Peace Alphabet So Far

I've been sketching more letters tonight for the Peace Alphabet (A Letter A Week 2013).

I decided to line up what I have so far.

Still more to come...

Keeping Constant

Letters I and J for the Peace Alphabet (A Letter A Week 2013)

This week I've been grateful for having monthly projects to keep me on track.

Cut paper designs for Julie B Booth Surface Design News.

These small monthly constants have kept me anchored during some difficult moments.

Searching for Roy G Biv Challenge Fabric.

I've also been grateful for friends who listen.

Thanks.

Working on Peace

Detail of Yellow Challenge Fabric.

 Here is a sneak peek of the YELLOW Challenge fabric. Yes, the Search for Roy continues tomorrow. Hope to see lots of YELLOW out there.

I've been continuing to carve the Peace Alphabet blocks for A Letter A Week 2013. It's helped a bit to focus on Peace during another difficult week in the U.S.

I feel a deep connection to Boston. I moved to the Boston area in 1979 right after graduating from college. I met my husband in Cambridge, Mass (on the other side of the Charles River) and we bought our first house in Billerica. My Mom's family is from Boston and I still have cousins who live in Medford.

On the news, I heard a mother whose 29 year old daughter had died, say..I just don't understand...

I don't either.

Peace Alphabet Prints

The letters E and F.

I got back into the studio this afternoon and printed a few of the new letters for the Peace Alphabet for A Letter A Week 2013.

E, F, G, L. I'll be working on H, I, J and K this week.

A flock of "L"s

Peace Alphabet: Making Some Progress

I am finally back in the studio and making some progress on the Peace Alphabet for A Letter A Week 2013.

I spent a good deal of yesterday transferring designs and carving blocks, as my pile of shavings can attest to.

I'm using Speedball Speedy Stamp or Speedy Carve (both names are the same product). It you haven't tried this product, it is VERY easy to carve and you can make very detailed block designs. I use this product all the time and am very happy with the results when using the blocks to print on fabric.

Letters E, F, G and L are now carved with designs for J and K now transferred onto blocks.

Tuesday, while gallery sitting, I had a little brainstorm for the letter I. I'll be doing the final drawing today and for the letter H, as well.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll have enough time today to finish carving all four blocks.

This weekend I'll get some printing done. I'm rethinking the process a bit. I plan to carve and print all the alphabet letters onto fabric and then do the stitching, rather than print and stitch as I go. The stitching takes time but is also portable. Once the letters are all printed, I can take some time to stitch the details. Click here to see finished letters A thru D.

Then I have to figure out what to make with all these little Patches of Peace!

Peace Alphabet: Tracings for Next Letters

Peace alphabet: Letters e and f.

I am way behind in the A Letter A Week 2013 project. I was hoping to find the time to carve some blocks for the Peace alphabet while in Savannah. The carving didn't happen. Time with my parents was more important.

But, I did manage to sneak in time to sketch out tracings of the letters based on sketches from my notebook.

Peace alphabet: Letter g.

I still need to tweak a few of these. I also need to come up with a design for the letter i.

Peace alphabet: Letter h.

Now that I'm home, I plan to work on carving the blocks.

Peace alphabet: Letter j.

Peace alphabet: Letter k.

I'll have more to show by the end of this week.

Peace alphabet: Letter l.

Peace Alphabet: Sketches

Now that the first four letters of my ALAW 2013 Peace Alphabet are complete, I've been sketching out ideas for E, F, G and H.

And while I'm at it, I've been playing around with some other letters.

Just like my hamsa sketches last year, I've found this sketching to be almost a meditation.

One idea leads to another and another.

This is truly a form of relaxation. And I can't help but think that it is in part due to the sketchbook I'm drawing in...an unassuming Composition Book.

I'll admit that from time to time I'm seduced by the beauty of a handmade journal...the loveliness of the paper, the beauty of the meticulous binding. I own a number of these journals. I've even attempted to write and draw in them. But I never seem to find the freedom to doodle and sketch. They seem too precious to me.

My best ideas seem to appear on scraps of paper, sticky notes and the ubiquitous Composition Book.

