Tassel Makers

My piece on the The Three Brother Tombs has reached that point where it is almost finished, except I can't help feeling it needs zapping. I have several ideas but need to keep it out of sight for awhile and then re-visit. This is not unusual. I consider it to be a healthy part of the process and usually find that when I do do whatever I think needs to happen next, the result has been very much worth the 'time-out'.

There is always something else to move on to and I have been experimenting with a couple of my printing blocks. These are made from wooden blocks (expertly supplied and cut by wood joiner son). The yellow is a very dense foam which has been carefully cut into strips. These have been stuck on to the block with double-sided carpet tape, obtainable from carpet shops. The block surface is first covered with the tape, then (in this case) the strips accurately placed. The carpet tape is so strong that it is impossible to re-claim a piece of foam wrongly placed as it will be damaged while removing. In fact one has to be careful not to inadvertently touch the tape as it will become a permanent fixture. The whole thing certainly stands the printing processes and washes.

The two blocks I have been using. Next week I will show you how I have made my printing pad.

Two experiments using the blocks and left-over dye and pigment. The left side has had circles of freezer paper ironed on to the cloth to act as a resist. Some sponge rolling on the right and below a carved wooden block. I hope to show you more about this particular block later.

Left over bits of Procion MX dye activated (with soda ash)and Manutex (sodium alginate), all colours combined. More useful than discarding the dye...


Same thing with textile pigment

More photos, this time of the tassel makers. They will make any size, colour tassel, for any decor. I have been asked about the smells in both Syria and Egypt, and I am pleased to say there was no evidence of any. The weather in Syria was surprisingly cold, but not wet; it was very early spring. Egypt was warmer.

Making tassels. Once again the cleanliness of this work area left alot to be desired, but the men seemed happy.

Display of tassels in the shop. Note the very large green one, next to Jackie

Plying gold threads on to spools, just in the photo at the lower edge, ready for including in tassels

Next Blog: Carpet Makers

Syrian Dye Workshop

Last week I visited my local TheNewDowse gallery here in Lower Hutt. I hadn't been for awhile what with being away etc. I wasn't even sure whether exhibitions had changed since I last visited and didn't find out before I went, prefering to discover with an open mind. There had been changes, and one exhibition was about graffiti and skateboard art. Neither of these two would have enthused me beforehand, but I was enthralled and toured that gallery twice. I left feeling very excited about all the creativity I had experienced. Great stuff! No you won't see me applying graffiti or skating down the footpath.... or will you....?

My Three Brother Tomb piece is progressing. Now that the background areas have been dyed I am focusing on the details, starting with the Enternal Life symbol, Ankh. The central area which has been giving me some grief has now also resolved itself. More details next week.

This is the start of the symbol for Eternal Life, Ankh. I have masked it off with freezer paper

The background colours have been removed with discharge paste

And here it is, finished after several processes to get it right

In Damascus, Syria, we visited a dye workshop accessible by a narrow, crowded alleyway. They dyed yarns and everything looked like it needed some TLC but hey, it is Syria, and it all works for them. I hope you are enjoying these snippets from my travels.

Yarn skeins being lifted from the dye bath. This batch obviously variegated.

Overhead view of the dye area. It all looks as if it could do with a jolly good clean up!

Another view from the top. Note man removing washed skeins from the machine. I presume that the skeins must be secured in the machine otherwise they would come out all tangled.

Dyed skeins drying in the sun

Next Blog: The Tassel Makers

Where do camels stay overnight.....

Further progress on my new piece (the camel reference follows). This piece is based on the Three Brother's Tomb which is located underground in Palmyra, Syria. The main shape is the floor plan which I had to memorize as of course no photos are allowed in many of these enclosed sites. At this stage I am still working on the background levels. More next time.....

The start of the mummies. Pigment painted on and instead of heatsetting the pigment (as one is meant to do), I washed the whole piece again shortly after painting. This removed some of the pigment and softened the effect of the lines.

The outside colour has been softened with discharge paste (still not happy with the colours and patterns within that main shape).

...and then I over-painted the discharged area with a Procion MX and Manutex mix; and the mummies were discharged.

And more from Syria, Damascus in fact. Damascus claims to be the oldest continuously occupied city in the world.

Big door, little door, familiar in today's industrial buildings, but this door was for camels and men.

Inside the camel inn; rather posh but Damascus was a major stop on the journey. Camels, and their wares, occupied the main central area overnight and their owners were locked in the rooms around this space so that no pilfering could take place during the night ie the guests were locked in at night, rather than locking out intruders as we do today!

The camel inn, somewhat cleaner than perhaps in earlier days, had an exhibition which included several quilts. Here is a detail of one executed entirely in sequins.

Next Blog: Syrian Dye Workshop

Textile Feasts

Here are some further pics of my latest piece, plus some more travel photos, once again in the old souqs of Damascus. And a little story.....

Central area discharged by random stamping

Overpainting of central area with two dye colours

Central area further discharged with bubblewrap printing. I am not particularly happy with this outcome and while continuing with other areas of this piece, I am considering how to amend it.

