about an hour later that I didn't have it. Sigh. Luckily I have pictures!

The third is stiff and made from a material called kozo which is the inner bark of the mulberry tree. I shaped it, crocheted on it, dyed it, aged it with verdigris patina and then added some seed beads to it. This one took the longest.

I really enjoyed making this series. As many of you know I am a big fan of neck pieces. I make and wear them a lot so when I was introduced to these materials, I couldn't resist.

2010-03-04T22:45:00.000-08:00

Somehow the days just keep passing me by and I run out of time to post on my lil ole bloggy blog...bah. My apologies. I'm up to my eye balls in school work, along with trying to find a part-time job to ease some of my financial woes at the moment.

Enough about that, here is some pics:

This is a dress that I worked on last term for my surface design class. I made this from scratch...I started with merino fleece and some silk chiffon. I dyed, nuno felted, machine embroidered, silk screened, shibori-ed, hand stitched pearls and I also designed the dress and hand sewed that as well. It's very wearable and feels amazing on. I want to make more of these for sure!

Anyway I'm in the midst of taking pics of my work for my portfolio so you'll see some of those pics here.

Thanks for visiting lovely readers....I'm working on some pretty exciting projects at the moment including a jacquard weaving of this pic:

I can't remember if I took this pic or if one of my bffs did...I think it was my bff AS--if so, thanks love--you'll see it as a weaving very soon :)

and a series of jewelry bibs, one of which is made from paper!

xo

A day and a half

2010-02-09T21:21:00.000-08:00

This is the name of one of my latest works. It is a skirt made entirely of used coffee filters that I collected from our school cafeteria over a day and a half timeline. I sorted through lots of coffee grinds to get to them. I then hand stitched the skirt together. I then used the grinds to dye the organic cotton shirt. The belt is made from the paper that I used to cover the tables in order to dry my filters.

This is really my attempt at showing the viewer how much garbage we actually generate with something as simple as coffee brewing. What if we were personally responsible for the garbage we generate? Would we be more crafty with it?

It's been a while!

2010-01-16T11:28:00.000-08:00

I'm finally back in Vancouver and getting back into the swing of things like school...I almost forgot about that ;)

There are a couple of projects that I'm really excited about right now, one is a collaboration with my darling Janna...we will be doing some yarn and weaving bombs around Vancouver. I started on campus with this little weaving...it was my first so I'm still working out the details but I think it's pretty cute.

I've also collected used coffee filters from our cafeteria for another upcoming project...it's too soon to talk about but I am really enjoying the process (including spending 2 hours brushing off coffee grinds ;) and stinking up one of our classrooms (sorry textile peeps).

Today I'm attending this show and participating in a basket weaving workshop afterwards, should be fun!
xo

Happy Weekending!

2009-12-12T13:07:00.000-08:00

It's the weekend, yay! Although I'm all work and no play at the moment, I'm loving every minute of it. I'm working away on my last project (the felt dress) and it's coming along nicely. I'm just working on sewing all the pearls on the dress...all this hand sewing is making me very happy. What's better then sitting in bed, watching movies and sewing? Not much I think.

There is still lots to do before I fly for a visit home for Christmas on Wednesday but the vacay is in sight (and so is rest and a whole lot of doing nothing--well maybe reading).

Happy weekend dear readers. Thanks for visiting.

(above a pic of the bustle of my dress).

We're getting close...

2009-12-06T09:12:00.000-08:00

I only have a week and a half left of school before Christmas break! This year I am going home to Ontario for 3 weeks. I am so looking forward to it.

But before that there is much to finish at school. The most exciting thing I'm working on right now is a dress, made of nuno felt, print screened, machine embroidered, shibori and hand stitched pearls, all in a gradation of black to white. Here are some pics of me making the nuno felt for the dress.

I also just finished a project in weaving where the whole thing is woven using the warp threads as weft. It's pretty cool I have to say. I also ombred the warp (dyed it a gradation of black to white-see pic below for weaving action).

K, It's Sunday. I'm recovering from a lovely day thrift shopping yesterday--it was great, lots of great deals!

Other work...

2009-11-18T21:28:00.000-08:00

So, in between weaving madness I have been playing around with nuno felting and exploring what I can do with that. I felted up a storm, seriously...it was magical and wonderful and I do believe I am seriously addicted so don't be surprised to see more of this pop up in my future work.

So about my project...I guess I felt the same way about felt as I did about woven clothing. The fact that it's often stiff and not to mention itchy. Sometimes it also looks dated...ok don't hate me, I'm generalizing here and YES I totally understand that there is a market for almost everything but I'm talking about my own personal preference here. I like things to feel nice against my skin. To look elegant but modern, and to be soft and luxurious. I wanted to start small with my felting project so I decided to felt up some sleeves (arm warmers). The goal with these was to make them not only functional (warm) but also look modern.

The above picture is what I came up with.

