Safety Pins Used–263 small, 9 gourd. The knitted brown pieces are much thinner than the cream and tan pieces. Next time I should use the same stitch for all.
Cut a length of bronze welding rod for hanging the piece inside box. Current Dimensions–10″ x 20″.
Next–Patina the metal and build a cedar box.
As stated in a previous post, the quote is from Henning Mankell’s, Firewall.
The quote is from Firewall, part of the Wallander series written by Henning Mankell.
Tomorrow is the anniversary of my mother’s ischemic stroke. An event that changed everything.
Last year was a challenging year. My younger sister survived her third surgery for oral cancer, but while in recovery had an ischemic stroke. She did not survive.
Two months later my mother had an ischemic stroke. For a few weeks the prognosis was positive-negative, hopeful-no hope. Before summer I lost the two most important women in my life. The women who knew me when I was a child. We grew and changed together.
I am working on a memorial series. Typically I my series have 11 pieces. Several pieces are in progress but not quite completed. Partly the delay in completing work is the result of recovering from hand surgery. Still do not have my fine motor skill and manual dexterity in my dominant hand.
I using fiber to embroider on hardware cloth for my code blocks. Holding a needle for extended periods of time still causes hand and finger pain. Needed to figure out alternative ways for making things. Since I can loom knit, decided to give that a go. This will also be the first piece in a long time that does not have hardware cloth. It is a good thing to break a dependence on a material.
Who is Left…, will still have a metal component. The plan is to use safety pins to assemble the blocks. The safety pins will also add the possibility of green patina running down the piece.
Blocks
There are three colors of wool blocks: 41 tan for dashes, 51 dark brown for dots, and 52 cream for spacers. The 144 blocks will be laid out on a 9 x 16 grid.
Knit Pattern–Dash 41 Tan Wool Blocks
Cast On E-wrap
Knit E-wrap
R1 Skip, K5, Flat Knit
R2 Skip, K, S, K, S, K, Flat Knit
R3 Skip, K5, Flat Knit
R4 Skip, S, K, S, K, S, Flat Knit
Pattern rolls.
Knit Pattern–Dot 51 Dark Brown Wool Blocks
Cast On E-wrap
Knit E-wrap
R1 Skip, K, P, K, P, K, Flat Knit
R2 Skip, P, K, P, K, K, Flat Knit
R3 Skip, P, K, P, K, K, Flat Knit
R4 Skip, K, P, K, P, K, Flat Knit
Knit Pattern–Spacers 52 Cream Wool Blocks
Cast On E-wrap
Knit E-wrap
Only Knit Purl Stitches
R1 Skip, K, P, K, P, K, Flat Knit
R2 Skip, P, K, P, K, K, Flat Knit
R3 Skip, K, P, K, P, K, Flat Knit
R4 Skip, P, K, P, K, K, Flat Knit
Knitted Swatches with Cotton Cord Separating Blocks After First Fulling
Blocks for Code
The scraps are random sizes, might be fun to stitch together to make letters in a different code piece.
Been thinking about learning to use my mother’s sewing machine.
The blocks were fulled, not felted. Loops for pegs still visible.
Safety Pins
I ordered two types of bronze 3/4″ safety pins from amazon:
Household Mall 3/4-Inch Safety Pins, Bronze (1440 Pieces)
Firefly Bronze Metal Gourd Pin (1000 Pieces)
Received the Household Bronze pins. They are beautiful!
Waiting to assemble the piece until I see the Bronze Gourd Pins.
10 April They Arrived…
The extra space in the curve of the pin might work better with the thickness of the wool blocks.
The safety pins would be lovely for use in the i-cord bowl series I am planning to make. The title is Collected Memories. Got the idea when going through my parents’ collections found in random drawers.
A few years ago I dinked around with the idea of i-cord bowls. Wasn’t the time to develop the work. Maybe I was waiting for bronze safety pins.
According to the email I received from amazon, I may not receive the gourd safety pins until April 12th. So, I patiently wait for the order to arrive.
I put the memorial penny piece for my mother on hold. Just wasn’t in a place to work on it.
I needed to full the piece, stitch the pennies into the triangles, and add coded dates to years that had special events.
The silver colored penny is from 1943 and steel.
This morning I fulled the knitted piece, now waiting for it to dry.
Also ordered a box to house the piece. I have been looking for a box and last week found this one.
The images are from the Etsy shop Superior Vintage Goods.
