Bonspiel Creation

I have a little book about oriental carpets that I found at a used book sale on Saltspring Island.  I was staring at the full-color pictures the other day and enjoying the colors and patterns when I came across this one carpet (shown in the picture) with a central black medallion.  It looked like a hole in the ground of the carpet, sucking me through to outer space, passing through an intertwined golden grid of viney floral shapes.  Not literally.  But it was still super cool.  I decided to do some sketches based on these motifs and forms, thinking I'd create a fabric with a similar feel, with rich detail floating over layers of color.  You can see in my sketch a couple of little dress ideas.  I may make the fabric myself with silkscreens, or get the fabric made on spoonflower.com.  They have a silk chiffon that could be amazing. 

I'll extend the scrollwork beyond the perimeters of the medallion, add more detail into it, ink it in and see where it takes me.  This is the first drawing I've done probably since the Tall Kitty maybe a year ago, which has been a big hit made into fabric on spoonflower.com.  I like drawing, but it challenges me as I have issues about not being able to draw, so I tend to go unconscious after I draw and let months go by before I return to the sketchbook.  But I have a feeling that drawing is a fundamental part of my leap to the next level of creativity with Bonspiel, so I must open the sketchbook more often.  Maybe I should make a regular practise of just drawing something.  This feels like a pretty big project but it does feed into my goal of doing things on a larger scale than I have been doing.

In other news, I was walking in downtown Victoria (west coast of Canada) yesterday and noticing how many clothing shops have shut down.  Plum, which has been around for years, is gone, as is another shop whose name already escapes me.  I think Mango is still there and I suppose Grape, Persimmon and Durian are going to open up soon.  Yes, it's a fruity town.  Roots and the Gap are still and forever having huge sales, in fact everywhere things were being offered for half price or less.  In the meantime I am suffering from very slow sales in my Etsy shop, right when I need money for my move into my new studio.  February has always been the cruellest month for me.  So I decided to put everything in my etsy shop on sale for half price, and give the people what they want (fantastic handmade goods for cheap!).  It's only for a limited time, until I hit 500 dollars in sales or after five days, whichever comes first.  So if you want a great deal, go there now, I won't be doing this again until maybe next February.

Now I'm off to stoke the woodstove, 'cause baby, it's cold outside.

--ellen