SAYING THANK YOU

Thank you Coen for being so understanding and giving your Mum some space and time to get her school work done. For someone who is only 12 it showed great maturity and love. THANK YOU! I know that having a student for a mother is not always easy and tapestry is probably the most time consuming subject that I could have ever chosen.
No more progress reports! break out the champagne!

TAPESTRY PROGRESS FOM OCTOBER 15TH

This is where I was up to on the 15Th October. I decided that the white in the jug was too pale. Even though I usually use a pure white for highlights, this tapestry has a yellow cast to the over all tone, so I decided to replace it with a darker colour.

It was not difficult to un pull the weaving as it is woven straight up. If I had needed to un pull any of the rest of the tapestry, I may have decided to just live with it. But knowing me, the serial un picker I probably would have pulled it out.

Sometimes silly little details can take forever to resolve. I wove the highlight on the lip of the jug 3 different times trying to get it right. The stepping on the pear gave me a few headaches, but I am happy that I persevered to get it right as it is important that it sits well behind the jug.


If anyone is wondering why this tapestry seems to be taking longer. This is what my bobbins look like


This is how they pull through the weaving. The linen has NO GIVE and wont unwind off the bobbin the same as the wool. I have needed to correct it so many times it almost seems the normal way to weave now. I have not added the language that I that I have been using!

There is a tiny black out line between the lemon and the leaf in the design.
I felt strongly that I needed to keep it in the tapestry to create a shadow, so I have outlined it with soumak.

Some days when you are rushing towards a deadline it is better to look down, rather than looking at how much is left of the cartoon!

This is where I am up to today. I have woven 42cm across the entire 1 meter of tapestry since the 13Th October. I am uncertain about the shape that I am weaving now so I decided just to weave it up to the top without worrying about the colours. Just concerned about the shape at the moment. I have roughly outlined the shape so that I can decide what I will do. I think that it is good to show your failures , not just your success's.

I did un pull the shape and the one on the left as well. I wove it according to the photo and the cartoon but it appeared to have a dark line straight across, so I changed the shape. I un pulled the purple up the left side of the leaf and resolved the yellow shape as it looked odd in tapestry although it is fine in the painting, sometimes things just work out that way.
I have been away and resolving issues takes time so this is where I am up to this morning.

PLANS FOR A NEW TAPESTRY

I don't know how this year has disappeared so quickly? I think that we spent most of it in a flu induced coma here. I always seem to have a panic attack the moment I see Christmas cards in the shops. I bought two frames the same size, one to frame the 'Teapot with Lemon' tapestry and the other with the intent of weaving this painting.
I have drawn it up on paper to paint in gauche but I need to spend time weaving, not painting. I have always liked this painting and so must others as it is the most viewed of all my small paintings that I uploaded on to flicker. I bought some gold metallic embroidery thread to weave the background pattern with. It has very little give in it. But considering the struggle that I am having at the moment with the linen I am using in my current tapestry, I think that I am up to the challenge! I like the rhythm on the background pattern and may change some of the green tones in the leaves in the center. The complexity of this tapestry should compliment the simplicity of the other when they are hung together.

TAPESTRY BLUES EXHIBITION ON FLICKER

The 47 tapestries created by Australian and New Zealand weavers for the 'TAPESTRY BLUES' exhibition have been uploaded on to Flicker. The brief for the exhibition was to create a tapestry that contained the colour blue. View the exhibition to see how each of the artists responded.

REFLECTIONS AT ELLERY CREEK BIG HOLE AND SIMPSON'S GAP

This photo was taken at Ellery Creek Big Hole, in the West Mac Donnell Ranges. We drove out there on a Friday evening planning to stay the weekend. Saturday morning the wind came up and our tent changed into so many different shapes before our eyes, we decided to take it down while it was still in one piece! The West Mac Donnell Ranges are spectacular just like the paintings of Fred Williams , with their colours and sparse vegetation. The waterhole was freezing, we laughed while we watched 3 young German girls deck themselves out in their bathers and barely hit the water before jumping out yelling and screaming about the cold. Gerard braved the cold and can be seen as the small dot on the water in the photo's. The first group of photo's were taken at Simpson's Gap about 27km from Alice Springs. Water is so rare in the desert and there are many dry rivers and creeks. A little rock wallaby came along while we were at Simpson's Gap and dug down in what looked like a dry creek bed to get a drink. Alice Spring is a wonderful place to visit but you would need to stay at least a month to have the time to explore all there is to offer in the area. I would love to go back to Alice to see the Henley on Todd Regatta. I think that it best shows Australians wacky sense of fun as it is a boat race along the ..DRY.. Todd River that runs right through the township of Alice Springs!


Looks like fun? If you prefer to go to the races you could also go back for
'THE CAMEL CUP'




Gerard will stay in Alice Springs until the beginning of December and it will be hot by then, temperatures can get as high as 43c that's around 110f, I am sure that there are times when it is even hotter. I think that that explains all the serious beer drinking and mad sense of humour that the locals have. As Alice Springs is almost placed in the centre of Australia it is a very long way to the beach.



Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

KATA TUJA AND STANLEY CHASM

Kata Tuja can be seen on the horizon from Uluru, spectacular with their rounded forms, but very different in the way that they catch the light as they are a conglomerate rock formation. The weather was kind to us as the days were mild, much better than walking around in the heat. It will only be a few more weeks before the tourists disappear, as the weather turns unbearably hot. Kata Tuja has such a nice feel to it, not as huge and imposing as Uluru. After walking around close to the rocks we returned to the car park to see an almost full moon rising. Quite spectacular! There is a viewing area where I took these sunset photos from. Altough taken only a few minutes apart each one is different.
Stanley Chasm is in the West Mac Donnell Ranges. Only a short and pleasant walk from the car park. The colour of the rocks are brilliant and I had never seen Cyclades growing in the wild before. The native eucalyptus have such white trunks and stand out against the oranges in the rocks. The last few photo's show the different textures that mother nature offers us.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

RAIN ON ULURU

After five hours on a bus to Adelaide in teaming rain, followed by 25 hours on the Ghan I finally made it to Alice Springs the day before my 50Th birthday. We spent two nights in Alice Springs before driving in the heat to Uluru. Arriving early evening we decided to set up our tent, get some food and just relax. About 6am the next morning we woke to thunder and lightning, a storm in the desert is a rare event. Uluru would have to be the most photographed rock in Australia, one of the most popular destinations for overseas tourists. We were so lucky to be there in the rain as water flows from the rock forming spectacular water falls. Gerard and I decided to walk the 9km around Uluru. Taking our time to watch natures wonders. If I had not left home in teaming rain I would not have packed a rain coat, it would be considered the last thing that you would need in the desert. About half way through our walk the weather completely changed and it became dark like it was going to pour with more rain. Within minutes the storm completely passed over, out came the sun and we ended up wind burned by the time that we had walked all the way around Uluru. You can see the storm and change of weather in the slide show. I took so many photo's it was difficult to chose which ones to put here.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

TAPESTRY PROGRESS

I know that this is not the best of photo's but I am in a rush to head out the door and will post a better one later. While plant dyed clothes are better left to slowly steep with gentle heat and little attention, a tapestry does nothing! This is where I am up to today. I am not sure about the white highlight on the jug. I may unpick it down a bit and start to grade the colour a bit darker? It will be good to see it with fresh eyes when I return.