Good finds 深水埗尋寶

 

 Other than doing sculptural objects for decoration like the teapots I made before, I also  like functional creation.  The tinkle boxes just made.  Inspired to make it because .........
深水埗是我們的尋寶地, 日前以色列友人到訪, 我特別和她到深水埗大量搜購手作材料, 她滿載而歸, 我也在布行取了些哩士布辨, 手中有些材料, 我便一頭栽做我的創作, 黑白兩盒子就是這星期的製作.

  last week I have a guest from Israel, Rachel, who's a student of Irit Dulman.  We both learnt from Irit eco prints but not in the same class so it's the first time we met.   I showed her the supplies in Shamshuipo.  She bought lots goodies of fabrics, threads, beads, all the wonderful materials for crafts and arts creation.

 

We'd a great time to share the common interests of eco prints and wool felt. She gave me a wool felt brooch with nice stitches and I gave her a necklace with ceramic pendant I made.  The beads and thread I also bought in Shamshuipo - artisans' paradise.

 

Apart from good buys we got lots of free fabric samples.  I took some laces, the black & white is my target for nuno felt.

 

A friend gave me a small souvenir of Chinese craft.  The actual size of this is quite big, usually stacks with some valuables on the very traditional marriage engagement day.      Idea from this and the laces I got, also the silk fabric I dyed ........

 

 I decided to make something of nuno felt.   

 

The first tinkle box made.

  I used the "not-so-good" natural dyed silk scrap to make the textural body, wrapped the handle and the cover intended to have textural feel.

 

The second, white and a bit delicate

Body with lace and the cover with nuno felt chiffon flower

 

  I made both the mouths bigger to have functional usage.

 

The dark one is ancient look

 

Both I embellished with glass beads

 

Ttinket boxes for little something

 

Round looks of both

  

They're the new creation just finished this weekend. 

Still quite crisp and dry winter days. While sitting in my studio I felt cold but with all the stuff I made from a painted working board, Bordeleira sheep rug, natural printed runner and all the stuff made by myself I felt warm.  

Styles of Scarf 植物印染圍巾

 

A scarf of both sides - wool and silk with natural prints.

Left is the wool side and the right  is silk of the same scarf.

一件圍巾, 兩種物料 -羊毛絨與絲料混合製作.

事原為了準備週末的植物印染課程，日前去新界拾了些桉樹及楓葉，加上祗可在花店才買到的桉樹葉和玫瑰花， 隨即動手剪了一小片較名貴的羊毛絨做印染，經過兩小時加熱, 清晰的葉印， 尤其有粉紅的玫瑰花使我喜出望外， 這塊羊毛絨料不常買到， 所以我祗用少許試驗， 我把這片羊毛絨車縫上一片早前印染的絲質料上, 就此成為一件兩質料、 兩款葉印 、多款被搭的圍巾。

 

Most prints on wool side are bold and impressive.

  

 These days I haven't done much natural prints since hooked on wool felt.  To prepare a natural print scarf workshop this weekend I bought euc cinerea and roses from florist and  went to the  bushes to pick some barks.  To my surprise there're lots blow off of euc and some maples. That triggered my juice of creation again.    I cut a small piece of the formerly bought quite expensive "boiled wool"for the experiment.

 

I put sorts of leaves on the  "boiled wool"  and bundle boiled for 2 hours.  Turnout is good  except the oak leaf is not impressive.

 

I was quite happy particularly the pink rose and outlines.

 

A closer look by Mogi

 

Rose, leaves and maple.

 

Unknown sort of euc and maples

 

Close up of prints on wool - rose, rose leaves, maples and brown & red from different sorts of euc.

 

Close up of prints on silk fabric with rose petals, rose leaves and euc silver dollar.

 

I found the prints of the "boiled wool" nice and decided  to make a long scarf with it.  I sewed the wool piece over the longer silk fabric with natural prints.  So a scarf of both wool and silk both with different prints. 

 

The wool piece is sewed on the silk fabric with  longer silk ends that make soft knot or draping.