The patina and hardware wowed me.
I love the dovetail joints.
The interior looks really clean. Relieved I will not need to line the interior. I like the idea of the knitted piece resting next to the wood.
Wool, wood, and pennies are lovely together.
The box should arrive next week. Hope to get all of the stitchwork done before it arrives. My parents’ wedding anniversary is the 11th. It would be great to complete the piece for one of Mom’s special days.
Sunday I spent the bulk of the day in the studio working on the Bitterest Tears piece. Saturday decided to add a border to the piece, notion of how blankets have a binding at top.
Didn’t visually feel right, so I opted for 2 rows at the top and 3 on bottom.
Bitterest Tears Final Layout
The 2nd brown row at top has the word, loss in code.
The bottom 2nd and 3rd rows have the code for the words, and regret.
Row 1 Stitch for Dots, Row 2 and 3 Dash and Spacer, Row 4 Decorative Row
Used the same dot, dash, spacer stitches for the code for entire piece. There is an addition of a row of a decorative star stitch that frames the body in cream.
Odd that I am on the flip side of regret after doing so many pieces in the past with no regret and forgive yourself in code.
No Regrets code is wrapped around the circle.
Forgive Yourself code is knotted for use as prayer beads.
Regret and Grief
I suspect it has a bit to do with the loss of my sister and mother this year. Even when you intellectually know death will soon end a life, it is still a shock to the system. It changes everything. Every day I wish I could have had more time with the two most important women in my life. Grief is my constant companion. Perhaps I should give it a name.
My hope is that when I complete the penny memorial for my mother and the Bitterest Tears piece I will have worked through some of my grief.
Harriet Beecher Stowe Quote Used
The Harriet Beecher Stowe quote used for the body of the piece–the bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.
The quote is from Little Foxes: Or, the Insignificant Little Habits Which Mar Domestic Happiness. Been carrying the quote around for quite some time, so decided I should read the book.
Found the book as a free read on archive.org.
Perhaps the first pages explains the title–
…the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.
… those unsuspected, unwatched, insignificant little causes, that nibble away domestic happiness, and make home less than so noble an institution should be.
Project Description
There are 16 blocks horizontally and 21 blocks vertically. Each block is a 9×5 (2.25” x 1.25”) piece of ¼” hardware cloth. The piece of brown material stitched onto each block is roofing felt. I love roofing felt–its color, texture, and fragrance.
I used a rust promoter solution on the hardware cloth that may have weakened the metal. Some of the blocks became crazy red. Decided not to use those in this piece because I wanted to limit the palette to brown, cream, and grey.
Planning to stitch the blocks together with the brown wool yarn used for the top and bottom borders. Then apply a salt solution to the entire piece. It should integrate, age, and perhaps even visually bring to mind the salt of tears.
Pretty sure the piece will need a frame/box. Not sure if the frame/box will be part of the piece or act as a frame for an artifact.
Anzen is part of my Tools for Rent Series.
When I cast the bronze daggers I debated how best to display them. Some of my thoughts–weapons are often beautiful, weapons are designed to cause damage, the use of a weapon is violent. But if the daggers are bound into the interior of the box, potential violence could be controlled. I decided to bind each dagger into their own box.
The boxes were constructed of raw cedar fence. Cedar has a lovely fragrance. It also brings to mind the numerous times I opened my mother’s cedar-lined hope chest. I chose cedar because of the arbitrary value placed on a woman based on the contents of a wedding chest. Not unlike the arbitrary value placed on works of art.
I recently read through all of the seed planting recommendations for plants that I plan to add to my gardens.
Most of the seed will be planted in Plantel Plant Trays from Peaceful Valley Farm Supply.
It is recommended that some of the seed be planted in biodegradable pots, to prevent disturbing the roots of the seedlings.
Rather than purchasing peat or coconut fiber pots, I decided to use the Yellow Pages that have been piling up in my studio. Does anyone actually use printed paper phone books?
I viewed several, how to fold paper pot tutorials. DIY: Newspaper Pots for Seed Starting/Cuttings on Youtube is the best tutorial I found. The instructions are clear and easy peasy. Before beginning to fold a sheet from the Yellow Pages, I removed a strip from the side to alter the proportions.
The pages were torn to 4.25″ x 8.5″
The strips will saved for use when working in clay.
The finished folded pot is 1″x1″x1″.
