Sunday, July 15, 2012

committing large

This one is all hand basted but last night I dreamed about stitching it on the machine. Successfully combining machine and hand stitching in a large piece is my next great challenge. Arlee is going to be my go-to guru here as she has mastered the trick as far as I'm concerned.

I did some research on how long "Consolation"  took me to finish and at that rate, this new piece might not see an end until next Spring if  I do it all by hand.  No sacrifices or compromises here, just adaptations that will work on larger pieces.

There were great gifts and finds this weekend too. JR and I made a stop at OHCO in Covington and, dumped in a holding pen in the parking lot, I came across a few large expanses of a remarkable cloth that you will be seeing soon...next on the design wall, for sure.

When I finally got home there was a package with several of the most exquisite pieces of my all time favorite fabric, vintage cotton damask and what I call huck. Thank you so much Nancy! As soon as the weather dude promises me a hot, dry day, these will be taking part in the great BLACK DYE experiment.  More the the yet undiscovered Karma piece which I am slowly sneaking up on. Clink on these pictures to appreciate the  workmanship that went into them.


loose on the town

This weekend has been all about a good change of pace for me - away from work, the day job and the fiber studio.

These are my two best friends, Jan and Jan. Although I am not an introvert, I tend to be an insular person and I don't get out with like minded individuals so often that I don't recognize how special these times and friends are.

 Jan K has a friend and neighbor who frequently bestows her with Braves season tickets which she shares with me when I can free up my schedule. How could I not in Chipper Jones last season? It was a strange Friday 13th at the park, with all the luck running to amazing and serendipitous. The skies were abrew with heavy thunderstorms but not a drop fell all evening. The entire ballpark was darkened by a 16 minute power failure in the 2nd inning and not a soul in the place went Zombie crazy and acted up. We had great seats, great food and great company in the people who came out on a threatening evening to love on their team, watch them beat the NY Mets  AND the best fireworks I have seen since the bicentennial events in NY!



Saturday I spent the day with my other BF Jan.
We did time together at AT&T..only other former AT&T operators and call center employees could really appreciate that.  This day out will be our last for some time to come since she is taking an amazing opportunity to move to CA and be a part of her son's growing family while he returns to school. Although I will miss her, I can't help but be thrilled for her, she loves the SF Bay area so...and now I will have the ultimate excuse visit the west coast.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

jazzworking


why can't I remember how much better it always is with music? I could hardly nap I was so frothing to get on with this one..changes upon changes.  FYI it's about 42" high.




Tuesday, July 10, 2012

B&W in heavy weather



I had a two hour dinner break from work this evening.

The trees are thrashing about under darkening skies and the thunder and lightning are getting very serious. Power will probably go soon. We made up cold salads for dinner and I gobbled mine like a prison inmate and ran outside to get a few more pieces painted. All the while "George Harrison - Living in the Material World" playing in the background.

I scored a beautiful linen dress at GW today - here's one half of the front, the buttonholes ranked down the right side. There was also an enormous cotton lawn skirt..yards of white cloth, thank you Queen among women, and a teeny tiny white party dress..something a hooker might wear to a christening maybe. Halter top, peek a boos around the waist and a short flounced skirt, all in white cotton with tiny dots fuzziness woven all through.

All of them deconstructed and plunged into the sauce for further contemplation and action tomorrow. 


sad to say both of these were spoiled by my haste and optimism. It rained a lot harder than expected and too much water too soon smooshed paint and dye excessively...

Monday, July 09, 2012

thinking along those lines


I'm   starting to think about a Karma cloth.

I wanted more contrast that just dye would give me so I reworked these pieces with textile paint. My bag in the foreground  tells me how hard it's going to be for me to stick with just black and white so I'm not going to force the issue.
 
Spent a little while last night snapping the fuzz out of the latest batch of dyed cloth. With all those raw, torn edges why am I amazed at the amount of lint generated.  I even made bold with the iron for  while to seek out the true nature of some of the sorrier looking pieces.
 
Like civilized folk, we even had company for a little while. It was nice to see Jake and Missy.


( I do not put blue dye in my pool)



Sunday, July 08, 2012

finishing

I took advantage of the morning light to start the homestretch on Consolation. It's been trimmed, hemmed, fitted and generally civilized yet maintains it's original wildness. For me, being pleased with the journey of a piece is as strong as the satisfaction of finalizing it. I would guess that the proliferation of UFOs comes from when the artist, myself included, loses sight of this core idea, usually by letting the process or the materials take control. It's a constant battle.

