Thursday, April 14, 2016

FERAL SELF-PORTRAIT

I have decided to stick with this font, its sparseness means I can write very little whilst appearing to have written much. 

I pulled out an old tapestry weaving that had been banished to the cupboard of shame for five years or more. Her re-appearance was the result of a conversation I had with a "kiwi" visiting home on annual leave from working on Christmas Island.
Kangaroo Paw, pencil on trace paper.
Christmas Island is used by the Australian Govt. as an off-shore indefinite holding facility for ex-criminals, refugees and other undesirables.





I was finally able to make use of the shell casing covers I managed to  aquire some time ago. Cut outs of stylised Kangaroo Paw flowers were used to soften the main weaving with a border of flowers.


They are used as a strong symbolic statement for the end work. The juxtaposition of stylised flowers, the cropping of the self-portrait through use of framing defines and contains the woman, the darkness surrounding the face creating a veil like quality. All these combine to present a surface layer of ambiguous meaning from a distance. 



"Ramadhan On Christmas Island"

 



PAUA SHELL LOOMS. (Abalone)

For those of you who have no idea what a Paula shell loom may be, here are a couple of images taken from a recent day of play, making brooches.
Linen warp, silk slub, cotton, fine copper wire and feathers.
Of course the problem is that the weaving looks so cute in-situ, that no one wants to cut them off the shell when they are finished weaving. These shells grow to quite good sizes in the colder waters of the NZ coastline.

I will be running a community workshop next Saturday at the Franklin Art Gallery in Pukekohe. Give Nansi a ring at the gallery to book a spot. It is free to attend, and there is a morning and an afternoon time slot available.



Good Bye Beautiful Sudio Space



Well these fragments of my studio wall space are but a memory now. Everything is packed up for a new start elsewhere. I am tapping on the door of madness trying to keep an eye(and memory)on the detritus of essentials I need for creative pursuit. 


Genette and company.


These are photos taken from my "protest walls". Alternatively it could be a record of un-sold works, and there may be a connection there, Hmmmm.



Tapestry Weavings By Stephenie Collin









WELCOME TO MY BLOG....






I hope you find Warped Art & Design both interesting and inspiring, and that it will encourage anyone working with fibre to investigate and experiment further within their chosen field.






The basic loom, which is my tool of trade, has remained technologically unchanged. This aspect appeals to me as I weave contemporary images on a machine of such simple and ancient construction.

And if the loom be silenced,
then needles, threads and fingers
have plenty more to say.











About Me

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Waiuku, Auckland, New Zealand
I am an artist, weaver, gardener, mother and grandmother, home food gatherer, political sceptic, modest future eater, and much much more.