BWHeader

Penny, Penny…

There is progress, but it is taking so long to complete the project. I haven’t had loads of time for studio work. I was away because of family stuff and I have been working on several app projects. Can only manage a couple of studio hours in the evening.

The blocks are tacked in place and now I am stitching them onto the background. Pretty sure that I will not be happy with the stitching until it is more substantial. Perhaps a knot at every hole–3 on each side, would mean 12 knots for each of the 252 blocks or 3,024 knots.

Binding

I haven’t yet decided how I will “age” the piece. Currently leaning toward wax with heat or flame. I do love to torch things. I will need to make some test pieces to see how the materials behave.

There is also the possibility of using asphaltum, which is somewhat consistent with roofing felt and tree wrap. In the past when I used asphaltum I willy-nilly mixed it with shellac and applied it with a brush.

Or sugar. Sugar has been used as a stiffener for crochet work. I gave it a go several years back. Made a cotton open weave vessel.

Sugar Stiffener

6″ x 5.5″ x 6″
1 part water with 2 parts Sugar (I used a raw sugar so it did change the color of the cord)
Heated to dissolve, but didn’t boil. This takes a little time.

Sugar Stiffener Detail

I left the hot sugar in the pot and tossed in the piece to saturate the cord.
Blocked it over a jar covered with foil and placed a piece of plastic under. This is pretty drippy stuff.

The vessel has maintained its form, and has not attracted ants.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.