looking outside the box

 http://furorbrillante.blogspot.com

http://claireabaker.blogspot.com

www.sabatinaleccia.com

www.junkooki.com

emilybarletta.com




neki desu

outside influences

everyday for the past week i see this poster on the tree in front of my building. it's announcing the patron's- our lady of mercy-la mercè day festivities which hail the official end of summer here. every year an artist is commissioned to do the poster and this year it was sean scully, our newest illustrious neighbor.

so tra lala ♪♫ i am working on this trying

to finish it in the fall . and guess?

just this weekend i became aware.

anyone has doubts about how the environment affects?

neki desu

become became become

a sample. glad i did it because i do not like the hand after fulling. nothing critical, but evidently, the worsted is meant for weaving .one more bothering thing is that the  aspect ratio of the pattern gets slightly distorted.

starting over with the wonky merino and watching it like a hawk. don't want it to jam the machine.

 but i don't want this post to be me,me, me.  sharing this. very exciting work, there's something for everyone. including books ;)

neki desu

 

on wisdom

from-tyler-surfboards-courtesy-of-lane-wood









neki desu

i really should be away from the computer

doing stuff before i leave. however, this gem is worth screwing the schedule.
http://www.tienchiu.com/2011/11/mind-the-gap/
 do you remember being there? i do.
 be back on friday.

neki desu

stalled

difficult to compose. very difficult. have tried different placements except the dead-no-no center. so i keep adding stitching with the hope that it will organize. itself.  who said symmetrical compositions were easier?

then what does one do when one gets stalled, besides feeling sorry for one's self? this. it's pretty intuitive, no need to know the language. and you can print it too and shape it into a 3d paper incarnation of your- perhaps inner self???? (^_^)

at least we can play our woes away.

neki desu

talk about handmade pride

the quiet slumber

the trip to the cava (scroll down the link until you find cava)cellar was an educational experience.

Recaredo is a small family business which is mainly concerned in elaborating-they say it's different from producing- a high quality wine. at their organic vineyards, they hand pick the grapes and follow the rhythms of nature, yet the there's a lot of  high tech involved in the elaboration . i personally found the mix interestingly intoxicating, no pun here. their output is medium size small and it is nurtured and cherished as a firstborn child as it has been for three generations.

the cellar held quite a few remarkable things. 

the man in charge of the dégorgement fell in the awe inspiring category. with a swift movement, he pulled out the cork so that the sediment would come out, sniffed the bottle to check for defects in the wine and put the bottle on the conveyor belt-all in less than10 seconds.he was trained for two years so that he could carry on this synchronized performance.i noticed that the conveyor belt that carries the bottles was going at human speed and mentioned it to our host. he said it could be programed to go faster, but there was no point in doing that, as it had to go at the workers pace. hear! hear!

the men who turn the bottles were also trained for years to carry on their task and the men working the vines have also been with the firm  for a long time.

everyone is part of the process  and feel proud of what they elaborate.

you can taste that in every bottle.

their cavas are elegant, graceful and full of dignity,that being a reflection from honest practices.i found fascinating the fact that a quality such as dignity could be sensed by  the taste buds. time is also picked up by the taste buds. the youngest wine has been aged 30 months and their longest aged 120 months. there's no  need to rush a good wine, as it will only get better with time.

moreover  there is no addition of sugar or sweet liquor so all their cavas are brut nature-no extras added ; all  the components of taste, adequate acidity  and carbonic gas are obtained by and during the elaboration process.

for someone like me who is a handmade advocate finding them has taught me that those values that i hold dear can be reproduced at a bigger scale, yet maintaining integrity.it's about quality, integrity and honesty. and if you can make money with that, then happy dance!
one more thing i can say: if you happen to find a bottle of their cava grab it and treat yourself. you won't be disappointed. au contraire!

neki desu

of julias, julians and julianscope

consciously and guiltily steering away from the loom.learning to use apo7x(see yesterday's post)

won't bore you with the fractalspeak, just enjoy the image above.one good thing about creating your own images is that besides avoiding copyright issues you can have a stock to illustrate whatever. and they can also turn into textile works. want more?

today i'm using the image to illustrate an information rich post.

