A Leap Of Faith.

Sometimes only stitch will do.  So much of my work is about responding to things, seeing something interesting, if only to me, and working with it, to see what can be made of it.  Way back, in the days when I was still dyeing to sell, I used a dye catcher in what I thought might be a final rinse, but proved to be otherwise.  The resultant dye catcher was interesting, so I kept it.  Then I paired it with some lutradur and forgot about it.  For some reason, it survived The Cull (probably because I still find it interesting).  So I decided to stitch into it, thinking that it might make an interesting book, if I could get it to fold well (the jury's still out on that one). 

The first image shows the cloth as it came out of the washing machine; if you look closely, you can see it has a sort of dappled construction, presumably to strengthen it to keep it intact through a wash cycle.  It also has a strange, almost greasy feel to it, not unlike a dryer sheet, but it is far more robust than that, and is slightly scented.  The second image is the reverse with the lutradur added; it immediately adds colour and visual interest. I decided to stitch in circles, respecting and supporting the blob-like way that the colour had transferred onto the cloth, and attempting to link the dark areas together. 

I then started to meander round the lighter, background areas with a matching thread (both threads used here are variegated, surprise surprise). 

You can just catch glimpses of the pale stitch in the first image; it's clearer in the detail shot that follows.  I still have a fair way to go with the pale, background stitching, but I've not been well enough to do it...perhaps today. 

Were I doing this as a flat piece of embroidery, I don't think it would be interesting enough, even with all the stitch in place.  I suspect it would be a rather ornate background for something else, perhaps an applique.  However, I want to turn this into something three dimensional.  When I do, the surface will change completely (duh...); lots of small units, juxtaposed one on the other.  I have no real way of knowing if that will be successful.  Maybe, maybe not. And I suspect I will add words, somewhere, somehow, probably printed on paper, cut out and stuck, a poem, probably, written for this book. 

Sometimes...actually, more often than not... making work in this way is a leap of faith.  I have to believe in my own ability to take something relatively unprepossessing, and turn it into something special, through the application of ideas and technique.  I have to believe that I will choose the right ideas, the right techniques for this particular piece.  And that I won't stop until the piece is resolved (well, okay, there will be rest breaks...it may take some time).  I may doubt myself (may?  probably will) as to the quality of the finished piece, but I rarely ever doubt myself during the process.  Process is just a series of choices, and I can make those choices, even in this situation, where the piece is a one off by dint of the way it came about, meaning that I can't just make another one.  And even if the book doesn't turn out the way I think it will, that will be okay, because I will have learned something, and can probably turn it into something else, instead, which will be more successful.  And at the end of the day, it's only fabric. An individual piece of fabric is much less important than process, and another interesting bit will be along in a minute.  It won't be the same (thankfully), but it will have potential...and that's really all I need.