the magic of indigo revealed in Dana’s pennant

Dana removed all the wax from her pennant for the dream revealing the magic of her process
Dana’s pennant is singing beauty and harmony into our beautiful broken world
photographs courtesy of Dana Webb
read more about how Dana makes her magic over at Raven & Sparrow

Blue Moon Magic by Dana Webb

Dana Webb of Raven and Sparrow is making Blue Moon Magic
with the alchemy of dipping indigo over wax, weld and myrobalan & cochineal on her pennant for the dream.
When I sent out the pennants in June last year I didn’t know whether the 60 year old wedding dress satin was silk or rayon, a friend who works in the textile industry confirmed that it is a very good quality satin rayon so it’s a cellulose base for dyeing.
I am fascinated with Dana’s process
these are her tjanting tools for drawing with wax
Dana’s drawing for the dream
here’s a link to all her posts so far about this pennant over at Raven and Sparrow
the circle is strong, deep magic is afoot!
photos courtesy of Dana Webb
namaste

Once in a Blue Moon is all ready to fly!

Once in a Blue Moon by Mo Orkiszewski 2018
Moon Unit I
W 29cm x H 9.5cm (starry ladder 3.5cm)
embroidered vintage electric blue leather over papier maché mold, 1.5mm black leather cord coiled & stitched with black linen thread over papier maché mold, vintage white glove leather with linen thread stars, whisper silk organza rungs
Moon Unit II
H 5cm W 10cm (retractable ladder 25cm)
embroidered vintage electric blue suede over papier maché mold, 1.5mm black leather cord coiled and stitched with black linen thread over papier maché mold, bamboo rungs, waxed & knotted DMC cotton, vintage glass beads, carved bone beads, lead fishing weights, nickel silver links, lapis lazuli
Artist’s Statement : Once in a Blue Moon the air tingles with portents, there’s a trembling in the light that beckons out of the corner of the eye with an invitation to take a spin deep into the unknown. Wrought with dark humour, high hopes and slow stitching lunacy, these vessels explore the surface of the moon both real and imagined. The ladders provide a way in and perhaps more importantly a way out.
(a blue moon is when two Full Moons land in one calendar month)
Bio : Sydney based artist Mo Orkiszewski is a graduate of Sydney College of the Arts and horticulturist with a passion for tending and mending our beautiful broken world. Working across a broad range of media and materials, stitching, folding, assemblage, collage, drawing, engraving, sculpting, collecting, Mo’s work is bridging the alternative culture and amulets of 20th century mysticism towards a 21st century metaphorical interpretation. Her current body of work, ‘Braille for the Soul’ is gathering a global community of stitchers and makers to dream of a world where love is the answer. Mo has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally with work held in private collections in Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, UK, Germany, France and The Netherlands.
represented by Artsite Gallery Sydney, Australia
photos courtesy of Madeleine Tuckfield-Carrano Artsite Gallery

this may well be tempting the fates but it’s Friday the 13th and I feel like celebrating!

a little levity for the Blue Moon

yesterday I realized that the retractable ladder is needed for levity, I was getting too deadly serious thinking about The Moon as an archetype which is all very well but Once in a Blue Moon is a celebration of the magic of electric blue, slow stitching lunacy and the wonder of having two Full Moons in one month!
also stitched some whisper silk organza rungs into the knots on the starry ladder so it feels much more ladder-ish
enjoying the conversation between the moons & how the retractable ladder works so much better with Moon Unit II
starting to make some sense at last!

a starry ladder for Once in a Blue Moon

a left over from Reaching for the Stars
two may well be enough!
the hinge is much tighter with an extra few rows of black linen thread woven through
stabilized the base with an old rubber O ring covered in black glove leather
now I just need to work on an artist statement about why I made it to the tune of Frank Sinatra’s
“Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars”
mashed up with Nat King Cole’s
“It’s only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea”
to top off this wild Blue Moon weekend was gifted this fragile alchemical star found in an old castle in Germany
the circle is strong, deep magic is afoot!

Once in a Blue Moon sans the retractable ladder

Once in a Blue Moon by Mo 2017-2018
W 29cm x H 9.5cm
embroidered moon on electric blue suede over papier maché mold, 1.5mm black leather cord stitched with black linen thread over papier maché mold, bamboo rungs, waxed & knotted DMC cotton, vintage glass beads, bone beads, lead fishing weights, nickel silver links, lapis lazuli
photograph by Simon Fraser Cloud Nine Image Art
last year I was thinking the whole point of this slow stitching lunacy was the retractable ladder but it didn’t quite work so a few days ago decided to make a new ladder out of 1mm sterling silver plate
which didn’t work either
x-roads cloth by Grace Forrest-Maestas
imagine peace by Liz Ackert
Moon Unit II Mo 17
Fish Bones by The Pale Rook
and the redundant silver ladder
back in the box to incubate
this may take some time…
in memory of Ariel P Cat
‘The Letter F’ from An illuminated Book of Cats © 2010
words by Rod Morgan, illustrations by Mo Orkiszewski, musings by Ariel P Cat
13 moons have passed

Book of Honesty made the shortlist for the Libris Awards!

Book  of Honesty Mo Orkiszewski 2017
27cm H x 22cm W x 2cm D
bradel binding, relief sculpted spine, Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper over boards
illustrations graphite and ink on Moulin de Larroque handmade watercolour paper, stitched Honesty pods
Artist’s Statement: seeking honesty in this era of fake news
(you can see the whole book here)
this is the first time I have made the shortlist for this award!
with many thanks to Madeleine Tuckfield-Carrano of Artsite Gallery for all the encouragement & support
here’s a link to my artist’s page at Artsite

PS Marti just sent this photo of her cloth confetti!
When I read your post about the Libris nomination, I went to my container of Winter Solstice/Christmas cards, decorations, etc. and took out your 2017 lovely Honesty Christmas card. Placed it on my dresser, tossed my cloth confetti (dyed long scraps) and said a joyful blessing for you. Thought you might like to see the photo. So proud of you, best news all year… Lv, Marti