I know getting too excited about hand dyes before they have been washed and dried can sometimes lead to disappointment but I have good feeling about this group.
Odilon's pallette was ringing in my brain I think.
and sometimes you can tell it was a great day at the Dyeworx when the table mopper turns out like this one.
We were home from Dr. Nick's by 8:45. By 9am I was stuffed with breakfast and nodding off on the couch blissful with the leftover anesthesia. Everything is peachy and that's all I'll say about it except that everyone reading this should ask their doctor when they should have a colonoscopy. My husband's baseline screening at aged 53 saved his life. What more could I add?
By noon I was well enough to don the mask and gloves and mix up some new colors and just get crazy.
The whole cloth piece above is a commercial table cloth I got from OHCO for 2$. It's 5'x5' and I guess that 100% cotton label was telling the truth. We'll see what washes out and what remains.
More wishpots taking on new hues.
and a bunch of miscellaneous cottons from sacking to lawn. These were all soaked in soda ash, allowed to dry and then layered into the jars with several colors of dye. Something new abrew.
Thanks to Lines and Colors for reconnecting me with Odilon Redon and leading me to Cure the Blind. These and Lorraine Glessner's (exquisite encaustic) "Oh, What World, What a World" are my solution for I don't get out much anymore....
If my internet behaves I will be using it to distract me from my first adventure in fasting. I'm embarrassed to admit in front of a world that starves on a daily basis that I don't think I've ever gone a day (let alone 24 hours) without eating anything but there you have it. In preparation for my first colonoscopy (why do I think of My First Communion?). Sad to say the gallon of nasty that I'll have to consume later this evening does not come in Merlot or Mimosa.
After spending some time looking at a variety of his work I get the feeling that Odie and I would have gotten along quite famously. Can you believe that someone put a poster of this cyclops painting in the children s library where I spent a lot of my childhood? I think the spider print was in the restroom too.
Odilon's nearly abstracts are inspirational for this surface designer.
A package from Dharma came yesterday bringing colors that I have never worked with so, under the altered state of Hungry, I will be mixing up some new dyestock this morning and working on some new wholecloth notions that have been clamoring for attention.
These are some of the fabrics that I discharged with painters tape and Softscrub yesterday.
Any artist who has cats has probably never worked on anything without some feline assistance.
Once this was all pinned down I had to spend half an hour with tape before I could start stitching.
Closing doors is not an option with Jinx. If you are not in the room she dig up the carpet in an effort to get under the door. If you are in there, she will beat her head against the door until you cave in and open up.
Shadow Fence #1
16"x20"
I working the grid again for the moment only I'm more interested in what is not there in the spaces between.
It's very satisfying taking to take a murky, unsuccessful piece of hand dyed cloth and bring it back to something with potential.
I stuck these scaps down to the work table with grids of painter's tape and then paint the openings with Softscrub. And then, you wait and see what happens.
Now to dig into a comfy chair and see how to organize some of these with needle and thread.
This one was started with Elmer's glue as a resist, dyed and now discharged. The cotton seems to be getting stronger the more things I do to it.
It's my GoodMan's birthday today so the cloth is taking a back seat to the party preparations.
I forgot how discharging hand dyes will reveal the various layers secrets that go into making darkness on cloth. A bit of black damask...
Who knew what was hiding under there? This piece of black cotton was jammed up in my vacuum cleaner.
and here's a snatch of ancient tee shirt...
I have a small cloth bag that I take to the office with me each day and when time permits, I can work on small projects.
When I went into the studio this morning my intention ( I have jet Runways of intentions paved straight to the gates of hell!) was to start creating some order. Instead I started pulling bits of this and that with the brand new and more reachable intention of restocking my go bag.
Back to the grid, I'm feeling, without wondering why about it. Needle and thread. Eyeball the line. Go with the grain and allow for the color this time.
I am half way through the complex boogie that ensues when you commit to an overdue, full physical at my age.
Happily, I talked the doc out of the MRI=shots=surgery routine she was considering when xrays of my spine recalled certain snake breeds.
Instead, I will be having physical therapy lessons in a Pool. How hilarious is that? Instead of an asshat of poison and pain I get splashing around and fun!
The sun plans to blaze the day blue and toasty here today so that means I have to take advantage of time on deck studio.
I went out to tidy up and my largest rinse tub was full of murky water so I dumped it over the side and look what fell out! These three pieces were put in for a last rinse and overlooked when I took things up to the washing machine.
Now they've been painted with textile paints and once dry will be heat set and stacked away with the others waiting for their turn.
Above is a piece of vintage damask. To the left, another one.
And this is a large piece of that vintage feed sack cloth. This fabric is sturdy and has a course texture. Think heavy gauze or cheesecloth on steroids.
The spots are metallic Jacquard textile paint in several levels of gold.
Lately I've noticed a lot of people posting about time management. The fact that I was reading these posts tells me that I have to reconsider what I do with what little free time I have.
Sometimes things just get in the way. You've probably noticed that my work swings wildly between large, machine stitched pieces and tiny little hand held meditations that are 100% done by hand.
Those are the things that I can work on while I am at my job. I find myself focusing closer and closer on these little things - I tried separating the ply at the end of the tail here with the intent of braiding it but the cotton just fell apart in my fingers.
This morning I'm devoting to stitching on this big piece and later, if the sun comes out, taking outside for painting. I need to move this one along. Other things are waiting.
Today is our 32nd wedding anniversary..here I am showing off my engagement ring to my family.
They are no longer skeptical about the match.
Jimmy told me he bought the ring earlier in the fall and kept unwrapping it to show his sisters.
