Ooze

In the spirit of Halloween, here's some slimy tree ooze for your eyeballs to gaze upon.  This is either sap or some exudation resulting from disease, but it sure looks gross, doesn't it?  Have a spooky October 31st!

Sneak Peek || Decomposition: Stacks

This past weekend I had the opportunity to execute the next phase of my Decomposition series, entitled "Stacks".  This phase surrounded the textures of a type of fungi that I see quite frequently on trees in the landscape, typically younger trees or those with thin bark.  Called "split gill fungus", this type colonizes trees that are stressed, either through poor planting practices, inefficient watering, and previous wounding and sun scald.  I am always mesmerized by how split gill fungus looks, and am very excited to include it in my fiber art series.

I used a Japanese maple in my parents' back yard in Tulsa for the setting, which turned out beautifully with the deep red leaves and bright, sunny day.  It added some lovely contrast to the white replicas.

In addition to the photos, I have decided to venture into a new media to provide you with glimpses into my work... video!  My husband was gracious enough to film part of the process for me using the Super 8 app on my iPhone.  I am most excited about it, because this is my first video editing experience ever!

Guys, I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but even though we've had our iMac for the greater part of a year, I still hardly know how to use it.  I FINALLY figured out how to use Command + click to replace the PC right-clicking function, and that was because a friend told me.  So know that it's a BIG DEAL that I just taught myself how to use iMovie in one evening.  A really big deal.  I had a lot of fun with it and am looking forward to making more of these... what kinds of videos would you like to see here on the Bromeleighad blog?

Without further ado, here is a behind the scenes glimpse at the most recent phase of Decomposition.  Check back in a week to see photos of the final product, Decomposition: Stacks!

Sneak Peek - Stacks from Leigh Martin on Vimeo.

Hues || Wichita Wildlife Refuge

Little Wildlife

These are from the Wichita Wildlife Refuge.  We always see the obvious longhorn, bison, prairie dog and deer, but I like to look for the little guys too.  Sadly, I have yet to see a snake here after all the time I've spent in the refuge.  I know some people would count this as a blessing, and I will say I'm glad I've never stepped on one or came too close to one without knowing it was there first.  However, it would be great to see one from afar...and then take a wide route around it.

Little Cacti

 

Hiking is Good for the Soul

We drove down to the Wichita Wildlife Refuge this weekend, which is probably the closest area that has an abundance of hiking trails and gives one a feeling of solitude/remoteness.  The morning was cool, so there really weren't too many people out.  Aside from playing naturalist and observing minute details, my favorite thing about heading out of town like this is the silence.  No vehicles, no industrial sounds or people... all you can hear is the occasional tremble of the leaves... and that odd buzzing sound in your ears which is only apparent when either your hearing is stopped up or when you are away from the sounds of society.  It's funny how silence does, in fact, have a sound.  I drink it up like an elixir that hydrates and refreshes my tense mind.

On My Needles || Palladio

This is the first time I have knitted something other than an accessory with an "art yarn", if you would call Berroco Captiva that.  I've seen the booklet that this pattern was published in a million times at LYS and every time I am enamored by the garments and consider buying it... but don't... and then by the time I visit again I've forgotten and the same thing happens all over again.  This time I remembered though!  And I knew that I just had to buy it - there are 3 or 4 items that I would love to make from it and if that's not justification enough... I don't know what is.

The pattern is called Palladio, and it is by Amanda Keep.  This pattern is part of the Berroco Captiva #318.  I love the yarn so far - it's very shiny and elegant looking, with wonderful drape.  I chose a sea foam greenish color, which suits me fine because the sheen of the yarn and the color just makes me think of mermaids for some reason - it's really pretty.  It's also a pretty quick knit, as I've only worked on it for a few short sittings and I'm about halfway done with the front side.

Another thing I'm working on is the next phase of my Decomposition series.  It's pretty fast moving, and I'm hoping to execute this one in the fairly near future.  Part of that depends on weather conditions, but I have a plan.  And it involves the phrase: "Dad, can I glue some stuff to the dead part of your Japanese maple?"  Dad, if you're reading this I'll explain when I see you this weekend...  and I'll prune the dead part after I'm done.  :)

I'm also planning for another phase....

Aaaaannnnnd there's another top secret project in the works but you'll have to wait a while to see more on that.  Partly because I want to make sure it works.  But also partly because it's awesome... and I want you to see it in its full glory rather than just bit by bit.

