Studio Series: Leucadendron Collagraph

Leucadendron leaves collagraph © Karen Thiessen, 2016

Leucadendron is my favourite flower. A few years ago I prepared a pile of collagraph plates that I didn't print until recently. On one of the small plates, I glued Leucadendron leaves as an experiment. I didn't expect much, but although the result isn't spectacular, it is better than I had imagined. The collagraphs are starting points for other prints using other techniques. 

Studio Series: Blister pack collagraph

Blister pack collagraph © Karen Thiessen, 2016

The sidewalk is my friend. I've been holding onto this blister pack (probably from throat lozenges) forever and finally put it to use. If I were to "Marie Kondo"  my house, I'd have nothing to work with.

Studio Series: Egg carton collagraph

Egg carton collagraph © Karen Thiessen, 2016

The future is now. Today I inked this up and ran it through the press. I quite like it. I'm already planning to push it further.

Studio Series: Shake-n-make Collaboration

Hexagons panels © Karen Thiessen, 2016

The Shake-n-Make Collective, composed of Liss Platt and Claudia Manley, is mounting an exhibition called The Hand of Craft in May 2017 at the Cotton Factory and they are enlisting help. (I last wrote about them here). On exhibit will be a massive quilt top (approximately 16 feet by 6 feet), which will spell out "Labour" in shades of taupe against a purple background. The textile will be entirely pieced by hand using the English paper piecing technique. Liss and Claudia are piecing the letters, and volunteers are invited to piece the purple panels that are 3 hexagons wide by ten hexagons long (7.5" X 29").

To facilitate this collaboration, Liss and Claudia have been hosting English Paper piecing events where they teach the technique. They provide the hexagon templates printed on freezer paper, fabric strips, and thread. Volunteers are welcome to incorporate their own purple fabrics.

When Claudia asked if I would contribute to the quilt top, naturally I said yes. This summer high heat and humidity zapped my energy. English paper piecing was one studio activity that worked best in my "Zombie" state. It worked so well that I've pieced nine panels so far. It's addictive. In the process of fleshing out my own stash of purple fabrics, I learned that compared to other colours, few fabrics are available in purple colourways. The next time you are in a quilt shop, take a look –– you'll be surprised. I know I was, especially since purple is one of my favourite colours.

Studio Series: Graphic Screen prints

Graphic screen print © Karen Thiessen, 2016

My printmaking class finished a few weeks ago and now I have a nice pile of prints to collage with. When I sorted the pile, I realized that I also have a substantial number of duds (or works-in-progress) to screen print over. 

Sunny graphic screen print © Karen Thiessen, 2016

Most of my prints are an accretion of patterns. I've learned that some prints go through an ugly process and eventually evolve to something that I am excited to collage with. In the above screen print I can see at least four layers of patterns and I'm pretty sure that they are printed over a colour copy of a collage or quilt. Some days I think that I'd like to make two or three screen registered prints like some of my classmates, but my accretion technique still gives me a lot of energy and satisfaction and unlike conventional approaches, these prints really function as monoprints because no two prints are the same.

Studio Series: Naturally Dyed Hexagons WIP

Naturally dyed, hand-quilted hexagons WIP © Karen Thiessen, 2016

Hand-quilting my solids hexagons pillow cover gave me a "next step" for this naturally dyed hexagons textile. I pieced it about a year-and-a-half ago but didn't know what the textile needed next. The above textile is still a work-in-progress and I'm curious to know when another "next step" will announce itself and how the textile will evolve. This is one of my slow-to-resolve textiles, but once finished they are often worth the long incubation period (Here's an example of a problem child that was well worth the wait).

Studio Series: Solids hexagons pillow

Solids hexagon pillow © Karen Thiessen, 2016 

I finally finished this sucker and it looks fantastic (if I do say so myself)!

Solids hexagon pillow detail © Karen Thiessen, 2016

Each hexagon took about an hour to hand quilt.

Solids hexagon pillow verso © Karen Thiessen, 2016

I appliquéd a patch of my screen printed fabric onto the back. Soon I'll write a post about a work-in-progress inspired by this hand-quilted hexagons pillow.

Studio Series: Matrix collage

Matrix collage © Karen Thiessen, 2016

While I was a textiles student at Sheridan College I developed a complex three-print pattern, but due to time constraints was unable to push it as far as I knew it could go. Fast forward twenty years and now I'm playing to see where it can go. The bonus is that ten years ago collage wedged its way into my studio practice, and now I have a thinking tool that I didn't have during my Sheridan days. Oh the places that this matrix pattern will go...

Studio Series: monoprint

Cabbage monoprint © Karen Thiessen, 2016

New studio rhythms means time to muck around. This cabbage monoprint really does look like the cross-section of a brain. What do you think?