I used hand dyed merino wool, tussah silk and silk chiffon (nuno felting) and I also printed on them. The pattern you see on the grey is a silk screen using dyes, of a crochet my mom did years and years ago. I really love the way the silk screening of crochet adds another layer of texture.

These will be for sale at the student sale (different versions), leftover will make an appearance either in my etsy shop or at Portobello West at the end of the month.

xo

Decent Pictures of the Capelette

2009-11-18T21:21:00.000-08:00

I promise, last post about this but I wanted to share some decent pics I took today.

Tomorrow is our student sale and I have to say there is some really great stuff for sale. Check out our student sale blog for some of the work that's going to be there.

Finished Soy Silk Caplette

2009-11-17T21:49:00.000-08:00

(pro pic to come, promise).

This is really all about texture. I must admit I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started this project. I had a sketch of a capelette that I wanted to make and I knew I wanted it to have lots of texture but wasn't exactly sure what that meant. I also wanted to make a woven clothing item that wasn't so, uhm stiff...I guess that's what comes to mind when I think of woven clothes. So I read about woven warp shibori and upon consultation with my instructor decided that this technique would be best for the look I wanted.

I ended up with something delicate and feminine looking with a vintage feel. I am pleased. This is really meant for special occasion wearing only. It feels luxurious and makes the wearer feel special. Now, will I make more? Uhmm...this was really a challenging project. Right from the dressing of the loom to the actual finishing so...maybe I would make more but it would definitely have to be a special order item. I would like to see this in another colour so I may make another one using a different material (say actual silk) and dye it. For now, this creamy one will do and will be at the student sale (this Thursday). I'm thinking it actually might be great for a bride to be.
Anyway below is a little play by play of the actual making of the capelette.

Phew... so relieved that's all finished. My next few projects I'll be working with the concept of light and dark, good and evil, black and white...the yin and yang of sorts.

xo

2009-11-09T09:42:00.001-08:00

The last little while has been crazy busy. I've been weaving, silk screening, dyeing, etc for projects but also to get ready for our student sale we're having next Thursday (check out our student sale blog with behind the scenes action).

I will be selling some of my work there--that includes some knitted goodies, some nuno felted stuff I'm working on and some woven goodies too. This capelette will also be there...here it is in progress. I've woven it and am in the process of finishing. The closure will be a bit different, it won't be the button you see here but a silk ribbon tie instead (it also won't have fringing inthe front). The texture you see on the fabric is what I was talking about in past posts about having a monofiliment supplementary warp (which essentially just means a second warp on top of my regular one). The whole thing gets boiled so that the texture stays in the fabric.

Here are some pics of things in progress...oh and of our silk moths! Some of them have made an appearance, check it out, aren't they cuties!!

2009-10-31T02:12:00.000-07:00

Yay! I have started weaving! My warp is all fixed...it took me a few hours today but it worked! This is woven warp shibori, in soy silk. You can't see the monofilament supplementary warp in this picture because it gets woven right into the fabric so that later I can pull on it. The monofilament is also clear so it makes it extra difficult to see.

But anyway, I was so happy today to finally start weaving! One step closer to my project being finished. Yay!

TGIF and Happy Halloween

2009-10-30T08:27:00.000-07:00

Ola dear readers, so it's Friday again, my day off school although I always go in to work on stuff. My latest is a larger version of my last post of the woven warp shibori with soy silk...pictured above is me warping up my loom, right before the clear monofiliment warp got completely tangled. I've worked with a monofiliment warp that's about 5 feet but not a 14 feet. Argh. So today, my goal is to fix it...not untangle it because that's impossible but to re-warp it using a different idea...fingers crossed that it works!

Annnnd Happy Halloween! This year my roomie and I are geeking out and renting True Blood...we have a little marathon planned.

Silk worms and other things

2009-10-24T10:01:00.000-07:00

Happy weekend dear readers! I hope you have some lovely things planned. I have been working away at school, as per usual. Like last year, our class has been raising silk worms and they started to cocoon yesterday! So very exciting that our little guys are growing up...haha I know that sounds ridiculous but these little guys have so much personality and they are so special. We don't harm them or anything (like boil them while their inside their cocoons), we just let nature take its course and let them come out as moths. Silk worm moths don't fly btw, they just hang out and make love and then die a few days after. AND they leave us this wonderful gift called silk! Amazing!

I also have been working with soy silk...testing out somethings for an upcoming project. I'm also testing dyes on it as a research project. Very exciting (to me anyway ;) The pic below is of my sample of woven warp shibori, before the boiling so it's all scrunched up. It kinds of looks like the silk worms ;)

And finally, I made a most delicious rice and lentil dish. Yum yum...I made lots so it got me through a few very busy days...things have been so busy that I often have a hard time feeding myself. Anyway.

Smooches to you dears,

Happy Weekend!

