Juxtaposition

I vowed I would do a piece about the juxtaposition of black and white.  Black represents edginess and the white, sweetness.  I guess they are the two sides of me.  I like a little punk and I like a little victorian - I guess that's what you'd "steampunk".  So I set out to try and translate the two onto fabric, lace, beads, wool, wool curls, etc.  It's the etc. that took the time.

I don't plan as I create.  I just took a few pieces I had wet felted before and kept on adding new pieces.

The piece above left is wet felted black wool and cheesecloth.  There are those delicious wool curls on top of black wet felted wool and organza.

Small felted pieces and bigger ones layered this way and that - changed and re-attached.  

I ordered a black chain, a 2" piece of silver chain and some shiny black spike beads.  I already had some black and white pearl brads (used for scrapbooking).  It was like a jigsaw puzzle.  When it all seemed to fit, I used my embroidery machine to hold some of the pieces together.  Others were too think and had to be basted with thread.  Then I used the finest yarns (given to me by a friend who was cleaning out her stash).  They are from Henry's in New York.  Most of the yarns I used are from France and England.  Beautiful mohairs, cottons, and silk.  Yummy.  

I ended up turning the piece upside down and I chose to keep it that way.  Hours of hand sewing later.

silk cocoons with locks coming out and lovely thick mohair yarn woven into lacy black fabric.

When I work so long on a piece, each area has a feeling.  When I draped the black chain it felt somewhat odd to attach it to a piece of soft wool-but that's it isn't it? Each exists because of the other.  The edgy and dark is only so because of the white and the white is only pure and soft in contrast to the black. You could also say that the black is safe and one can hide in it and the white is too stark and can cut like ice.  

So they live together, soon to be stitched for the last time onto a 24" x 30" gallery wrapped canvas.