It all started with a writing prompt that Crystal gave on magical realism and wondering what I could come up with in fabric. I sketched out some ideas and although She Who Holds Tomorrow was my less magical, she was the one that began to send me telepathic messages...in the original sketch there are huge vases behind her that she asked for, then I decided to embellish the vases...then she asked to be made in cloth...I said hold up, you'll have to wait.
Yesterday was her time...it was the 2nd day this week that I couldn't focus...felt tired, mentally blank, so I piddled instead of beginning the third top in the Poetry Series. Ran the screens on a sample cloth, then made more marks on the cloth with Nsibidi writing using Indian Ink with the fine line writing tool. Mo came home yesterday from her intro to Pan African Studies class asking about Nsibidi writing. It just so happened that a few months ago I had ordered a book on African writing systems and had read about Nsibidi writing so that was kinda a cool connection. The writing on cloth became so good to me that I started making up my own marks. The cloth ended up redeemed because the screen printing I did on it was a bust. In some spots the drawing fluid wasn't thick enough so the screen filler filled in places that should not have been.
Then I turned to my first sketch of She Who Holds Tomorrow and did a small exercise of her in Tsunikeo Inks (I know I just butchered that spelling) and prismacolour pencils. This is just a practice on a piece of fabric that measures 8 inches by 11 inches.
Grace asked about the drawing fluid and screen filler and whether or not she could use just the polyester mesh screen without a frame by taping the mesh around the edges...since I'm not an "expert" I would say go for it and try it...On Jane Dunnewold's Complex Cloth DVD she fuses tulle between two sheets of iron-on stablizer...she also demo'ed this on an episode of Quilting Arts. I like the weight that the frame gives me, making the piece feel more stable when pulling over it.
Last night I dreamed that I flew to Accra, Ghana to hear a concert given by the UofL orchestra. I was with Estella, a long time friend. After the concert was over the very large group went to sit on the steps of the concert hall to watch a very elaborate parade of floats on water that ran in front of the concert hall...Beyond the water I could see the urban sprawl of Accra with buildings in salmon, yellow, fushia and trolleys and busses and huge long blocks of vegetable and fruit stands. Estella had a Nikon D40 and I had my camera and we both where taking pictures of the parade and then of the areas beyond the water. So I'm wondering now if She Who Holds Tomorrow is from Ghana????
