I'll start with some background to my project so it's in context.........my friend Vana who organised the tour...which she called Stamping Around India.... has a quirky little shop in Wauchope NSW, in the Jacaranda House Creative Hub, where they regularly hold exhibitions that showcase and celebrate local artists. The next one is coming up soon and is called Reflections - Stamping Around India Textile Trail. Not only will it feature all the brilliant textiles that Vana bought on the trip, but she has invited each of us to create something that reflects out trip.
While I love the hustle and bustle, and colour, the noise and movement that never seems to stop in India, I always enjoy getting away from the cities and towns into nature. One place we visited holds beautiful memories for me.....The Wild Ass Sanctuary in the Little Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. We headed out to the Sanctuary in a very chilly dawn, but soon forgot the cold as this vast desert saltpan appeared before us. At first glance it appeared dry and desolate, but is actually full of life and sound.....the wind through the scrubby salt-bush, cries of myriad birds, most hidden from sight, and the background to it all, the calls of the wild ass. In the monsoon season the area becomes a gigantic marshland, and is home to thousands of migratory birds of many species.
But we had come hoping to see the flamingos, they're here only in winter and we were lucky enough to spot a couple of large flocks, out in the marshes, feeding. Off in the distance sadly, but there they were!
So I decided I would try to interpret this beautiful place in cloth and stitch as my piece for the exhibition, to reproduce the wonderful sight of the flamingos with the backdrop of the marshes, stretching out to the misty dawn horizon. And so I delved into my box of grey/blue scraps and sorted and auditioned and changed my mind about how I wanted it to look, and then of course, changed it back again.
And finally came up with a background I was happy with. I stitched pieces together in rows to start with, then used the stitch and flip method to join the rows. It's about 30cms x 23 (12x9).
So far I've played a bit with using fabric to add the suggestion of the distant tree line and the shoreline. There'll be stitching to represent reeds and shallow water and of course, those all-important flamingos, for the moment, just paper cut-outs.
Stay tuned.............
If you'd like to be inspired to use your scraps, visit Kate or Gun and check out the growing list of bloggers who are joining in on ScrapHappy Day.
..............till next time
