Graffitti

 The elements which define Graffitti -  skinny cotton silk scarf, appliqued with tussar silk, chain stitched, tea dyed ,running stitch details, a raw edges finished with blanket stitch and tassels  .

 A soft feel and a primitive appearance characterises  Graffitti.

This scarf is the first in a series exploring the representation of circles. The circle is a recurring element in my work ( like you never noticed) so in the next couple of scarves I make I'm going to explore embroidery and sewing methods/techniques to create a circular form and circular patterns. This is one of the techniques I'll be trying.

Embellished Fragments

In my last post I wrote of a path I was exploring but I now find I'm exploring more than one path simultaneously. One such path which I would like to call Embellished Fragments has begun with this first piece.

Bits and pieces of silk and cotton some dyed with tea, others used for hand pieced patchwork and embroidered wisdom have come together in the creation of Fear Less.

Would you buy something like this? You might ask - what purpose Fear Less serves? To which I would answer - its a fragment - frame it, incorporate it into a quilt or just keep it in a drawer or folded and kept in your purse so you can touch, read and ponder the meaning of the words embroidered on the fragment.

I leave on a project tomorrow- (yet another path!) I'll be back in the first week of August.

Path

Tussar silk stole, dyed with tea, silk applique and sequins.
Got two shades of tea. One edge of the stole was dyed with tea boiled in a stainless steel vessel - the resultant shade was more golden, whereas the edge dyed in a cast iron vessel with tea resulted in a more dark nut brown colour.
I'm going to be exploring a new path which has opened up rather unexpectedly - excited, curious and just a teeny tiny smattering of butterflies in the tummy. Wish me luck.

Winter Solstice 2010

The first finish of the new year - Winter Solstice 2010. A tea and rust dyed silk and cotton scarf embroidered with circles.

Unusual name wouldn't you say. It was around the time of the Winter Solstice in2010 that I dyed this piece of silk cotton and it reminded me of the appearance of the moon that night of the total lunar eclipse.
Circles embroidered with running stitch cover the surface of the scarf.
To add a hint of sparkle a single red sequin has been attached somewhere along the outer edge of of the small circles embroidered in red like the one at the lower right hand corner in the above image. Can you spot the sequin?

I need to figure out a way to show you how the scarf appears in its entirety and not just the details, will do that with the next couple of scarves which are going to be pashmina. Quite excited because its the first time I'll be working with this fibre. For now if you'd like to see this scarf or any of the others featured in the last couple of posts visit Plantation House at the Leela Galleria, Bangalore.