2009-10-17T10:25:00.001-07:00

Happy weekend dear readers, I hope you have a nice relaxing weekend planned. It's raining here in Vancouver, the leaves have already changed colour and it's so lovely to walk around in it. Like many of you, fall is my favourite time of year. The air smells great, the colours blow my mind and nothing like wearing a hand knitted or woven scarf around your neck to keep you warm.

Speaking of handmade, I attended a lecture about natural threads this past week. The talk was a part of the Maiwa Textile Symposium running all month. Charlotte Kwon was the guest speaker and she really gave the audience some stuff to think about. The idea of slow clothes...buying less but better quality and of course knowing where it came from, who made it, etc... She also discussed organic cotton versus conventional cotton and that was really eye opening for me. I do purchase mostly organic cotton to use for weaving and such but it's making me want to also incorporate more of it in my everyday life. Saving up to purchase something I need, like a t-shirt instead of just running out and buy 3 because they are cheap. And of course because they are made cheaply (and who knows under what conditions), they don't last very long, often after the first wash, I can already see them change.

It would be really difficult to live 100% "slow" items...but it's def worth a try. I already try to buy things I need from a thrift store, and not buy new but I think I can take this a step further and try to think about the materials I'm using in my work. Anyway lots to think about.

Lastly, I really want to urge people not to buy lots this holiday season. To really think about what you're doing, the money you're spending and maybe think about making some gifts, or not having them at all. Cause as cliche as it is, what's the holiday season really all about? REALLY?

Off to school,

The above picture is from the Maiwa website.

The following is a bit scary...you have been warned!

2009-10-02T13:18:00.000-07:00

It's my work space at home! BOO! Oh man, with school in full force, little time for clean up. Luckily my roomie is a fellow textile artist/student and is very forgiving.

I'm working away on lots of samples, samples for precision dyeing class, samples for weaving class and samples for surface design...samples everywhere! I can't wait to shift my focus on to projects...that should happen next week.

TGIF lovely readers. I'm cooking up a slow slow curry as I type this...slow on purpose.

check it

2009-09-21T20:06:00.000-07:00

A day of natural dyeing = bliss!

More weaving fun times

2009-09-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

More weaving samples completed! I love love the inlay one (white picture). Its a wool warp with bamboo weft inlayed with bamboo roving. I'm going to be using this technique in an upcoming project with natural dyes, can't wait!

We also had a little visitor with us in the loom room, meet Lily, she is a french bulldog and is so so lovely and cute. She ended up finding a quiet place to sleep under a table on top of a bag of wool...it was the cutest.

Off to have dinner with friends!

Back to school times!

2009-09-11T08:59:00.000-07:00

So this week I have started school again and we went straight to it. In weaving class, we warped up another sampler project...this one works a little different, everyone warps up for a different technique and you can pick and choose which one you work on as long as you have 4-6 samples at the end of it. They call it a round robin...I think it's a great way to get lots of samples without having to warp up tons of times.

I'm working on a double weave, which is when you weave on two warps, fun times!

Check out our sweet loom room...back to back floor looms!

Happy Friday dear readers!

2009-08-28T09:22:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm finished with my summer job, I have a couple weeks before school starts so I've been busy weaving, dyeing and knitting. Everything is going well and I even was able to warp up my loom in a short period of time--which is exciting to me because this used to take me a long time.

I also found this super cute picture of a sheep...he was just hanging out on the side of the road during my recent trip to Salt Spring Island. Just as I was taking the pic, he looked up at me which I thought was perfect.

A couple of days ago I received some sad news from back home...so I have been thinking about my friend a lot and dedicating my meditation to him.

Thanks for checking in.

Party and Knitting

2009-08-20T19:09:00.000-07:00

That's what I've been up to lately. A friend of mine had a rad indigo party for her bday. What's an indigo party you ask? Well it's when we have a couple of indigo vats going and the guests get to dye whatever items they bring! It was totally fun and I got to see lots of peeps from school.

I have also been knittinggggg...lots and lots of knitting. I can't stop. I love it. More shrugs availabe in the shop.

Last Night

2009-08-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

Last night L and I went to check out the Fibre, Naturally show at Emily Carr, Granville Island. This show was amazing, everything was made out of this special hanji paper which comes from the inner bark of the mulberry tree. This paper can be felted into all kinds of things (see below)...when it dries, it becomes very durable. You can make wallets, dresses and yarn out of it.

Some amazing stuff was done with it for this show that featured Korean artists.

We also attended a quick demo on how to felt hanji paper:

There is a fashion show tonight featuring fashion made out of this unique paper but alas it's $20 to attend (I wish they had a student discount).

Welcome!

2009-08-12T11:55:00.000-07:00

Hello hello and welcome to the new blog! I'm really excited about continuing to update here in this space like I used to in the last blog. The purpose for the change is just a little re branding...still the same lil ole me.

What you can expect from this blog? Fun posts about what I'm working on, eating and places I'm visiting. Also lots about the "little things", because I'm really into that sort of thing.

I have posted some textile goodies to my new shop, so please go and visit :)