The idea of creativity invokes arts, crafts and design. We usually use it to describe an individual or small group of collaborators who create something with sensual impact like a musical composition, a knitted shawl or an innovative ad campaign. … Continue reading
Something remarkable happens when men get together and play with fibre. The first Men’s Knitting Retreat North kicked off yesterday afternoon with an informal meet and greet as guys arrived from as far away as Germany, Texas, Florida and Colorado. … Continue reading
Amy Tyler’s talk on Sunday at Ontario Handweavers and Spinners biennial conference gave me pause to reassess my creative process. For a brief introduction to Amy, read the previous post. The term “creative process” has a pompous air about it. … Continue reading
Designer Amy Tyler invokes the Petoskey stone, an important symbol of creative thinking for many artists.
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It was a big craft weekend. Dyeing fibre with mountain-ash leaves was not our only project. While Danny developed a new design for a knitted sock, I did some hand-spinning. Over the past 18 months, the majority of yarns I’ve … Continue reading
American mountain-ash (Sorbus americana) leaves provide an excellent natural dye in coppery-gold colours. This plant does not often arise in discussions of natural dyes, perhaps because it lacks wide distribution outside the northeastern Laurentian forests of North America. However, European … Continue reading
A few weeks ago I posted about handspinning outside the comfort zone. I set out to create some lively yarn concentrating on reds, not a colour range I naturally gravitate to. For inspiration I used a photo of fall foliage … Continue reading
I made this hat for my friend, fabric artist Lorraine Roy, based on one of her works, “Tobermory sunset”. Her pieces are perhaps best described as fabric paintings. She spreads countless fragments of cloth on the backing to create rich … Continue reading
Red is outside my comfort zone. I created these skeins of handspun yarn over the past week. I have been working from photographs, choosing fibres that capture the colours and textures of the scene, hand carding them into small batts … Continue reading
Now I am painting with fibre and having so much fun, it is probably illegal in Russia. In a recent workshop with Lisa McKenzie, I learned a technique called core spinning, in which you wrap fibre around a hidden core. … Continue reading