Ali George Artist

For years I've been dyeing and hand printing most of the fabrics I use in my practice. Each piece has been unique and, to an extent, difficult to replicate. I wanted to bring my drawings, prints and doodles to life and this is the first. I really like the feel of Spoonflower's Petal Signature Cotton, although the background would have been better as pure white - this piece has a blue-ish tone. I'm going to love putting this piece under the needle.  

  Scaling up an image of the Brisbane River to develop the substrate for a new art quilt. Each square needs to be 6cm x 6cm to make a finished size of 5 cm square.  I created a "to scale" model of the finished quilt on drafting paper. I printed an image of the river (attribution below) and then scaled it up to get a fairly accurate flow across the quilt.  The substrate rightly tells the background story. It is the foundation on which the main elements or features reside. So it isn't the "hero" of the piece - it needs to be recognised and visible without overwhelming the piece.   I can now easily identify which squares hold a section of the river and start to experiment on piecing, applique, fusing, printing, and painting to learn which gives the best outcome for the substrate.  (Brisbane River original image: Magpie Shooter; edited version Paulguard at en.wikipedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/indix.php?curid=9724127) My foundation piece might well end u...

  I've been limited for studio supplies and space for about two years,  confined to a 16-square Kallax and a sewing table. (OK, full disclosure, there are a couple of bolts of PFD fabric in a back room I have accessed for dyeing). Two boxes contain finished quilts tops in need of quilting, there are protein and plant based fabrics ready to dye, hand dyed and printed lengths, my mark making equipment and a box of office supplies. The open shelves contain the things that make me smile (top row) and the resources that inspire me like books, journals and sewing supplies (second row).  The restrictions have been in terms of available space, resources and time. I'm confined to 4 metres x5 metres after having access to a large, outdoor barn/studio and an internal sewing room/spare bedroom.  When we moved from Tarome we had pared down our belongings to such an extent that more than half the remaining cartons were filled with art and studio supplies.  There are about 25...

  Priority #1 Create: Experimenting with a new carving inspired by brilliant Australian designer Francis Burke , Finnish artist Maija Isola and Swedish designer Stig Lindberg.  I am experimenting on a former hotel tablecloth. It is one of many end-of-life hotel linens I purchased through a disposals agent. They are mostly a cotton/poly blend. They are invaluable for test prints. The process ground to a halt when my assistant  tried printing with his inked up wirehaired haunches. After a few days of drying (the cloth, not the assistant) I'm ready to continue. Many lessons and tweaks from our session. The solid rectangles overwhelm the more delicate stem and bud shapes. An issue with scale perhaps. I'll continue without re-carving the block. Repetition of itself is pleasing to the eye and the registration quality could, in the wisdoms of Shunryu Suzuki, do with a little improvement. Textile: used tablecloth, 75% cotton and 25% polyester printed with original linocut design...