Purpose

Material Witness will focus on extreme textile process. Images will be posted here showing the history of my work, new work, developing projects and inspiration.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Mushrooming


My fat little yellow and hand staining mushrooms have arrived from Fort Nelson. I am thrilled despite the fact they are getting elderly in the jar they remain intact. In a mushier sort of way.
Tim delivered them yesterday. No problems on the plane.

Hilary Young is teaching an image transfer workshop in Kimberly this weekend and came to the studio to borrow my flat irons. She told me that Julie Pongrac is giving a mushroom dye workshop in Pender Harbour or Maderia Park in the next few weeks. I am ecstatic and googled to find information and discovered a whole lot of workshops all over the Lower Mainland to Seattle focusing on the little buddies. The Botanical Garden and UBC are also holding workshops on identification. There is a whole Mushroom Festival happening on the Sunshine Coast! I will go broke and exhaust myself if I take everything but ...

I have been watching Arlee Barr's valiant experiments with vegetation and have been drying all sorts for awhile now. Found some gorgeous pots worthy of my experiments and back porch at the Commercial Drive Home Hardware down the road. A friend informed me that the Restaurant Supply on Hastings Street in Vancouver have some bigger and better ones. Will probably stick to the smaller size so I can manage them.

Visited Afuwa Granger in her studio yesterday. Her painting skills have evolved in very exciting ways. She has tucked tiny little sketches in corners and has bones in jars like I do. I am so sorry I missed her show but the work left was gorgeous. She is working on a performance for the Roundhouse using herself painting with disappearing medium.
Very interested in the direction of her work.

Plan to go to Eva Honig's new show opening at Numen Gallery on Sunday. Curious to see how her work is developing. Will also pick up my tiny and exquisite sculptures done by Yvonne Wayakubayashi. All paid for! Mine! A total indulgence in beauty.

The studio is so clean and I have done sketches for my installation for the East Side Culture Crawl. Cut out about twenty pieces for some "creatures". 4 different designs. Very,very visceral and animated. Need to wrap wires this weekend and make bodies, do some silicone casting and needle embroidery. Full out production on globes. Large, small and in between.

Fall is my New Year. Always feel inspired and energized by the promise of abundance and cooler weather. I walk more this time of year than any other. I crave vegetables and fruit. I get more done. The studio is the perfect temperature. What more could I even desire?

Had a pub supper with my sweet. So glad he is home safe and happy and full of Northern tales.

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