BIRDS AND BEASTS (Weekly Art Project #21, 2020)

 When I started the discipline of doing this weekly art project back in January, I made the choice that I would complete my 'Egypt' series in 21 weeks/projects.  Why?  Because I only managed 21 weeks of the project in 2019 before life interfered & I had to delay resumption until 2020. Also, 21 feels like a good number!  Today marks #21 in this current project, therefore it is my last one with Egypt as an inspiration.

It might be hard to believe, but I'm feeling some emotion!!  The whole process of focusing on a theme like travel has enabled me to relive the experience, which was one of my life's highlights. With that in mind this week's project had to be super special. What was I going to do???

Last week I used the Artisans of Egypt as my inspiration, this week,  my starting point is this incredible mixed media painting by Egyptian artist Ayman El Sameray.

Imagine my delight when we returned to Cairo after travelling around Egypt, entered our hotel lobby to discover that their lounge had been transformed into a gallery space showcasing this artist's work.  Oh my goodness. Sigh!  The piece above, the name of which I cannot find, was my favourite & I WANTED it sooooooo much it hurt!  Aside from the fact that transporting it back to Australia would be difficult, it was seriously way outside our budget.  Having grown up with the mantra "you can't always get what you want" did not help!!!

My attraction to this piece was due to a number of aspects, the colour palette & impacting composition of the huge white orb with the golden halo & sky blue background hit me first.  But what won me over were the simple line pictographs of what I interpretted to be symbols of everyday rural life.

 We'd had the privelege of visiting a number of rural communities, the farmers & crop growers who fed this ancient nation, all so very dependant on that all important River Nile.

During our travels I had become particuarly fond of one particular beast of burden, the donkey.  We saw so many. The majority were weighed down with overflowing loads and most were very poorly treated.  The photo above is one showing the healthier well looked after version of donkeydom!

I wanted to honor the donkey in this last project.

 As always, my process started with drawing.  I sat at the computer, flicking through the photos drawing donkeys and other reminders of life in rural communities...baskets of produce, hand woven crates, pigeon coops and of course everywhere, town or country, there were cats!

 My aim was to give that impression that lines had been scraped away from the surface layer, so not only did I have to keep the outlines of the design simple, I had to be mindful of where my stitching lines would need to be.  It took a bit of concentration, but here's how my plan stitching looked!

 The colour palette I wanted to stick to was sand & blue. Choosing blue as the background I made a fabric layer by ironing applifix to some calico & ironing on some strips of blue fabric scraps. Quick & easy because time was ticking on!!

 I had this beautiful variegated sand coloured fabric which was perfect for this project.  It took quite a while to stitch all those lines into my A4 sized piece!

 There was only one layer to cut back, so here's how it looked at the end of that fiddly cutting!  The pigeon coop does look a bit like a darlek but I was pleased with how my donkeys looked.  It just needed a bit more oomph!

  The addition of gold paint added depth & added interest to this composition & I'm really pleased with the outcome.  Were I to do it again I think I'd vary the background scraps of blue to be more random rather than the stripes.  Having said that the change from dark to light makes it less flat & more interesting. A very pleasing finish to the series.

At the conclusion of my 2018 weekly art project which was inspired by Istanbul I compiled each project piece into a page that became a fabric book.  It is wonderfully tactile, beautiful, rich in memory & is also an excellent display of samples showcasing how effective contemporary reverse applique can be.  Consequently, I plan to turn this project into a book too.  Therefore that's what I'll be working on next week during my usual weekly art project time slot.  I'll also be thinking about which travel adventure to be inspired by next.  Will it be Norway, France, Morocco, Spain, Iceland or Jordan? Hmmmmm!  You'll just have to wait and see!!

ARTISANS (Weekly Art Project #20, 2020)

 It's weekly art project time again & this week I wanted to honour the Artisans of Egypt.

One of the purposes of having a few extra days in Cairo was so that we could go & see the extraordinary craftmanship of equally extraordinary artisans that this city is blessed with.  As we visited metalworkers, glass blowers, jewellery makers, plasterers, ceramicists, marquetry experts, weavers & painters we had to constantly be mindful that we had a budget!

It was extremely hard!

There were two sites that were topmost on my to-see list; the quilters of the Tentmakers Street & the Souk El Fustat Gallery representing the Akmeem embroiderers.

The small stall like shops where the tentmaker men sit & applique their exquisite cushion covers & wall hangings was a kaleidoscope of colour in a dusty unassuming alley. The men were welcoming & keen to know where we were from & excited to share their beautiful work.

 In a complete contrast the Gallery showcasing the Akmeem embroideries was in a modern (& dust free) complex & there was only one person on duty who really couldn't tell us anything about the embroideries.  This meant that the brightly coloured works had to speak for themselves, so they told us visual tales of life on the land, the growing of vegetables, the management of stock and the importance of water.

How was I going to honour these artisans in my project this week?

 It has taken more thought than you would imagine, but in the end this faded and tatty cushion cover helped.

It is one I bought from the Tentmakers & gave to my parents-in-law who are now deceased.  I actually rescued it from the rubbish pile when we were sorting through their household.  I wondered whether I could use it as a base, a starting point for my project.  Perhaps I could alter it in some way without losing it's charming qualities.

 I sat at the computer scrolling through my photos, making visual notes of motifs that leapt out at me & gradually my idea started to unfold.

 Rummaging through my (newly tidied) box of plain coloured fat quarters I found what I needed & began the process of bringing my ideas to reality.

 Having carefully traced the lozenge shape & cut out enough fabric needed to place over the existing ones, I began to stitch in the lotus design I'd drawn on each lozenge.

 With the addition of a new centre, I was ready to let the cutting back begin!  Here's how it went...

With embroidered embellishment & a bead in the centre it was ten folded back to maintain the A4 size & shape I've kept with all the other weekly art projects.
I don't think I've ever attempted this type of repurposing or upcycling or revamping...(whatever one wants to label it), but I am very pleased with the outcome.  If I wasn't restricted by time I would have liked to have added more running stitch.  It is an appropriate reminder of my visits to see artisans at work, as well as remembering my in-laws who never had the opportunity to visit Egypt but were fascinated by our adventures there.  It never ceases to amaze me how art making can link so many seemingly random connections!  I hope your art making is making you feel as satisfied this week. :-)