go with the flow

River of Moons is moving along, after finishing the second moon this morning I cut into the river of cloth to weave the next two moons through
inspired by Jude Hill this morning when she cut into the edge of her moon to weave through a cloud over on Spirit Cloth
it’s a one step forward two steps back work flow as each new moon changes how the last one fits in,
the two moons on this new cloth are for the next blue moon in November for us here in Australia
finished the knotted thread rays on the second moon this morningthe first moon was a little too puffy so I stitched it through and it feels a lot more solid
there will be 13 moons in this meditation on time, flow and the effect of the moon on one woman’s mind
front cover of the Lunar Almanac by Rosemary Ellen Guiley 1991
with gratitude to Glennis Shibori Girl, Ulrike Bogdan and Jude Hill
for the materials and inspiration!

Dark Moon in Virgo and moving on into Libra’s balancing act!

the Virgo Moon is finished for now for the River of Moons
the other side
now onto the Libra Moon’s balancing act
it needs boar bristles and beads to make a compass for this journey
stitched in, the boar bristles define the rays & they feel like bone stays in a foundation garment…
PS just added a bit more stitching in that wonky lower centre ray now I can move onto the Libra moon!
PPS added a ring of raw cotton bound with blue silk thread to finish the Virgo Moon for the River of Moons
the 13 moons for this year long project are shibori indigo dyed by the queen of Moon Makers Glennis Dolce
the river cloth is indigo dyed by Ulrike Bogdan

a river of moons

I am stitching a river of blue moons by Glennis Dolce combined with a long piece of indigo dyed linen cloth from Ulrike Bogdan, this project will take 13 moons to make both physically and time wise
considering the nature of fluidity…

Memory Keeper for Julie

Memory Keeper for Julie Mo 20
H 33cm x W 19cm x D 2.5cm
hand woven & indigo dyed linen cloth and threads by Ulrike Bogdan
100 year old hand woven linen from Germany for edges and gusset
stars of vellum parchment circa 1812
blue and white glass beads
bone bead for closure
knotted nettle string handle
silk noil from Margaret Johnson for the lining
the last thing added this morning was that tiny blue bead in the centre of the fringe
the back needed an insert as the lower edge of the hand woven indigo was narrower at the base
the moon needed a little more definition so I backstitched the edge
the bone bead worked perfectly for the closure
I stretched the handwoven linen making gaps in the weave that needed reinforcing
detail of silk noil lining and edges
I thought there would be lots of feathers and shells in the knotted string handle but they were surplus to requirements and had to be cut out
full of memories from our 44 years of friendship & all set to go!

a bag full of memories

this bag full of memories for my friend Julie is almost finished, every knot holds a story
the indigo dyed hand woven linen & moons are by Ulrike Bogdan
I started working on this bag on April 24th and have worked on it for a few hours every day, it has gone through several ugly stages where I had to reconsider what I was trying to do
Jude Hill’s good words after the first ugly phase have helped so much
“ha, the ugly phase is just an in-between we can’t quite understand yet.”
you may have noticed in the first photo I am rereading “The Education of a Gardener” by Russell Page first published in 1962
one of the most beautiful and inspiring books about gardening ever written
talking of gardens and well thought out design
Owl Rock went for a walk with us to the wetlands to observe the way the water moves around it
my friend Peter Webb plant guru extraordinaire is writing a book and has asked if I would like to do a few illustrations! When I first met Pete in the 70’s he was the seed collector for the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. I asked him to write a book way back then so I could illustrate it and now I can, it’s a dream come true!
Sydney Park Wetlands has matured beautifully in the time we have lived here in Newtown
love how these old piers add mystery and a sense of spirit to the space
a friendly blue tongue lizard
13 moons arrived in the mail by Glennis Dolce Shibori Girl
these will keep me happily stitching for a good long while
the gardening work is keeping us busy, the walks to the wetlands are helping us stay a bit grounded and the social isolation measures are lifting a bit, still I put some x’s on the floor in the dining room when our friend Richard visited on Saturday for the first time since March, he noticed that they weren’t exactly 1.5 metres so I will measure them up properly for next weekend!

Raggedy Blue Moon Heart

a raggedy blue moon heart getting ready to be filled with rose petals, rosemary, lavender and lemon verbena
Raggedy Blue Moon Heart Mo20
H 15cm x W 13cm
indigo dyed Blue Moon from Glennis Shibori Girl stitched with indigo dyed linen thread to indigo dyed linen from Ulrike Bogdan, antique parchment stars, grape vine tendrils painted white
made with love and hope for my friend Julie who is in hospital with complications from the chemotherapy
PS Yay! next day, Julie’s home from hospital recovering well from the respiratory tract infection. The radiotherapy has helped a lot with the bone pain and she has had her first round of chemo.
Thanks for all the good vibes
Fingers crossed.

A Moon for the Blues

A Moon for the Blues Mo 2020
H 30cm x W 15cm
stitched with an indigo shibori moon by Glennis Dolce, vintage indigo waves cloth from Jude Hill backed with a piece of plant & earth dyed Sacred Ordinaries cloth from Marti Weisbrich  raw cotton rays, waves and edges bound with vintage cotton & indigo dyed silk threads
7 antique vellum parchment stars (circa 1812) bound with linen thread
this cloth is for a dear friend who has just been diagnosed with lung cancer
every knot and stitch was made with love and deep intent for healing
namaste

Seasons Greetings with Best Wishes for 2020!

Seasons Greetings with Best Wishes for 2020!
Mo & Rod (aka Old Man Crow)

digital print of moonsong Mo19
printed on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Satin 310 gsm
mounted on Canson Edition Antique White 250 gsm paper
edged with knotted & stitched cotton string & cotton rope bound with no 18 natural linen thread

PS it’s December 19th, 2019 my iMac is giving up the ghost
to quote Captain Lawrence Oates of the Antarctic ( but not so heroically)
“I am just going outside and may be some time.”
x fingers will see you with a new confuser next year!

preview for Collectors Choice opening this weekend at Artsite

the silly season is upon us !
opening Sunday December 1st from 3-5
preview Saturday November 30th
gallery hours Wednesday to Sunday 11-5 til December 15th
these are my offerings
Holding the Moon Mo 19
moonsong Mo19
see you there!

I would give you the moon…

I would give you the moon Mo 19
19.5 x 19.5 cm
embroidered with indigo silk & a Blue Moon hand dyed by Glennis Dolce Shibori Girl
the indigo dyed sky cloth is by one of the fabulous cloth conjurors (hoping one of you will recognize it)
rough spun cotton couched with indigo dyed cotton from Ulrike Bogdan nemo ignorat
Japanese cotton knotted and stitched with pale blue vintage cotton
heart from my pennant for Jo New (RIP)
Wondering whether to stitch the title, my name & year in white into the fine linen on the back or perhaps on a moon shaped patch of the same white linen appliqued in place? There’s a layer of vintage interface sandwiched between the front and back & the piece will be mounted and framed so the title would be hidden. It has been a strange journey, raising deep questions about what I am doing and why? The slow meditative stitching on this piece became a sort of self soothing behaviour like purring, 21st C busy work in these anxious times…