I know I've been posting less lately, and most of what is lacking includes posts on work that I admire by other folks, or "inspiration" posts.  I've spent more time on my projects and trying to improve the ol' blog, so I guess you could say I've been more inspired by what I'm doing lately as opposed to outside influences.  That seems like a good thing, don't you think?  I won't completely discontinue the inspiration posts, but hope to incorporate some more original content as I develop ideas.  Thanks for reading, and I will leave you with the only Halloween decoration that is currently in my house.  October is almost here!

Off the Needles || Effortless Cardigan

My Effortless Cardigan is ready for wear!  This is the coziest sweater, and I absolutely love how the colors turned out.  Eventually, I wouldn't mind purchasing more of the Swish Tonal yarn in a different colorway to make another bright, happy, cozy cardigan with.  This is going to be the PERFECT piece for fall, and I'm ready for 90 degrees to go away so I can basically live in it for the rest of the year.

The pattern was so simple, and the absolute best part about it was the fact that there is ABSOLUTELY NO SEAMING.  Every section was knitted into the next.  You either reserved stitches on a stitch holder to join yarn to later or you picked up stitches along an edge.  This was the perfect technique for me, because as I've mentioned before I tend to finish knitting the pieces for a garment and then let them sit on a shelf in a tote bag for months (or years) before I stop being lazy and seam them together.  I HATE seaming.  But the Effortless Cardigan had none of that.... it truly was EFFORTLESS.  And fast - I highly recommend this pattern!

I will post later this week about my current projects.  Knitting this time of year is so very enjoyable.  Happy Fall!

 

Photos from Portland

There was one last location on our trip that I have yet to post photos from.  I didn't take quite as many in Portland as I did elsewhere, but I think there are still some that warrant sharing.  This is definitely my kind of town...  the nature shots are mostly from the Hoyt Arboretum.  We stayed at the Jupiter Hotel which is where the room photos came from, and the others are just some random things from around town.  The last photo isn't from Portland, but since I didn't write a post on the wedding we went to it got skipped over.  It's a great photo of Jason and I though and I wanted to share it (because that doesn't come along very often).

On My Needles || Ishbel

This pattern moves unbelievably fast, and uses less than a skein of sock yarn.  I fell in love with this midnight blue shade of Sweet Fiber yarn's Super Sweet Sock in the Fountain colorway at Loops in Tulsa.  My intention was to pick up some Malabrigo sock yarn for the project, but this skein really stood out to me and I'm glad that I decided to use it.  (The leftovers will look great in my Bee Keeper's Quilt as well).

Ishbel is a shawl pattern by Ysolda Teague, with a nice scalloped or actually, rather pointy edging.  It went so fast I actually finished it several days ago, but I will have to order some blocking mats before I can show the finished product which might take a little while.  I'm excited to get it steamed out so I can see the lace pattern better... until then I guess I'll just have to further enjoy that dreamy color for a while.

I've also been working on some other sculptural projects, one of which you can catch a glimpse of below.  This is definitely a trial and error process, but I've learned to be patient with it because I want a high quality end result.  Hopefully you'll see more on this soon!

Texture || Boxelder Bugs

J and I were walking over to pick up some dinner last night when this maple tree covered in clusters of boxelder bugs caught our attention.  At the time, there were clusters twice the size of these at every branch/trunk attachment all the way up the tree, but after the glorious thunderstorm we had yesterday evening they must have been all washed out.  I went back today, and this is what I found.

Through the Light || Zinnias

Bees

You can barely make them out here, but we have some bees living in a giant hackberry tree down the street from us.  J and I periodically like to walk by it to observe their activity, and I would say that today is the most active I've seen them in months.  Apparently I'm not the only one who has emerged from their slothfulness with this 20 degree drop.  It's glorious!  And it's also encouraging to see these pollinators making their way in our paved, urban environment.  Kudos, sweet things!

Decomposition: Colony II

I'm excited to show you Colony II, the second installation from Phase I of my Decomposition series!  This site was so foggy and eerie, but was filled with decaying western red cedar logs and stumps and coated with moss.  The color contrast between the mist, the mushroom caps, moss and burnt orange wood fiber was breathtaking.  It made all the difference on the outcome of this particular installation.

If you missed the first installation and want to find out some background information on my project, you can find it here:  Colony I.

