Grateful

 

I could not ask for a more perfect coda to a dyefest than an all-day rain. Lightning just flashed and thunder rolled in from far off. The light is pinking up.

 I was exhausted by the time I finished the last of the threads. The break for watching the eclipse was enough to get me through basic cleanup. 

By evening the certainty of today's rain pushed me to spend the early evening finishing the threads in the kitchen while I listened to a ballgame on the radio. I'm grateful that I did. The cloth I left for the rain to handle.

Speaking of gratitude, this post set the tone for my day. Thanks, Dee. 

As intended, there's a delicacy, an understatement to the color of this lot of thread. Some of the subtly was intentional, some not. The blues lost some ground because it was just not hot enough for them even in the sun. Time has proven that turquoise and his cousins need 80 degrees to come through strong.

It's going to be a few days before I start posting these for sale.

image by Diana Taylor. "All Night Rain" by the Atlanta Rhythm Section

Dyfest eclipsed

 Did I mention the magic ingredient is sweat? All the thread has been washed,rinsed,and laid out to dry. Tomorrow we'll see what gives. I worked slowly. Being methodical, correcting colors at the halfway mark. Broadening my willingness to accept a color made me a little cranky. Maybe it was the time constraint of the eclipse. I wrapped up about fifteen minutes before the peak dark. Sat out front with the cats and observed with my cardboard glasses.

I shot this over my shoulder without looking. The fur people were unfazed. They noticed, but seemed to be underwhelmed.

Start Your Engines!

 The weather is cooperating albeit a little chilly right now, but by noon the sun will be over the yardarm and I'll have the heat the process needs, fingers crossed. I hope to have everything done and dusted by the time the eclipse starts. My most distinct memory of the last eclipse is how weird colors looked as the moon and sun did their dance. Not trusting one's eyes was disorienting.

Here's where any help or instructions I have to offer will fall short because, during the color mixing process, words fail and instinct takes over. I have eleven of these little shakers left. One went AWOL somewhere under the deck where it's now king of spiders and slugs, forever. I sometimes wonder what color was in it, but not enough to crawl down there and find out. Eleven is a good number. 

 

I started with the notion of three sets of primaries with each set having a warm, neutral, and cool. But things went sideways quickly when I remembered that I also wanted some complimentary blends or browns. 

I've also started something new. That stainless steel shaker has a little bit of everything with a hot dose of Raven. A dollar well spent at GW.

None of these hopefuls will prove out until the dye hits the cloth and thread. That might be the most exciting part of the process. I don't measure anything so every color created at the kitchen table is unique, a true one-of-a-kind. 

When I get outside, I find myself saying "Yay" or "Yuck" and yucks can be amended quickly by adding color in whatever direction I think it needs. 

Winding, measuring, and tying off the skeins is something that happens while I'm half-watching TV reruns.  

                           Vroom vroom!

eclipse eve

 

Go here for the rest of it. Keep your eye on the guy on the right.

I've been looking at color all day. Broke out the acrylics and paper for a little flexing. The deck wasn't as bad as I thought. Pick up and hose off mostly. 

I've been leafing through a kind of color Bible.

My big color compass, Joan Mitchell.  (Liz- our exchange in the comments is still relevant)

 

I must have a dozen of these steel hotel pans all over the house. Bathrooms, studio, kitchen. They are so useful. Tomorrow I'll use them for steeping a few larger pieces of cloth. Let them stew in their juices during the eclipse. 

Everything is filled with fresh water because the hose head leaks. The front end of my process is relatively low water. The next day, I pray for rain to help with the first rinse. 

The new Thyme in the foreground and the Old Lavender are so alike in form, but so different under the nose. And look at the moss growing on the sides of the fiber pots!

A cover

 

Once I get fixated on a title that would mean carved in Carrera marble if I had the skills and I crave the skills. 

You know there are videos of sweaty, muscled guys chiseling marble statues? Quite mesmerizing to see art materialize from a lump of rock. 

This would be my version, minus the sweat and muscles, of bringing an idea to life.

Parking this for a while because I have to finish prepping the dye deck for tomorrow.

What will you be doing during the eclipse?