Studio Series: Two inch collages e

Two inch collages e © Karen Thiessen, 2016

Summer is officially here and with it I am experimenting with new rhythms. I'm stitching less and am mark-making and collaging more. I've learned to sit at the patio table on the back deck overlooking the tangled garden and feed my sketchbook. Normally, I enjoy nature by trying to tame my unwieldy garden. Sitting in nature is new to me. The weeds are still there and the daffodil bulbs still need to be divided, but I'm now almost able to ignore them. New rhythms are uncomfortable, but necessary. 

A few weeks ago I realized that I needed a vacation. This perplexed me. Vacations stress me out because they take me away from my work and my daily routine. So, I decided to take a vacation without going away: I am engaging in pattern disruption. One of my goals for this life experiment is to be mildly bored instead of being constantly over-stimulated and over-committed. It's working. It's uncomfortable but it's allowing me to play with smaller projects for which I might ordinarily not make time. If you aren't able to take a vacation this summer, try changing your routine. It might surprise you.

Studio Series: black & white collage II

Black & White collage II © Karen Thiessen, 2016

The studio is a happening place these days: I seem to have cultivated a new rhythm, a new sense of being alive in my work process. It is all thanks to the six weeks of classes that I took at my local indie fabric shop where I learned how to sew a dress, a flowering snowball pillow, and a pair of leggings. These were all personal projects that took time away from my regular studio work, but this investment of time has paid off in spades. First of all, I am now hyper-aware of clothing construction: of seams, lines, darts, shapes. As a result, I now see that my work could eventually move into three-dimensions. Second: I have returned to my stitching and collage practice with new energy and awareness.

I just finished reading The Art of Slow Writing (2014) by Louise DeSalvo, a book I highly recommend for any creative, whether or not you are a writer. In one chapter about supporting the work, she shares how Vita Sackville-West encouraged her friend, Virginia Woolf, to take time from her writing practice. "From Sackville-West, Woolf learned to be less obsessive about her art and to take more time for relaxation, travel, and excursions to enrich her work. She subsequently spent time bowling, doing needlepoint, knitting, bread baking, and listening to music (DeSalvo, 108-109)." So, I encourage my dear work-obsessed readers (you know who you are) to try something new and see how this enlivens the work. 

Source: DeSalvo, Louise. The Art of Slow Writing: Reflections on Time, Craft, and Creativity. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2014.

Studio Series: Chortitza oak leaf silhouette

Chortitza oak leaf silhouette © Karen Thiessen, 2016

Twyla Tharp, via her excellent book The Creative Habit, taught me to dedicate a box or two to each significant project. I have one for each my tags project and an ongoing Mennonite project. The latter box gets more action and is filled to the brim. The other day I was searching for a specific image and after some silent swearing, I found it in another place. There is something to be said for the collision of images in a very full box: It can be great for ideas to emerge unexpectedly. 

That being said, I realized that I needed a categorized repository of images. Deep in my office closet teetering on the top shelf, I found an empty binder and my filing cabinet offered up some empty page protectors and some page dividers. With these previously used office supplies I set to create order. It's still a work in progress, but I'm excited to be able to simply go to the "flora and fauna" section for my drawings of wheat, Chortitza oak leaves, and outlines of doves. For now my images of the Red Gate mingle in the "places" section with outlines of Pelee Island, and copies of Mennonite villages. In time, I may move the Red Gate images to a "structures" section that I hope to fill with images and drawings of windmills and the like. The "words" section is filling up, whereas the "food" section contains one lone drawing of Zwieback. The above image of the Choritza oak leaf silhouette will be filed in the "flora and fauna" section once I've finished writing this post.

Studio Series: calligraphic collage

Calligraphic collage © Karen Thiessen, 2016

My cousin Paula visited over the Christmas holidays. We hadn't seen each other in fifteen years thanks to geographic dysfunction. We're both artists, avid readers of obscure works, lovers of poetry, note-takers. She's four years younger and four inches taller than I. When I took her to my favourite indie art supply store, we were amazed to discover that we were looking for the same Sheaffer ink cartridges for our calligraphy pens. What are the odds of that? Above is a collage of small drawings that I made with the Sheaffer calligraphy pen that I received for Christmas when I was a teenager... and a fresh ink cartridge.

Studio Series: black & white collage I

black & white collage 1 © Karen Thiessen, 2016

Three weeks of three day mini-retreats reset my studio practice. I completed two dresses and have started to wear them. While sewing the first one, it didn't occur to me to test how it functioned before cutting out the second and third dresses. I haven't yet sewn the third dress and I have enough fabric to restyle the pockets. Although I don't like the pockets in the first two dresses, the garments still feel good and fit properly. Tackling and completing a host of personal projects has injected new energy and confidence in my studio practice. I knew it would. Above is a collage that I did in my sketchbook yesterday.