I found it tied with a ribbon around the neck of a little plastic turtle in the bottom of my Christmas stocking.
I have been bending his ear for all these years and he remembers every thing I say.
And he makes me laugh every day.
With apologies to the unknown author, this, from the card he gave me this morning.
"The man who is deeply
in love with his wife
is a man who has all
he could want in this life"
I had forgotten how much I could wring from a day started early. Got to do it again tomorrow no matter how tough the start up feels.
some of these pieces will be going into the world
and some of them won't be going anywhere!
some are just for fun
and all were fun and interesting to make. That's a stalk of French lavender in front of the piece on the right. One little intoxicating blossom. I cannot imagine standing in a field in bloom. And see the teeny tiny little tomato next to the blue piece.
It's Jake's birthday. My youngest chick is 24 today and treating himself to a day off from work but chances are real good you'll find him in this selfsame pose, his favorite place to be, under the hood of something greasy that needs a master's touch.
There are spice cupcakes to be baked,
new cloth to be ironed and photographed for sale at
Fiber Fandango and more in the process all while the cupcakes are baking.(you should see me juggle!!)
I've also taken another cheapskates flying leap at an online art venue here. Any input regarding my choices of work posted would be welcome. It seems like I can't bring myself to commit to more than $25 for any sort of entry fee on spec these days.
and the pool is open and needs daily tending which is my personal physical and mental therapy.
I am always cheered on by the lifeguards hard at their posts.
This is what happens. They breed!
Even though I had any color I wanted at hand, these are the ones that were called for at the moment.
Boston beanpots for elves?
I've answered my own question.
The making/doing is just what's needed at the moment, no more or less. Thank goodness the moment will shift or pass in time.
Why does making a thing become obsessive?
Why do people fall into patterns of focusing too intently on making or doing something that seems to have no point or purpose?
Although it took only a few innings to crochet, I spent most of the morning dyeing and painting it.
Once it was nearly dry I treated it with acrylic medium so now it's stiff. If you click on the picture you can see the metallic powder that was mixed into the glaze. Maybe I should take up pottery.
You can't see it over the edge but there's a penny in there with maybe room for three more to cover the bottom of this vessel.
But there's nothing like some freshly hatched color to bring me to my senses.
Anyone who knits or crochets probably has a favorite combination of yarn and needle(s) and a simple stitch. Something that just flows from your fingertips without any effort and little thought. That's how I feel about this cotton string and now I need more of it.
This little basket has a square bottom and I left the tail on it on purpose. Baskets with tails. Legs and teeth.
I didn't care for the pale colors so this has been stuck in a jar with one of these.
Since I have to leave for work soon, they will get what's an extended batching around here, my house of impatience and rush.
Speaking of Keepers, I just keep cranking out these cotton things between phone calls.
The pink one is fresh from a very satisfactory dye test. The white one I made around my new cell phone last night in about 3 innings of baseball. For the moment, the shapes and sizes are all cute and utilitarian ( and will all be up for sale after they all get some color) but I can feel creatures wanting to take shape as I crochet. Working with this 100% cotton is like carving butter, effortless and fun. Time for a new cone soon.
I'm still thinking and researching better ways to make a template for my batik experiments. Using one template and then picking it up and repositioning it again
is not the answer.
All I have to do now is follow it.
I should not have attempted this on a day when I have to leave for work. All the lost definition on this piece is due to not keeping the soy wax hot enough to penetrate the fabric. Every single step was rushed.
I'll try again on Saturday when I can give the whole day to whatever it takes.
The table mopper below came out almost more interesting.
Here's part of what sucked up my day yesterday, although my only part was getting the plants into the ground. Within minutes of finishing, the skies opened up. This weather has been a farmer's dream. Now we'll see if a few rows of marigolds will repel invaders at I've heard they will.
We also finished filling the pool and just now, getting the pump up and running.
I can't believe I deleted the process photos that preceded this one!
The foam templates worked just fine with the hot soy wax. No issues from the heat but after two applications I have to take a minute to flex off the wax buildup so the lines will remain crisp.
I had to use the positive of this design because I neglected to connect the cut out hearts and ovals this time. Painting around the shape with a fat brush and hot wax took about an hour for a yard. Now it's stretched out on the worktable outside sprayed with dye + soda ash. I wish it were warmer and sunnier outside but this wonderful farmer's weather is supposed to stick around until the weekend.
I canned these last night. The yellows are some find Kona (thanks Linda C.) and some 99 cent muslin from OHCO. The pink is a piece of that vintage feed sack cloth.
Errands to attend to now while they are in the dryer. Wax when I get back.
Maybe before midnight.
Consumerizing ate up the day and when I got back, Farmer Jim was ready to start planting. We have a veggie plot now, ringed by marigolds which were all gotten into the freshly tilled and vastly improved, miserable Georgia clay between thunderstorms. Pictures tomorrow, maybe. Meanwhile the pool is nearly filled, the tree frogs are disapproving of the clean cold water and with any luck, tonight they will relocate back down to the creek.
Thinking things through is an art that I have gotten out of touch with, if I ever had a grasp on it at all.
Instead of more whining about needing a new, better digital camera, I am taking the time to sit with my A95 and, one by one, go through all it's functions, features and adjustments to find out what I've been missing. Lots, it seems.
Of course the first thing I did when
I got the camera was pitch the instruction manual in the "read someday" pile. Every gadget comes with a Quick Start one sheet that was enough to get me going. All these years later, it's like having a new camera!
I started making templates for my batik experiment using sheets of craft foam. It's flexible, waterproof, cuts like butter but I wonder how it's going to like hot soy wax? Maybe I should test a piece before I waste any more time cutting out paper weirdies.