 

Styles of the same piece of silk side

 

Styles of the same piece 

 

Mogi, "Mum  thanks for your viewing. Have a nice weekend ."

An Autumn's Tale 秋天的童話

 

Theme of autumn - a teapot I made with the color of autumn - the birches, yellow, red....  Added to the set of woolly teapot (last post)

茶煲 (trouble),  sampan, "Table for two" ..... 可會想起 "秋天的童話"? 好浪漫的電影. 謝謝 Sammy S. 你給我創作泉源. 很喜歡我的朋友及學生不時給予靈感. 我的羊毛氈茶壺已有春、夏、秋,下次將會是冬的主題.

 

I used to make ceramic teapots.  Now I almost hooked to wool felt.  Last weekend I stayed overnight in my studio. Buried myself in the creation. That's me must have it finished overnight.

 

Wool laid with some prefelt birch trunks, stones and wool nepps as grasses.  Handle is wrapped with own natural printed silk chiffon.  Soft look of dry wool is always prettier than felted.

  

To make the yellow leaves textures I used Melinda's Wenslaydale curly wool which is my treasure.

  

With trunks, stones prefelts that make the textural surface.

   

I made the mouth bigger for storage and the stopper with some prefelts as popped up seedpod.

Finished looks

 

A teapot or a flower pot is finished overnight

 

The next day I took it to the beach near my studio for the shots.

  

Just a 10-min walk the beach near my Stanley studio is such a nice spot as not too crowded.

 

Stones, sands, water...... form the backdrop ........

 

and comes the "Autumn's Tale"......

 

"A table for two..... "

 

A sampan..... 

That's the very romantic Chinese love movie "An Autumn's Tale" reminded by my student Sammy S.  This is what I created last weekend.

I love my students and friends who always inspired my creation.  I love my studio environment not only of stunning views but also have like-minded.  The day I finished shooting I bumped into my neighbor Zeinab and her sweetie Layla.  

 

Zeinab joined my nuno felt private tutorial once and very interested in feltmaking.  I'm most happy to share the fun of wool felt.  We'd a nice chat over coffee with her gorgeous sweet after the shot.

 

Set of teapots - Spring with sprout, Summer with lavender, Autumn with birches. Theme of winter will be next creation.

My cup of tea - Teapot making 我愛這杯茶

 

Mogi, "hey, this is Mum's cup of tea."

 Right after my workshop learning the wool felt teapot making from Pamela A. MacGregor (Tarvey Cottage Studio) a month ago, I really hooked in the creation and made a few as practice.

 自上月從美國 Pamela A. MacGregor 學會製作很特別技巧的立體羊毛茶壺, 回來後我樂此不疲的做了幾款, 為的是練習及尋找羊毛的可塑性. 終於找到我這杯茶........

 

This one was made in Pamela's studio, the first one I learnt in early winter in Ohio. Intended to make it with little green and a sprout to expect spring.  Know it's snow storm and everywhere covered with inches of snow.  The grasses are now frozen !

Got inspired by Suzanne Higgs I made two teapots with lace.  Well, they felted and clear on white.

This pair of "black & white" are tiny.  I'm quite happy to work with this size.

 

This one,  Aladdin teapot.  Idea came from Judy L.  She gave me this little souvenir after her trip to Dubai.  I put some silk strings and yarns for decoration.

 

This set made earlier with some Wenslaydale curly fleece to have textural surface.

 

This purple one I made with some yarns embellished to have the look of "lavender field"

 

Stopper with Wenslaydale curly fleece and embellished with glass beads.

 

Though wool teapots are not functional, I made them for fun.   This one the mouth is a bit bigger, I put a jam jar inside as flower pot.

 

Smaller one for a rose

 

"Hmmmmm, fragrance I love....  I know it's mum's cup of tea"

 

Aladdin  teapot with removal stopper 

 

Making teapot is absolutely wonderful.  I love the little sturdy objects, love the versatility of 3D making, embellishment and the combination with fibres and fabrics. 

 

I really enjoyed so much the workshop with Pam.  Her techniques are awesome, her studio is wonderful.  Here's my previous post about the studio.

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