Quilters in Stephan's shop doing what they do best - purchasing fabrics!

Ancient silk loom still in use in Stephan's shop. A grey, with silver metallic thread, was being produced. They do about a metre a week.

Stacks of fabrics in Faisal's tiny but fascinating shop

When Princess Elizabeth was engaged to be married to Prince Philip, the Syria government sent a length of silk fabric hand woven on the old silk loom in Stephan's shop, as a gift. The white silk thread was woven with a new design of two tiny lovebirds in metallic thread. However it was not used for her wedding gown and Syria was somewhat disappointed. However, it did become Queen Elizabeth II's coronation dress in 1953. Everyone happy!
This fabric and design is still being produced today, still with the metallic lovebirds but with different colour silk threads – he showed us one in green. If I remember rightly it was not cheap!

Next Blog: where did camels stay overnight?

Food Patterns

Lots of pics this week. The first were taken in a food souq (street) in Damascus. Followed by the start of my latest piece of work.

For those who may be interested in possible travel to Syria and Egypt here are contact details. Jenny was our Australian guide, and is also a quilter, and Tarek's company was the local contact. Both are highly recommended.
Jenny Bowker: www.jennybowker.com
Tarek Mousa: www.executivetravelegypt.com

Sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and lemons under cover

Meat shop - where do all these bits come from?

Fresh vegetables every day

As an olive fan, this had my eyes popping...

Dyed vegetables. Cauliflower on lower left, carrots on lower right

Spices

And here is the beginning of my new piece..... I will give the design source in a future blog.

My design enlarged by drawing up a larger grid on paper and copying from the smaller working design (taped on to larger paper design)

The fabric was given a base dye, and the paper design was securely pinned to the back side of the fabric. I then manipulated this on my small lightbox which allowed me to trace the design in pencil on to the back of the fabric. And yes, I remembered (just in time) to reverse the design direction. Using the pencil lines as a guide I then painted on discharge paste. Once steamed this removed enough of the dye to give clear lines on the right side of the fabric. I then repeated these lines with another discharge application on the right side to give bolder lines, followed by the usual wash and iron, ready for the next application.

Next Blog: Textile Feasts

The Tentmakers Khan

A typical crowded souq where we mingled with the locals

I have returned from visiting Syria and Egypt. What an adventure! Lots of exciting things to see and the senses were once again fully challenged. Over the next few weeks I will blog about things seen and relating to textiles, as well as progress on my own new projects.
We spent time in the souqs (shopping areas) of the old cities of both Damascus and Cairo. Shop themes seemed to concentrate in one street and the Tentmakers in Khan was no exception. Panels of appliqued and quilted cloth were used to line the inside of the tents as far back as the time of the pharoahs. Geometric patterns, in bright red, green, blue and yellow cottons, seemed very familiar as many of these are still used today in western quilting. No longer regarded as a necessity in Egypt, this occupation is being threatened by cheaper printed quilts. The Khan stitchers, mostly men, continue their tradition and create an amazing selection of quilts and items, from small to very large, for the tourist industry and for local special events.
While waiting for my companions to finish their viewing/purchasing, I conversed with one of the stitchers while he worked, and he invited me to try my hand. I managed to achieve quite a decent piece of applique and I think he approved as he soon set to doing something else while I stitched. I had passed my apprenticeship!

A view through the tentmakers souq

He seems happy with my efforts......

My two cushion purchases, the birds were not a typical pattern, nor were the colours (paler than normal) of the geometric cushion, but they suit my intended use

Next Blog: Food Patterns

Off overseas again......

This week's blog is a day early as I will be on my way overseas again. This time it is to Syria and Egypt on a Tantalising Textiles Tour. Escorted by Jenny Bowker, a well-known quilter from Australia, we will be based in Damascus and Cairo, plus four nights on a cruise ship down the Nile. There is plenty of sights and history to explore in both countries – pyramids, mosques, ruins etc as well as investigating the traditional shops in the woman's souks, visiting craftsmen practising their centuries-old textile trades, plus markets and museums. Sounds wonderful doesn't it and I should have plenty to tell when I get back at the end of this month.
Recently I had to make a visit to my dentist. I questioned him about the latex gloves he wears and he gave me one to try on. These were far superior to the supermarket variety which inevitably leak and I end up with at least one distinctive coloured finger when immersion dyeing. I usually wear my bulky workman's gloves but when doing a small batch I prefer the disposable gloves. I departed with a box of 100 gloves, payment of which was added to my somewhat alarming dentist's bill. Those of you working in the medical industry will be aware of these gloves but others might like to consider this other source.
Below are images from another length of silk fabric length which I dyed recently.

A length of silk jacquard with soya wax spirals, stretched on my big adjustable frame, which then had one end tilted up quite high. Surplus dye, with fixing additives, was poured on to the fabric using a meat baster. The colours blended to create new colour combinations.

This piece was then overdyed, once again using up some surplus dye mixtures (note the colour of the spirals which had been white)

Next Blog: Home again.....