Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Storage

This is a storage system I began some 20 years ago.
being raised not to just toss anything out. I learned to sort and save the scraps.
Many a quilt has come from here.
Often I have a need for a small scrap of color or texture and this is where I go.
The boxes are labeled and are at my left hand now if I turn around from the machine and at my right hand if working at the cutting table.
In these containers can be found lace, elastic, ribbons, felt, fabric scrap by color,unfinished projects, leather and so on.

Nursery Under the Sea

My Nephew loved the ocean.
As a child my sister took him snorkeling and it was the favorite times of his too short lived life.
So for the baby I made some things to go with the amazing nursery that my Sister set up and sewed and sewed for him.
This was an idea I had for the mom.
It goes under the mattress and hangs off the side of the bed.
I hid a clown fish in the large pocket to symbolize the presence of the unseen.

It is batted and the bottom edge was trimmed with a gathered edge of a green fabric that looked like fish scales. I forgot to get an image of the finished product.




This is moms pillow. I was not able to get the other two pillows completed.
The back of it is the orange of the big buttons.
It is zippered so it can be washed if needed.
I thought with them in a studio it might be nice for his mom to have a bit of matching decor.

This is the big gift

The Mobil

Often when I create I see an image and then just go with it and it flows.
Very seldom does the finished item start with it as a pattern set.
It flows as I create it. I'll find myself thinking on theme and then ideas pop at funny times and then I will implement then at the next chance I get to walk by it.

The gold chain to me was to add a value as in it is to me a treasure to hold the memories of my nephew , his name Jason.

Now the buttons were a thought of when I have fished I used weights to set line.
I felt the lines needed weight to set the spin.
"Spin" led me to go to my fishing findings that I use for jewelry making.
The spinners were just the thing and they too were of "gold" so to speak a precious thing...as is my memories of Jason.
Making this nursery was particularly hard for both myself and Jason's Mother too.
It had to be somewhat excruciating for her.

Any how... The idea of being in a box...
A box was the foundation to heat bond the fabrics too.
The top of the box is in a fabric that my sister used on the main nursery that is very close. The trim used here is the boarder off of the pillow blocks. It was a perfect use.
(the beads well they just had to be in there)
I spotted the Nemo fusible beaded trim the day we went to the fabric store together. I had the other fabric for some time...funny as in strange...it was the perfect match for his nursery. See the spinners. All the ends were hand stitched the machine just did not do a good job here and to me the art is often in the detail. If the detail is nice than it does not distract the focus of the creative artistic expression.
The buttons can be shifted to balence the mobile.
The clips used to hold the tendrils onto the moble were used so that if it gets pulled on hard they will let free without damaging the mobile and then they can just get clipped back on. Or in the futrure can be used elswhere.

A large swivel used at the top to help with the movement.

Now as you might think along with me a person under the water who loves the beautiy of the sea...well lets just say catch and release.
So again the findings were tackle.

With a big issue of grief the first pillow I made was the worse sewing I have ever done!
I could not sew a zipper to save my life...I could not save his life either...my neiphew commited suicide early this year...It was so good to get the grief processed...out of that distruction I found all the beauty I could and made good use of it.
By cutting out the fish and fusing the fabic to a backing I made the fish for the mobile.

My photograph blurred like the vision blured by my own tears I finished the moblile just in time to go to the party.

I signed the back of the blue fish.

Under the sea of loss is found a new life.
A little baby boy was born the next morning after the shower and he is healthy as is his mother.
Creation as in art of any form is a process of emotion.
This time is was grief, anger, loss, pain sorrow.
One day joy.
For this little baby the joy of his birth will be a restoritive force for my sister his grandmother.
I also hope for the joy of his Mom too.
There was no marriage the baby has my neiphews name with a first name before it.