Three years since my 1001 beads - not that I counted!

In June 2012 I was part of a team of artists who created textile and mixed media pieces for an initiative under the...

Posted by Azra Momin on Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Adding more pics to my Textile Art and Jewelry album

Working with thread and needle is incredibly therapeutic. Yes, sometimes I have to unravel what I did, and sometimes the...

Posted by Azra Momin on Sunday, January 11, 2015

Hats And Salads

Weird mix?

Not when you think SUMMER!!!

OK, so we had another rogue snowfall just last week,

but Spring IS officially here,

which means Summer will be upon us

before you can say ICE CREAM!

I found a lovely cotton hat at the dollar store.

Yup, the dollar store.

It's a sweet unbleached linen look cotton,

but what hat can't use a little dressing up, right?

So ta-da!  Instant reincarnation!

Well, not so instant, actually,

but worth the effort, I think!

 

I thought I'd make a red and white flower,

but my hand went straight to the blues and greens.

 
I did put in a white layer too to add a little something :)

And a sequined applique to tie in the juiciness...

I loved the sorbet-like shades, but I hadn't made it for me.

Thankfully, the NanoBot critiqued it and found it wearable - whew!

And now on to the salad!

What looks like tiny birdseed,

grows a tail when cooked,

and is an ancient Inca Super Food to boot?

Why, quinoa, of course!

Quinoa, a complete protein, 

and a gluten-free food 

has been around for thousands of years.

The Incas valued it so much

that they considered it sacred.

 

So. Wash some quinoa 

- I took a bit of both red and white types - 

soak overnight, rinse and cook until tender, or until 

the quinoa is happy enough to sprout tails 

and be all soft and mushy.

Rinse off with cold water in a fine sieve,

and you're ready to add whatever you like!

I've tried it many different ways,

and it's mild enough to go with 

a bunch of different things.

You can even sub it for rice and oatmeal!

 
For this salad I used cherry tomatoes, carrots, 

chickpeas, cucumber, apples and parsley

all dressed in lemon juice and olive oil.

Salt and pepper and crumbled feta and a short sojourn

in the fridge to meld the flavors made it delectable.

 You could add cooked meat to this and make it a meal.

Now put on your summer hat and enjoy

this cool treat, will you?

And if you make it some other way, do share!

Niagara Region textile and mixed-media project - I'm in!!!

The Niagara Region Textile and Mixed-Media Project - 

sounds yummy, doesn't it?

It's going to be a permanent exhibit for the region,

and I am one of the 14 artists working on it!

I'm so excited to be part of something like this - 

it's like being part of the history of Niagara - YAY!

So these are the three pieces I had submitted 

for the juried selection.  The actual piece I'll be 

working on will be about 2 feet by 5 feet - that's big!

They'll tell us exactly what it'll be in a few days.

I do know that it will be based on the Niagara Escarpment.

I thought it would be a good idea to show a mix of techniques...

This one is lots of fabric collage and hand-stitching...

 

 

This one has beading as the main focus...

And this one is all about playing with texture...

there's paint, machine-stitching, layering...

All three pieces are in frames and behind glass,

so it's not the best pics I took...

I'll find out more about the project soon - 

April 3 is the day!

WIP

My poor camel!

It has yet to see the light of day,

although I did make ONE drawing (see below).

This is my first ever camel!

Actually, it's not mine at all...

I looked at a drawing here, and another one here

and made a sketch.

Sort of to get the feel of drawing this strange humped creature.

My own camel will have to be...my own drawing, of course,

but Google is a great help in sticky situations!

Meanwhile, more fabric!

These pics are pretty awful, btw;

it looks much better in person.

I made the bird as a brooch, originally, 

but ended up using it here.

It's painted satin, cut out and edged with cord.

I added beads and embroidery on top - it's pretty sweet,

although you don't see the colors much in these pics.

I like how the right-sized button turned out to have 

Good Luck inscribed on it.

After all, a bird in the bush is worth several in the hand :)

Captured Colors

A series of reds and pinks...

And a woodsy brown and green.