Studio Series: Work in Progress

Hexagons pillow WIP © Karen Thiessen, 2016

In January, I machine quilted three hexagons projects (two table runners and a pillow top) and they are now complete. For this pillow top that I hand-pieced last year, I decided to slowly hand quilt it with DMC floss. In a few weeks I should have another completed pillow. The slow hand quilting is giving me ideas for other work. One of my favourite teachers once told me that I have too many ideas. She was right.

Studio Series: Finished Objects!

Flowering Snowball pillow © Karen Thiessen, 2016

The last few months have been busy with professional writing, bookkeeping, income tax, three classes over six weeks at my indie fabric shop, and my printmaking classes. Class number two was a Flowering Snowball class with Johanna Masko. I'm pleased with the results. I used fabrics that I had dyed and screen printed, along with commercial quilting cottons. Learning how to install a zipper with ease was a highlight.

Red Yellow Blue Hexagons pillow front © Karen Thiessen, 2016

This year I am motivated to finish old projects. I had pieced this red, yellow, and blue pillow top a few years ago. In January I machine quilted it but I was unsure how to add the back. On the day that I completed the Flowering Snowball project, I finished this hexagons pillow.

Red Yellow Blue Hexagons pillow back © Karen Thiessen, 2016

I am especially excited about the back of the hexagons pillow! Note the very sexy zipper. It feels good to finish old projects –– it makes room for new energy in the studio.

Studio Series: Work In Progress

WIP collage 3'X4' © Karen Thiessen, 2016

This is week two of three weeks of mini-studio retreats. The above 3' X 4' unfinished collage is the largest that I have ever made. I am using papers that I have screen printed as well as found papers. I need to live with it for a while to see where it wants to go. It needs taming, but how I do not yet know.

WIP collage 3'X4' © Karen Thiessen, 2016

Once it is finished, I will hang it on the wall where it is propped. The hall is a busy, narrow space so I collaged on 1/4" plywood and will either hang it with metal mirror clips or I'll screw it to the wall with brass screws.

Studio Series: Dress Work in Progress

Darling Ranges dress WIP © Karen Thiessen, 2016

My mom was my primary sewing teacher. She studied tailoring at night school and I loved poring over her binder of samples. In a four generations family photo of my great Oma, my grandpa, my mom and a four-year old me, mom and I are wearing matching dresses that she sewed. Mom was an excellent teacher but because we were broke, there was no room for mistakes, so she was often tense when we sewed clothes together. I internalized this and carried it forward, so I stopped sewing my own clothes after I left home to attend university. 

My indie fabric shop recently offered a Megan Nielsen's Darling Ranges dress class. Determined to overcome this mental block, I took the class, using old fabric that was not precious. I was mindful of when I tensed up: sewing bust darts and buttonholes. To get around the darts issue, I hand-stitched them before machine-sewing them as I find hand-sewing to be soothing. The button holes are unfinished. The weather is warming up and I need clothes, so I'm either going to overcome my button hole block, or, for ten dollars my local alterationist will do them for me. In my excitement of sewing clothes again, I cut out two more dresses, so I have not one, but three unfinished dress projects on my hands. If I learn how to make my own button holes, I'll save thirty dollars, money that I can spend on more sewing tools (like an ironing ham and a button hole chisel) and fabric. 

On another note, I did take the Megan Nielsen's Virginia leggings class and learned how to sew knits, how to sew with a twin needle, and how to use a serger. They are finished and look great!

Studio Series: B&W collage 7

BW Collage 7 © Karen Thiessen, 2016

Today I finished my income tax preparations and earlier this month I completed a whack of professional writing and now there is less to stand in the way of long uninterrupted stretches in the studio. Office work is not my favourite activity but I feel a profound sense of relief that I've followed through vs. avoided it.

On another note, this year I am challenging myself by relearning how to sew my own clothes. I'm taking classes at my local indie sewing store and I'm loving it. Now, I just need to overcome my fear of making buttonholes! I'll write about the significance of sewing clothing again means to me in another post.

Studio Series: Dartboard pattern screen-print

Dartboard pattern screen-print © Karen Thiessen, 2016

My winter printmaking class has finished and the spring class doesn't begin until the end of April. Fortunately, I have a significant stash of screen-printed as well as found papers with which to collage. The dartboard pattern is one of the first designs that I created in Photoshop (about eleven years ago). It's an image of a dartboard in my family room that I put into repeat and then layered. In early March I decided to see how the design would look screen-printed and I like it very much. I printed an apple green ink over a dark green paper that my friend Bob gave me (on the other side is one of his print rejects).