Thursday 14 July 2011

Blues Guitar

It's been tricky finding blogging time - the summer weeks rush by and there is the call of the garden, sports days, end of school year concerts, music evenings and hardly a moment to sew. I have had to crack on in the chinks of time allowed with this piece ready for a textile exhibition at Bilston Art and Craft Gallery which begins in August. The name of the show is "On Yer Mettle" and this can be interpreted however we like. There used to be a lot of metal foundries, lock industries, nail and chain makers in this area and I was initially going to work something related to this but I found it impossible to get started, especially since I am mostly inspired by organic and natural forms rather than man-made ones.
There are, however, a number of exhibitions happening this summer related to heavy metal....no not those oddly named, more recent members of the Periodic Table, rather the likes of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath etc - bands originating in this neck of the woods. It is said that heavy metal music was born in the West Midlands. So I went with that and have been working on this guitar piece - aptly made from old denim jeans.
I am placing the guitar on a background of hand dyed scrim, linen, muslin, silk and lace - some of which have been dyed using rust (to extend the metal theme). I now need to finish the blues guitar and hand stitch into the background...ho hum it looks like a lot of late nights!
Out in the garden the cornflowers are now four feet tall and I am astonished at how many colour varieties came from one packet of seed!
The garlic is harvested and hanging from the roof of the greenhouse. I don't want to cut off it's squiggly roots - they are lovely!

This morning - early - at peaceful 6am these lovely shadows from a wrought iron bench. They would be lovely to stitch....no, no, no, I must finish the guitar before embarking on anything else!

10 comments:

  1. Hello Claire,
    I was so happy to see that you had dropped by my blog for a visit. Thank you for the lovely comments on my bracelets..
    I have enjoyed visiting your blog and seeing all the interesting things you are doing. I love the guitar piece.
    I'm going to add you to my blog roll so I can follow you if that is alright.
    I shall come again and thanks for all the inspiration
    oxox
    ((((hugs))))\
    Maggie

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  2. Your guitar is wonderful! But the shadows cast by the wrought iron really caught my eye- gorgeous!

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  3. Super guitar!! Love the photos as well.

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  4. That's a great way of adapting the theme!

    I hesitate to say so, but the shadows of the metal filigree work are very tempting, aren't they!

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  5. The guitar looks great. Having married a Midlander, I know a fair amount about rock...

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  6. you clearly need a 48 hour day!

    Lucky you to live near Wightwick Manor, a lovely part of the world too. Not to mention those giant strawberries!

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  7. What a great guitar - and very interesting materials to match!

    Once again I'm impressed by how wide your artistic range is, dear Clare - that makes your blog so wonderful!

    And you're also a very gifted photographer - I love those pictures from your garden!

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  8. You are busy! I always love the roots on garlic too.

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  9. The rusted fabrics are a great background for the denim guitar. Fantastic!

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  10. Uhooi,,
    Wow,, It's a nice guitar,,

    Uhooi.blogspot.com

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