I let both of them, process and materials, get the better of sense yesterday by spending several hours out on the dyedeck when it was too damn hot, again. The sky was overcast, in fact there was even a rain shower for a while, but the heat got the best of me and some stupid and ugly things came out of it. I didn't pay attention when a new discharging agent leaked into my left glove and  I reaped a mild chemical burn over most of my palm.  The cloth...a mixed bag of mutts that will need further work, but not today.

Thursday, July 05, 2012

I've started staring at some of the latest pieces from the ongoing dyefest. I thought I'd never see that Bonnie Blue again since it's been discontinued but apparently I've hit on the right blend of who knows what snip of sky and dash of deep blue sea. You'll be seeing a lot more of this color in my work. It pulls me like the sound of the surf.

While I was cleaning the pool this morning (must be in it to do a proper job) I was joined by a hitchhiker who plopped coldly onto my shoulder as I passed by the ladder. I wonder if he was one of the jillions tadpoles that I've rescued from the pool cleanings over the years?

Wednesday, July 04, 2012

a working 4th

My July 4th is probably a bit different than most folks. As a veteran of the phone company and the current employee of another round the clock operation, I'm accustomed to working on most of the major holidays. So it will be today. I will hear the local fireworks and give thanks for the drenching rain we had yesterday but keep my fingers crossed that some yahoo won't set fire to the neighborhood with illegal fireworks.

Knowing that the shank of the day would be taken up listening to people lie, complain, and whine, I officially set down the burden of judgement and started my day with a little creativity by rebooting my dye palette. I did a few direct dye painted pieces and left them in sun to bake.

They are all sparkly and intense while wet but don't get too excited. Experience has taught me that this method of applying dye results in weak, washed out colors. It's OK though cause I have a PLAN. It's all about the lines and shapes much more than the colors or lack thereof. Look, even the Table-moppers are having a good time.

Tuesday, July 03, 2012

July's crown

Thanks to number one son for capturing this for me. I took the cards outside for a blessing last night but didn't bother with the camera. I'm glad he was paying attention.  While I was grilling dinner this morning I broke my own vow and put a few more pieces into the dyes. Some rank scraps that needed over-dyeing, a piece of some stripey weirdness that Jake got for me at yard sale while we were in NY and a quarter of a spectacular damask tablecloth that arrived yesterday - the kind I love with the tiny dots all woven through.
 They shall stew under tonight's full moon. And now to swim until I prune.

Monday, July 02, 2012

dye day wrap up

When I took the new pieces out of the dryer this morning they seemed to be infested with LINT, as if I washed a tissue or two along with them only I know that's not the case. So I took everything out onto the upper deck to give it all a good snapping shake creating a snowstorm of fuzz. Happily they gave up the fuzz to a little vigor. Then I spent a quick half hour ironing this unruly lot.

 Compared to the shimmering delicacy of damask, this varying weights of linens are very masculine by comparison. Tough cloths, every one of them. A fiber gang. I'm glad the colors stayed as strong as I wanted for this first round.
I'm going to suspend further attempts on the dyedeck until this brutal weather backs off. I find myself skipping steps and forgetting what comes next. The pleasure in the doing is just not there under these extreme conditions.

For a few minutes the trees tossed and moaned last night and I hoped for a thunderstorm but nothing materialized.

I'm going to hunker down in the AC of the studio, think about what is next, work with what is already at hand and attend to a few administrative tasks I have been putting off, like ordering new business cards and redoing the website.

Little stuff, you know, like the Augean stables....

I've also decide to extend the sale in the store and will be adding some of these Tough Guys into the mix.

Sunday, July 01, 2012

poached linen and birthday festivities

Not the best picture but I like the way it lights up the room. One of my favorites from yesterday's foray into hot folly - trying to conduct a dyefest out on the deck like it was any other day off. Even though it is covered by a canopy, ( I call it the Burn Dyedeck for a good reason) yesterday (and today) was ridiculous at 104 degrees by noon. I really should have anticipated that soy wax would not behave in it's normal, docile and predictable fashion and that some colors would strike harder and faster while other would purely wilt as did yours truly. Even after a spell in the pool I was wiped out from heat. poached and not fit for much the rest of the day.

So no more day-long frenzys, going forward. I'll set up a few pieces in the early morning cool, leave them out to stew for the day and start all over again the next morning. I've converted a large cooler to a soda ash holding pot and there's plenty of white goods now with more coming in daily. Have to learn to pace myself.

And even further proof of my poached brains, I neglected to post in celebration of Colin's birthday. Jim went to great lengths to find a Carvel Cookiepuss ice-cream cake, and we gobbled it before it could melt. Mmmm... Ice cream cake for dinner.  Here's the birthday boy, my artistic accomplice.