Whenever I learn a new skill or technique, I always think about how it can be used in the studio.
I have made loads of boxes in the past, but rarely a square. This is a square box, roughly 3.5″, that I never quite completed. It is tree wrap with some dried plant bits and twine.
49 Paper Pots Ready to Use
Now I know how to achieve gorgeous textural surfaces on bronze. You must submerge the piece in the ocean for centuries!
When I saw the images of the bronze arm found during the archaeological expedition of the Antikythera Shipwreck, it reminded me of my research to create thick textural surfaces on bronze.
Antikythera Shipwreck Expedition, Detail of the Hand
I buried my bronze pieces with sodium mixtures and chemicals. I applied chemicals to my pieces and then set them on fire. I saturated burlap with chemicals, wrapped it around my pieces, then enclosed work in a plastic container. I applied low-fire ceramic glazes to bronze pieces and then fired them. And I did a combination.
This is a detail of a little bronze bowl that was bound with wire.
I applied Egyptian paste, low-fire glazes, and the lot was fired hot enough for
paste and glaze to mature, but not hot enough for the bronze and steel wire to become molten.
Egyptian paste is a self-glazing clay body. I have used it in a variety of ways, even as a self-glazing spackle when something needs to be filled.
Hardware cloth formed into a vessel and held in place with nails. Egyptian paste was applied and the lot was fired. The pink color is the result of the addition of red iron oxide added to the paste dry batch.
Post of Eroded Contours
My series that combined ceramic and bronze processes.
Antikythera Shipwreck Excavation
It appears that the Antikythera Shipwreck excavation photos I used in my post were taken by Brett Seymour/EUA/ARGO.
Found: A Giant Bronze Arm From the Antikythera Shipwreck
Antikythera shipwreck yields statue pieces and mystery bronze disc
Greece Ministry of Culture and Sports
Seedlings From Unidentified Seeds
A Seedling Prior to Planting
In order to quickly see the seedlings after planting, I added a small bamboo marker. The markers seemed to disappear into the garden, so I decided to add a bit of color.
Dipped the Top of the First Bamboo Marker in Paint
Result–Messy
Second Marker–Applied Paint With Brush Below Top to Allow for Finger Hold
Popped Brush in Ground to Prevent Contamination
Three Days after Planting
Most of the Seedlings Look Like This
One of Two Survivors
Previous post on a recent attempt to grow plants from the mystery seed followed by a photo of the seed and a plant.
Ants on a Pandorea jasminoides Flower
Noticed a few pods, so I snagged them.
Previous posts on Pandorea jasminoides pods use as an art material–
When you share a home with bunnies and birds, you must make loads of compromises. Bunny proofing means protecting or removing anything that can be chewed that is up to approximately 3 feet high, unless the bunny likes to climb on furniture. One of our bunnies runs laps on the back of the sofa.
It is incredibly difficult to bird proof a room. Removal of plants and anything that they might want to tear and shred is a given. But don’t forget about the thin iPad/iPhone power cables. They love to chew them.
One of my See a Penny pieces has been hanging on the dining room wall since I completed it in March of 2013.
Completed See a Penny piece prior to hanging in dining room.
Today I found one of the pieces of mirror on the floor. When I replaced the mirror, I noticed damage–
and certain the culprit is either The Bird or Bob.
The Bird
Bob
They both love landing and perching on the piece, but I didn’t realize chewing was involved.
I could attempt giving the birds a misting with water as a deterrent. Probably would not be a deterrent for Bob because he frequently takes a bath in Big Baby’s water dish.
Big Baby
Haven’t decided if I will be moving the wallpiece to a different location. Repair will be time consuming, but doable. The squares are constructed of roofing felt, tree wrap, mirror, hardware cloth, and cotton twine.
See a Penny, Squares Used for Code–Spacer, Dot, Dash
Slipping in a new square of tree wrap won’t work. They squares were perforated for ease of binding with the cotton twine.
So, what is the solution to prevent Elliot from chewing my shoe laces while I am wearing the shoes?
Repaired laces with embroidery floss.
Elliot in the studio.
The coded Hawthorne quote used:
Words – innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.
January 11, Frame of Stitched Squares
Layout of Stitched Squares
January 24, In Progress–Squares in Each Row Stitched Together
January 28, Rows Stitched Together
To Do List:
Bind and Stitch Cotton Rope Border
Stitch Paper Backing to Piece Without Perforating the Paper