Explorations Episode 14: Extreme Persistence

Explorations Episode 14:  Extreme Persistence

So I broke my arm today.  But that's not stopping me from carrying out acts of extreme  persistence on an epic scale. 

I have a track record for this:  making draft after draft of a fiber art piece because I want to get it right, dammit.  Even if it takes an inordinate amount of time.  For example, I once took ALL the quilting off this 40 x 40 quilt:

Homage to Cabbage II

...and I was much happier with it once I re-quilted it.

Today I continued to pursue perfection.  Or, to frame my actions in more positive terms, to honor my artistic vision.  I decided that a piece of lightweight raw silk, which was painted so carefully, stitched so lovingly, and steamed so thoroughly, all in an effort to imitate the creases and folds of a band of sea foam, was not big enough.

Not big enough?  After all that time and effort?

But it's not big enough.  Take a look:

Sand and Foam--Under Construction

The band of foam doesn't go all the way to the upper right corner and doesn't reach the lower left corner either.  What to do?  I can't make the base of the piece (merino wool felted onto raw silk) any smaller because the final product has to be 30 by 50.  If the base can't be smaller, then the band of foam has to be wider and longer.

But maybe I could patch it.  I experimented with that.  I thought I could make a patch out of some of my earlier scale models for the sea foam.  When I first started this project, I made scale models out of different kinds of silk, in a spirit of experimentation.  For example here's the scale size piece I made of silk chiffon:

...and this is a scale size model made with lightweight raw silk:

I liked the way the raw silk came out crunchy and textured like the foam itself.

If I used that piece of lightweight raw silk as a patch, here is an example of the way it might look if I used it to extend the silk foam in the lower left corner:

Can you see where the patch begins and ends?  It looks okay, I guess, but I'm thinking about the time I would spend fussing with it and worrying over it.

So I decided the time might be better spent starting all over, using hindsight to make the piece of silk foam longer and wider.  Plus I could try another kind of silk.  When I did the sample pieces, I really liked the way the piece of silk chiffon came out.  I also liked the way the lightweight raw silk came out, too, and  I chose the lightweight raw silk for the full size piece.

But it came out too short.

So I'm using this as an opportunity to change my material.  I'm going to use the silk chiffon.  It's going to take a long time to get it done.  First I have to cut out a piece of the chiffon, then transfer the pattern to it, making it 40 percent plus bigger because of the shrinkage that will happen.  Then I have to treat it with GAC 900.

That's where it is in this photo, treated with GAC 900 and the pattern transferred to the silk:

Now I'm starting to put on the paint, and so far it looks good.

Did you notice the sling?  I broke my arm this morning.  As you can see, I'm left-handed, so I can still use my left arm.  I broke my arm while bending over the raised bed, which is about knee-high...

...planting two Veronica Incana Pure Silver from Digging Dog Nursery:

...which don't look like much now, but are going to be a gorgeous addition to the silver garden, once they get bigger, if my gardening efforts are successful:

As I worked, I was bent over from the waist with my arms extended over the bed.  When I was done digging and planting, I straightened up and stepped back.  Or tried to step back.  The heel of my right shoe got stuck on the asphalt of the driveway, and refused to budge, while the rest of me, continuing to try to step back, fell over onto my arm and side. As I used my right arm to try to get up by pushing myself up off the driveway, I could feel my bone sliding and popping and refusing to support me.  It felt like something was very wrong.

A fractured head on the radius of my right arm, as it turns out.  Until I see the orthopedist on Monday, I'm to do nothing that requires any force or effort.  Like pulling myself up the stairs by the bannister.  Or even brushing teeth this morning hurt.

That means I can't do anything to help with the gourmet picnic we'll be having tomorrow at Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford, CT.

As a result, Joe has to do it all.  Poor Joe.  He's taking it like a trooper: