Monday, July 19, 2010

"sewing mends the soul"

I have been underground with my creativity most of this year, as the majority of what I have made has been going out to various publications and I have not been able to share a lot of what I have been up to. I am happy that this road is starting to open up for me and its exciting for me to be able to share more of what I am doing as I do it. Over this year I have also found that I have been taking the majority of my photos with my I-phone as it so easy to alter then upload and share these photos all from my phone most of these photos end on my photo blog.
This Photo was taken when I was working on some new jewelry pieces...



There was just something about this photo had me captivated and I knew that I wanted to do more with it. I have had some of Lesley Riley's TAP that I had been wanting to use in my work as well so I printed this image out on it and decided to create a dress around this image.
would you like to see how the process unfolds?

Well first, I started out by drafting a pattern for my dress on unbleached muslin



then I cut it out



I ironed on the image that I printed out on the TAP



then it was soaked it in a hot tea bath



then it was tossed into the dryer



once dried the story was stitched on to the dress with my sewing machine, then the dress it self was sew together. followed by the process of me making many tiny hand stitches to gather up the fabric to create a scents of movement on the dress sculpture to make it appair that it is being worn.

"sewing mends the soul" story dress

and here in her entity
"sewing mends the soul"
story dress

"sewing mends the soul" story dress
"sewing mends the soul"
is for sale please email me at ruthrae@gmail.com for details
.

because the photo image on the dress is of me making a piece of jewelry I only thought it fitting that this soft sculptured dress also have its own little necklace, it occurred to me that I could create a more interactive piece of art by making it have a duel purpose.

"sewing mends the soul" story dress

So around her "neck" is something you can barrow, as the
Necklace on dress can be removed to be worn as a choker or wrapped around your wrist for a bracelet.

"sewing mends the soul" story dress

I could not find the right poem for this dress so I wrote a little story for it myself.

"sewing mends the soul" story dress

This story dress reads:

she stitched a little story with a needle and thread
she wrote of love and courage and how to take a stand.
around her tiny neck a strand of buttons she knitted...
she said:
I like making a piece of string into something I can wear.
she was sure that sewing mends the soul.

"sewing mends the soul" story dress
(back of dress)

I made this photo set if you would like to see how this dress unfolded from jewelry to dress. I think its a reminder that inspiration is truly all around us.



Happy Creating!

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7 comments:

Unknown said...

This is beautiful Ruth, thanks for sharing the process

Lisa said...

a stunning, heartfelt piece Ruth.. I love the way the iphone image held up through all the transitions.. I've been having a blast with that app.. it's better than a computer based manipulating program and much more user friendly.
gorgeous...

Mosaic Magpie said...

I love this piece Ruth. When I am sewing I am usually humming and singing, so I must agree sewing mends the soul.
Amen,
Debbie

Sharne Gregory said...

A lovely piece of art. I have found sewing has been a great therapy for me, much better than pills anyday!! It should be prescibed by the doctors.

Poetic Artist said...

This is so beautiful..You are so blessed.
Katelen

kecia deveney said...

so awesome ruth - thanks for showing us your creative process; i felt like i just took a mini class with you! i love the dual purpose/interactive art concept - and love the idea of also using your iphone pics. i've got some great ones myself - what a wonderful way to bring them to life!

kecia

Sylvia said...

Ruth, I am very impressed with your sewing...it turned out amazing! I can't wait to see more of your blog.

Sylvia