Tag: Technique: Assemblage Porch Series

– Good things happen in threes

~ Liz A ~ 9 Comments

Don has completed the penultimate piece in the Front Porch Series of assemblages …

Note: the wood is from
an old caboose
In addition to the usual cast of Junkology finds, this piece also includes part of a cuckoo clock from the Outer Banks …
and the innards from a New Mexico Subaru radiator (thanks Grace!) …
Meanwhile, I’m delighted to report that Claire Wellesley-Smith’s new book arrived today …

And last, but not least (after some agonizing over the fact that it occurs on Griffin’s third birthday), I took the plunge and signed up for a two-day natural dyeing workshop hosted by Maura Ambrose (which my younger daughter misinterpreted when I first told her about it). So, let’s call it a “cloth dyeing workshop” …

 

This morning there were 14 tickets available. Last I checked it was down to 6 … sold out!

– Rust happens

~ Liz A ~ 10 Comments
Don just finished another assemblage in the Porch Series …

 

Then we went in search of new/old stuff at a neighborhood moving sale, which yielded some wonderful rust …
and better yet, my copy of Alice Fox’s new book arrived …

After a first pass, I have no doubt that both Don and I will find much of value to use in our own creative endeavors … not to mention the pleasure of seeing the wide range of works beautifully captured in its pages.

– On edge: Wood, metal and cloth assemblages

~ Liz A ~ 7 Comments

Don has been working on a series of assemblages made from repurposed wood and metal, of which this is the most recent …

Wood from Junkology

 

This angle view shows off his edge work, as well as the dimensionality of the clockwork spring found during last summer’s junk haul at the Outer Banks …

 

This, in addition to last week’s assemblage, made his original moon phase assemblage look washed out. Since the plan is to hang them all together, he made the edge of the moon assemblage a bit darker (dare I say edgier?) …

 

Meanwhile, I finished stitching together four layers of linen with coral cotton strips woven in …

 

a much more substantial piece to give the wood table protection from serving dishes …
Close-up view showing the variation in cloth weaves

 

I dipped one edge into a simmered brew of windfall lichen …

 

letting the color wick up close to the first row of cloth weaving …
then hung it out to dry, during which time the color continued to migrate upward …
This persimmon has become my de facto cloth-hanger

 

A second dip, a-side …

 

and b-side, shows how much the color on the side softened after drying compared to the wet bottom edge …
Two more cycles of dipping and drying remain to be done on the other two edges. At that point I’ll consider whether to stitch along the boundaries created by the wicking, then put it all in the washing machine to see how the color will stand up.
I think I could get used to living on the edge …