Growing the Garden : In Full Bloom!

Her seeds were planted and nurtured with love and being softly spoken to in order that they would arise in their fullness of bloom.

The Second Bloom

Growing the Garden. Daisy is my most favorite flower. They were the flowers at our wedding in Ireland. 

I love them because they are simple and yet so happy. Solid yet feminine. They shine in full bloom.

As I researched Daisies a bit more, I found that they are my birth month- April's conjoined birth flower with Sweet Peas. Of course they are.

And as all things find their way to the right place...I had two exquisite vintage Daisies (yes, in green) that I knew belonged with this piece. I have cherished these daisies for probably 20 years and now was their time to bring joy to another soul!

The Second Bloom symbolizes your time to ascend no matter your age or what life had previously been. It is an invitation to welcome the new, in a sense rebirth, and to share it with others. To set forth with your own devotion to come into your own true full blossom. 

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Two Daisies

These Daisy stems hold quotes:

Never underestimate the power or a seed

For many years now I have planted seeds of my life and now they are blossoming. I have a deep devotion to living my life as an artist. That is why I am here...to help others find their own beauty of  blossoming through my teachings of art and yoga. 

Use your energy to believe, create, and grow

I have found that for me the two intertwine -art and yoga. The beauty and gentleness of both while holding strong and continuing to learn so I can share my technical and heartful experiences as one.

Details: Vintage silk flower , vintage velvet leaves, quotes printed on silk, Cotton print fabric with topstitching and blue flower free form embroidered. NOTE: Seeds planted and stem end.

The Garden 庭 Niwa

It was very important to me to create a piece that spoke of being painterly. The skirt and coordinated top fabric I chose has such a beautiful water color effect, that I wanted that carried to her face, hands and feet.

Details: Sculpted clay head with silk - linen weave- overlay. Body sewn in same silk. Dyes of water color and ink. Hand Painted eyes, Hair of  hand dyed tussah silk. NOTE: Seeds at/of the heart.

Full Bloom

In this case, it is all about the skirt from where The Garden nestles.

The Garden is also about growth. As Daisy also represent new beginnings, hope, and rebirth...I wanted this skirt to carry the fullness of this symbolism. 

Details: Wall piece. 

Hat top to toes 30-inches.

It's all about the Hat...

In most - well probably- all of my one of kinds pieces, there is a hat (or a headdress) incorporated. I just have a love of hats within my art. I believe there is a magic in hats! 

As I love to include a surprise in usually my linings of soles of shoes...

Details: Hat all silk, Lining of magenta silk.

Vintage velvet leaves and hat band.

In keeping with the clothing, 

I included my signature topstitching in the hat.

Her hat called to be tall as if still reaching for the sky...for the sun.

Close ups

May your seeds be ever blooming.

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Growing the Garden: Gathering the Seeds

She came to me as a Seed...she floated down ever so gently to arrive and come through my hands. The Garden.

The Garden 庭 Niwa

Gardens or Niwa provided a means of achieving the peace of mind for which rulers so desperately sought during the periods of strife and conflict which marked much of Japan's history.

When some ideas come to me, they can arrive so gently that I may think they were there all along!

This was the case with The Garden. First as planting the seed into the soft earth and then watering and nurturing her in silence to have her sprout and then fully blossom. Everything was already there...patiently waiting.

So many of you know my walk of my art journey. I would say in the last 6-7 years it has a solid devotion in symbolism and has become a walk of the spirit and how I express that through my art.

Gathering of the Seeds

They all start with the body. In this next group that I will be creating will be Black Madonna, The Garden, and Frida (as a full figure).

Seeds

Seeds come to this earth with their blueprint within them. 

They know why they are here and what to do next.

They start in the darkness and then sprout to find the light.

These piece- the body is the seed and the bud starts in the fabric selection to start to create the petals- symbolically speaking.

Buds

I select my fabrics. Cottons and silks.

And as I stand looking at them it becomes very obvious which ones I will use!

The bottom three...

Small Petals emerge.

I quickly sketch her so that she will not drift away to find another artist to bring her to this realm where we live. 

I find for me, a quick sketch keeps the idea in my head but gives me plenty of room to be flexible as I proceed along!

Petals emerge at their own rate.

I draft her costuming and set to work, pulling out other needed supplies, pressing, drawing, sewing. "Watering as necessary."

Fabric

It is laid out in front of me, the smoothness as I run my hand over it speaks of being well-balanced in the vertical and horizontal weaves. Working with the finest of supplies/materials I can purchase set up a pathway to do my best work. Just feeling the quality of the fabric, engages me to create as beautifully as this fabric was woven.

Initially the drafted design- the skirt- is machine sewn together as separate pieces. Later all the be handsewn together to create the full skirt (and jacket).

I am then able to add my signature topstitching to each of the three pieces. I used a variegated thread to add to the happiness of this fabric.

The periwinkle-blue flowers drew me right in and I felt that I needed to add to the gloriousness of them!

So, I reviewed free motion embroidery (on YouTube) got out my presser foot and set to work.

It probably has been twenty years or so since I have last used this and what a joy!!!

Every blue flower was embroidered!

You can see here in the lining, the flowers and also how I create my topstitching design to follow the print of the fabric- sewing around each set of blue flowers.

The Undergarments

As I have created the outer garments with these beautiful fabrics, I desired the under garments to be of the same quality.

I wanted a underskirt of white eyelet and found this vintage eyelet. It is wonderful- you can tell that is is all cotton including the embroidery.

Next I added in a bit of color to connect with the outer skirt. 

I used Procion dyes for natural fabrics. It is a powder to water ratio that determines  your color...and of course I mix my dyes using several colors to get it just right.

Last step was to add the free form embroider to the blue flowers!

Here is a close up of the underskirt as well as the pantaloons made in Japanese cotton with dyes vintage lace edging.

Next Week:
Full Bloom of Niwa- The Garden

Until then-

xoxo Leslie