ECO Printed Upcycled Clothing 2

Eco Printed up-cycled clothing.

This has a once-a-year production time for me. I will not be making any more pieces until next fall when the leaves turn once again.

But now I have a large variety of pieces, ranging from sleeveless shirts, long sleeve blouses, jackets, pullover sweaters, skirts, oversize blouses. The natural fabrics range from merino wool, linen (flax), silk, cashmere, cotton (and pima cotton), rayon (viscose), modal, tencel, wool - either plant or animal based. Sizes range from XS to XL.

Photos of some more pieces:

Cotton top / linen skirt:

Cotton:

This green silk one is sold.

100% silk:

These two are both sold - to the same person!

100% silk:

100% mohair:

ECO Printed Upcycled Clothing 1

I had a friend come over to check out my Calyx stuff from the weekend sale but we never made it downstairs to my studio as I showed her my Eco Printed clothing first and she bought this jacket! Eco Printed up-cycled clothing. This is 100% boiled wool, printed with eucalyptus, geranium, oak and rose leaves from my Calgary, Canada neighbourhood. The rose bush is actually from her front yard! 

Looks great on you, Jan!

 

This is a 100% silk blouse printed with brown onion skins, and oak, rose and dogwood leaves. 

Kerry, I am saving this one for you! Doesn't it look good on her?

This is a 100% silk dress that would look great over leggings. 

Oak and dogwood leaves from my neighbourhood.

And this is the one my daughter selected. This is a 100% silk front, 50-50 silk-linen back. 

Printed with Silver Dollar and Baby Blue Eucalyptus leaves.

CALYX 1

I made four different flowers out of copper shim for shows in past years and have one left in my stock. They featured embossed metal and free machine embroidery mounted on different backings.

The one I had left was a poppy mounted on a quilted black linen, and in discussion with my daughter on why we thought it never sold, we decided it was too stark of a contrast between the solid geometric background and the very organic flower.

So I decided to just go for it and pulled out coloured pencil crayons and start adding texture to the background - I love how it turned out!!

The before photo showing the solid background with selection of colours to be added...

  

Me working away...

 

 After I finished it I had to 'fix' the colours onto the cloth and this toned them down slightly. The final results, with detail shot...

 Will see what reaction it gets at the sale this weekend!

Barcelona, Spain - ANTONI GAUDI

The city of Barcelona has been cleaned up and personal safety is no longer as big of an issue as the tour books would have you believe. I loved the city and mainly came to it in search of all things GAUDI - and it delivered!

La Sagrada Familia is one of Gaudi's most famous works in Barcelona. It's a giant temple that has been under construction since 1882 and still won't be finished for another 50 or so years! From the outside that looks like dripping icing, to the inside that resembles looking up into the canopy of a rainforest - it is a site that HAS to be visited.

Park Guell was commissioned by Eusebi Güell (one of Antoni Gaudi's main patron's) who wanted to create one of the first gated communities for Barcelona aristocracy. Built high above the port of Barcelona with stunning views, the park contains amazing stone structures and stunning tile work.

Casa Batlló is one of the two great buildings on Passeig de Gracia, the other being La Pedrera. I love this description by Rainer Zervst:

"Mighty pillars that appear to resemble the feet of some giant elephant are the first thing to meet the eye of the passerby from street level. The roof reminds him of a completely different animal: it is bordered by a jagged line similar to the backbone of a gigantic dinosaur. A facade extends between the two, including a number of small, elegantly curved balconies that seem to stick to the front of the house like birds' nests on the face of the cliff. The facade itself glitters in numerous colours, and small round plates that look like fish scales are let into it. There are no edges or corners here; even the walls are rounded in undulations and have in essence the feel of the smooth skin of a sea serpent about them."

Casa Mila or, as it was known to the locals, "La Pedrera" meaning 'the quarry', confounded the populous of Barcelona. With its wavy exterior lines it resembles sand along the water's edge formed by the coming and going of the tides. From the interiors designed by Gaudi, through to the chimney pots on the rooftop and the tiles on the sidewalks outside - this is just another masterpiece designed to showcase the age of Art Nouveau, or as it was known in Spain, Modernista.

At the height of his career he was synthesizing the basic shapes of nature while applying them to architecture. A quote from the great man himself explains his passion for organic designs using metal workmanship and ceramics where most architects would use concrete:

"EVERYTHING COMES OUT OF THE GREAT BOOK OF NATURE." A. Gaudi

I encourage you to look up his works and discover the world that is Gaudi...