Our autumn here is gentle and temperate, a wonderful relief from the hot summer days. Just as it is a time for summer leaves to fall and be incorporated into the soil again I have worked on two W.I.Ps that I started in summer.

W.I.P. Sunflowers and Roses

I took my time finding the correct background/table cloth for this artwork. I wanted a mid-tone contrast, compared to the roses and gypsophila which have more of a light and dark contrast, and the wall background I wanted an even more subtle contrast of colours and tones.  I also wanted the blue vase and table cloth to mirror the sunflower image, not necessarily in colour but in shapes.  

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I played around with pencil crayons, water colours and inks which have a more crisp effect than the pastels but I was practicing the shapes of the design and also playing with the colours.

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Although it is not perfect I am happy with the result.

W.I.P. Hand sewn Ancestors Tree

I am a natural girl: My values for dressing are comfort, being environmentally friendly, and modesty. I have embraced a personal a way of life and response to environmental change. Part of my endeavors is to up-cycle or recycle clothing I no longer am happy with. In this case I had this shirt which was cotton (good for the environment) and I liked the colour but I don’t enjoy wearing collared shirts. It is just not my thing. I decided to shorten the sleeves and as I like tying shirts in the waist to accentuate my figure I trimmed the back shorter and used the off-cuts to make longer ties.  I could just have tucked the collar away but I knew I would be more comfortable with stitching it down in place.

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I wasn’t sure what design I wanted to use so I didn’t work on it all summer. Now that I have been researching my heritage, ancestry and family tree I began my deep reflective process and soon the inspiration began for my abstract design for stitching my the collar down. It is not an obvious family tree design but the idea is that the stitches form the branches and twigs are of all the family members of the past. It is both an honoring of my heritage and an assimilation of my thoughts metaphorically. I always find my art process becomes infused with meaning as I contemplate where I am at in my life.

Ancestors Tree

Hand sewing art, 
expressing my Ancestry tree. 
A gentle autumn occupation. 
Whilst waiting for my seeds to germinate, 
I up-cycle my hardly worn shirt to suit my personality.
The stitches symbolic of the footsteps, trails, trials and journeys,
Symbolic of the glances, chances and looks, 
of hugs and kisses and violent stokes,
Stitches piercing as they make their mark
Stitches mending what time has hidden,
Stitches, Stitches, Stitches,
One stitch at a time
over time
Making up my 
Ancestor's  tree.

What have you been exploring lately?