I also posted a sneak peek of some behind the scenes photos which may be viewed here:  Decomposition Sneak Peek.

Texture || Fungi of the Pacific Northwest

Yes, that is my post title.  This gets its own entry because I have so many photos of fungi from our trip last month.  As I was looking through the camera's playback in our hotel room in Portland, I told J that 20% of my photos were of trees, 15% were buildings/landmarks/other scenery, 5% were of food, 15% were from our friend's wedding, 5% were of J drinking beer, 10% were of my fiber art installations, and 30% of my photos were of some type of fungi in the woods.  So here you go, a showing of my favorites.  If you would like to see the rest, take a look at my Flickr stream.

Decomposition: Colony I

I'm excited to finally show you the first phase of my Decomposition series.  Phase one is called "Colony", and these photos depict the first of two installations that I had the joy of constructing.  View the full documentation of the installation in my portfolio.

I have yet to develop a formal statement about the series which will incorporate knitted replicas in the form of several types of wood decay fungi.  I've hinted at it here and there in previous blog posts, but I will explain a little further:

The series is a study on the intricate textures of fungi and how they blend in to their natural environment.  At a glance and from a distance, these knitted replicas meld in as a part of the magnificent cycle that transforms living plants to detritus and further into minerals that nourish other living plants as they draw these minerals up from the soil.  For instance, when viewing the installation at the distance of the bottom photo the pieces appear natural and as though they are meant to exist there.  However, on a closer encounter one sees that these are not fruiting bodies at all.  The delicate knit stitch stands out and draws you in for closer inspection, much like the intricacies in the texture of fungi draw me in.  These elements spur on a stream of questions that carry me meditatively in to a place of introspection.  While this is a personal project, I hope that it excites the same way of thinking amongst its viewers, elevating to a greater level of awareness of one's surroundings.

The second installation of "Colony" will go up on this blog a week from today, so check back to see it! I hate to choose favorites, but I was actually even happier with how the second one turned out than I was with the first.  I am also exploring inspiration for the next phase and hope to begin construction on that very soon.

Sneak Peek || Decomposition: Colony

As I've mentioned, one of my goals for our trip to the Northwest was installation and documentation of the first phase of my wood decay fungi project, Decomposition.  To my excitement, I found two spectacular sites to utilize and created installations at each of them.  I can't wait to show these to you!  For now, this sneak peek will have to do.

The above photo includes the mushroom caps in the wooden box that I used to transport them, along with a photo that served as the inspiration for this whole series.  It shows a decaying log in the rain forest of Costa Rica that is covered in a "colony" of what appear to be very small ink cap mushrooms.  The intricacies of texture in different types of fungi is what has moved me to begin this particular series, and I must say that carrying out my vision for this phase in a setting exactly how I visualized it has left me with more creative fulfillment than I've ever had.  Needless to say, full steam ahead with the next phase.

Here are a couple of photos J shot of my putting it all in place, and one more of the caps in the box.  We got a little scared on our departing flight when we realized that the little box probably looked mighty suspicious in the airport X-ray machine... and probably even more suspicious had my bag been searched.  Apparently it went undetected, though.  Good thing. :)  Also, note the mosquito on my shoulder in the first one - we were getting SWARMED the whole time we were up there, although oddly enough I was bitten very few times.

I will post photos of "Colony I" a week from today, and "Colony II" will go up a week after that.

On My Needles || Effortless Cardigan

Look at that photo and tell me you don't love that colorway.  Green is my favorite color anyway, but to have so many glorious shades of it in one piece is pretty magical... or at least for me.  The yarn is Knit Picks Swish Tonal in Canopy.  I can already tell I'm going to love wearing this cardigan, so much that I might have to make another eventually.The Effortless Cardigan is just that: effortless.  Completely.  Since it's all knit in Stockinette stitch (with exception of the rib section at the bottom), it's a perfect mindless project for traveling or watching a movie.  I decided to start on it so I would have something to work on during our vacation to the northwest, and it really helped pass the time on our flights and in the car, or just during downtime at the hotel/campsite when I was too tired to do anything else.

At this point I'm about to bind of the body section and then all I will have left is the sleeves!  I can't believe how fast it's gone.  I'll probably be able to share some photos of the finished product in the next week or two, and with the way the weather has been going recently I might be able to start wearing it (for real!) by then too!  Thank you Mother Nature for giving us a 20 degree break from that horrendous summer weather.

Snoqualmie and Roslyn