• say goodbye to color balance photo woes.here are some good easy tips to get your color balance right. you need  to scroll down to get to the meaty part.

• for sewers -the ones who use fabric, not the sewage conduits-(^ ^ )a great post on making bags and how to avoid some common mistakes.

• if you're interested in visual journals here's a list of free on line workshops.

and for closers some incredible photo eye candy. enjoy!

and yes catherine, if you care about your time stay away from the program (^ ^)

neki desu

japanophilia part II- my way

as the saying goes improvisation is the mother of invention. in need of harite on a long weekend with no possibility of buying anything. but minutia wasn't going to stop me. here is the home made department in all its glory. suffice to say the invention worked and it is also portable.

on with painting the reserve.i wanted to try a gum arabic rice flour resist, because i was going to paint the background with mx dye treated as acid. acid curls alginate hence the gum arabic which does not react with  acid. the flour was going to give the gum arabic some flexibility because the silk was going to be stretched and i  did not want it to tear. i was  experimenting with the different consistencies of the resist too.

                                                                            beauty shot

saturday's work:first red layer it looks wonky, but it is kosher, trust me.

sunday after batching for 24 hours. second red layer.
the big time bummer is that my beloved botan bake 牡丹　掃  aka  peony brush  is falling apart.it is great for paining gradation backgrounds and  i bought it in japan. i wanted it to last my lifetime so use was sparse. little did i know that the less you use it the quicker it falls apart. it seems that getting a replacement will entail a trip to japan unless i find a kind soul that can ship me one (hint, hint)

and why the all the flurry  you may ask. last week i posted  this  and mentioned sakuran. ever since joan lintault posted the link i've been under its spell and in a red black white colourway mind frame in  a mix of techniques including shibori. inspiration comes from unforeseen sources when you're working.

take a look . do you understand me now?

neki desu

a link rich post

or too hot to work.

it's cooler up north and Leena is trying a fermentation vat. vicarious dyeing over here :)- perhaps i should say dying-note the spelling

i have been spending time inside ie at the computer which has resulted in a few interesting finds.

for starters here's an attractive blog full of all kinds of crafty tips, podcasts and insights on whats going on and around.

then,

ever thought about pleating fabric,without spending big time on a pleater? burda™ has a tutorial on making a pleating board fast and easy.

on the fun and games department this has been around for a while, but it is a good resource for generating doodles which can in turn  be used as a springboard and taken further. you can use any ol'  fine tip pen and paper, i can assure you.

and last color and interactions-almost literal- here .fun and color ideas galore.

on closing,  a delightful article on cakes. don't be put off by the title, your baking will never be the same.

stay cool.

neki desu

re assesing, re evaluating recapitulating

going through yet another soul searching session.

meanwhile here's a good read about magical objects.

have a good weekend.


neki desu


view CCLicense

vanitas

Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower,
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind.
William Wordsworth

neki desu


view CCLicense

a room of one's own

October TIF is about work spaces. No other person has put it so well as Virginia Woolf.

...a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction...

neki desu
view CCLicense



Esta obra está bajo una licencia de Creative Commons.

time for a pause

And lots of walking.

So i'll leave you with a very inspiring post i found at Exploring the Surface.
Be back in a couple of weeks to a goodie care package from my fairy godmother .

neki desu

dots and circles

i'm going through a dot and circle phase. Like the Midas touch, but in dots. Some days ago while doing some surfing during my morning coffee i came across this Photoshop tutorial for transforming solid images into dotted images. Being very clear and straightforward it had me functioning within 5 minutes. After that the difficult part was tearing myself away from the computer.


Here's another try out. The background can be altered at will so i went for gradients just for fun and just using the dotted images.
All in all this is a useful application for creating images for thermofax or silkscreens.

Have fun!

neki desu

Takashi Iwasaki

Takashi Iwasaki's page is a real inspiration for embroiderers. His work is contemporary, yet incorporates some of the traditional Japanese patterns and motifs. Stylized and playful the embroideries show his graphic design training. In his CV he cites he's an"art enjoyer" something that struck me as absolutely brilliant. You can see more of his work here and while there check out his paintings too.
Enjoy!


neki desu