Indigo Island was made in the summer of 2021. I never managed to make a post of this work, so I am giving an account of the process. It came about as I wanted to continue making pieces that evoked the passage of time. Also, I wanted to go back into a mixed media approach, combining my favourite materials – paper and fibre.
This piece took some time due to the multiplicity of processes – which is how I tend to work. I prepare the textile using plants. I use leaves from my garden to make “imprints”. Below is an example of the results during the preparatory phase.
Once I am satisfied, I choose a section of fabric that becomes my background/support. The fun can then begin – experimenting with the assemblage of made objects. In this piece, I am using crochet motifs, little embroidered parcels of fabric, and my quilling. I keep making and meandering until I find my “island”, somewhere in tropical warm waters.
Everything is affixed to the support using stitches that I make ‘invisible’ as much as possible. Below is my seed stitch (backstitch) work that provided a textural element. I am using linen, which proved to be effective in making this ‘granular feel’. This process is very calming and meditative.
I continue to build the piece in my typical meandering way, with no specific plan. I do tend to do this exploratory way of working, which from the outside can seem time-consuming. However, this period of maturation is what “makes” the work – time literally imprinted on the piece.
The Art of Jeff Ting 