Peace Alphabet: First Four Letters

Here are the first four letters of my Peace Alphabet for the A Letter A Week 2013 (ALAW) project.

They are hand printed on hand painted cotton fabric with stitched details using DMC floss.

Teeny tiny stitches...running, back and satin stitches.

In this alphabet the letters will take the form of birds ...in some cases doves. I envision that in most of the designs, the birds will be doing something towards peace (symbolized by the Peace sign...which I always think of as a dove's foot).

 In the final format (which may be peace flags), I will write something active about Peace such as Aspiring towards Peace; Believing in Peace etc.

Stitching Peace

The letter "a" for the Peace Alphabet

Started stitching the first four letters of the ALAW 2013 Peace Alphabet. Teeny tiny stitches under my Ott light with the magnifying glass!

I'm off to work at the Gallery today. I'm bringing along two of the bread cloths to hem. I need to design a couple of simple motifs to stitch on them for decoration.

Back to the alphabet tomorrow. I know that I'm due to post them tomorrow and will try my best!

Report from the Studio

Fabrics using sugar resist.

I can't believe a whole week has gone by since my last post. I've been in the studio doing some painting and printing.

I've also been doing a lot of thinking (not always a good thing!). Maybe it's the time of year...maybe it's feeling at loose ends about a number of things...maybe it's feeling like there's lots to get done and I'm treading water to keep afloat...

I have obligations to finish things that are not yet finished. I know that I need to nail myself down to a chair and just begin in order to clear these things out of the way and off my plate. There has been some major procrastination going on!

But I digress...I did get into the studio. I printed up the first ALAW letters (a future post) and will sit down to start a bit of stitching on them. I also decided to use my skills to make a few homey, practical items for the next juried show at Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery. I haven't done much in the practical, functional department. I expect that I will be doing more especially if my book proposal gets accepted (a loose end that is nerve wracking!). I've decided to make two to three bread cloths (to cover and keep bread or rolls warm) for the Gallery, as the theme for this upcoming jury is Hearth and Home.

I also thought I'd use a sugar resist recipe I came up with during my work on the Conant Grant project. I love how this resist looks.

As I knew that I wanted to use variations of blue and turquoise for backgrounds for my ALAW Peace alphabet, I spent a day just painting and monoprinting fabrics. I figured that I could kill two birds and make enough fabric so that I could use some for the alphabet and some for the bread cloths.

Here is one of the monoprinted pieces I decided to use for one of the bread cloths.

I did a rubbing with the sugar resist and then painted a greenish yellow over the fabric. I did a second layer of sugar resist (another rubbing) and painted with three additional colors. Here is what the fabric looked like before removing the layers of resist.

A sugar resist is so easy to dissolve in soap and water.

And here is a detail of the final piece of fabric.

It reminds me of a day in late spring when the sun is coming through the leaves.

I now have to cut it into a square and roll and stitch the edges. I imagine that I will do a simple stitched design in one or two corners as well...maybe a simple leaf shape. We shall see.

Roy Winner and ALAW Progress

My husband, Mark pulled this name out of the cap...

Congratulations, Judy Martin! You are the winner of this month's Black & White Challenge fabric. Please email me you mailing address and I will send it your way (you can email me at: threadborn@gmail.com).

This week in the studio, I managed to get the first four letters for the A Letter A Week 2013 Peace alphabet completed. I plan to do a test print today. I have a few ideas about how I want to present the final letters...still need to work that all out.

Also, in the studio today, I'll be working on the next issue of Julie B Booth Surface Design News (Issue #9 will be out this coming Saturday, January 26). I'll be spending the day working with doilies and freezer paper, the theme...Hearts & Lace. Experimenting to commence!!

Peace Alphabet: First Ideas

I've been doodling and sketching some ideas for ALAW 2013.

Playing around with letter shapes and doves for the peace alphabet challenge.

Although these are fun, not sure that it's the direction I'll ultimately take.

I'm down in Savannah for the rest of the week visiting my parents...assessing some things. My Mom and I headed into the city to see some of the exhibits at the SCAD Museum. I'll share some of those photos tomorrow.