old paths, new stones

My moods revolve, never swoop, between swashbuckling exuberance and a 1000-yard stare at the state of all things. For the moment, I'm staring and savoring. Jim has gone back to work full time so no more of that coddling the artist nonsense - I will be shopping, cooking and cleaning with the rest of the working world and doing it with a joyful heart but spooked that I won't ever do it as well as he did. And now I've stumbled on yet another way of making a statement with fabric and color. In this instance, that statement is more of a hissed intimation or mumbled prayer. These are stains that fell out as a byproduct of my Sharpie & alcohol experiments. Fey and fierce at the same time, I'm giving them a new context on a new summer fling. I'll be traveling soon and want to have a heady hand project to take along. This will more than fit the bill.

Happy 4th of July

My 4th of July needed more than just red, white and blue. I'm particularly pleased with the results because I already have a plan for these pieces. No surprises, no new techniques, no serendipity. Just exactly what I needed, when I needed it. Who could ask for more? All this and family, a pool, roasted corn, fresh strawberries over pound cake and fireworks over the neighborhood (like it or not) as night falls.

"VERITAS"

...I saw that tattooed on a guy's forearm in the grocery store this morning. He caught me looking and I didn't hang around to see what was on the other arm. Has anyone actually read the entire Declaration of Independence lately? Ever? I confess, no, but this morning on NPR it was read aloud in what has become an annual tradition. I was captivated by the dense but precise language and after a long list of grievances, (there was a lot to kick about) it was the wrap up that really grabbed my attention back : "...And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor." Stunning. We have got to get back to that garden

new thinking about worth

A new approach to marketing and pricing.

little bits and barter (image updated)

File under "things you will find when shoveling out the studio". This little (10x10) grid play started with a piece of that strange, dense cotton batting that was too heavy and dense to go inside even a small piece. It took dye wonderfully and I have another half dozen in various colors. I was whining to the QA Choir yesterday (lesson learned, btw) about the time and energy that marketing ones art takes these days and wondering about the state of Barter in the fiber art world. Tell me about your experiences if you've had any, good or bad.

While the cicada are chewing the air

strange skies

When I got out of work last night the sky had just passed over into indigo and the crescent moon was a fuzzy pink color. Passing strange. While no one was looking, a flock of cusspots got color out on the deck.

the trouble in new techniques...

...is not getting carried away with the doing of the thing and not thinking about ways to integrate it into the real work of art, the intent and the design of a piece. There's some debate about whether this stuff is light fast enough to bother with, much less incorporate in any kind of art so I'm going to put some of these pieces out in the sun to bake with tape on them just to see what gets lost over a set period of time. Anyone recognize my failed batik attempt? The fade and glow reminds me a lot of the doodles I used to do in art school using Dr.Ph. Martins superdooper intense watercolor concentrates. The stuff cost like blood but I had a mess of them and used them too excess at every opportunity. Hey, it was the 60's!

doodling dots

Karma Approved Work. I know I missed doodle wednesday - I was waiting on 20 minutes to work with a new technique. The results make me think of encaustic - something that's always drawn my eye. Here we have encaustic in cloth. sort of. Actually, it's Sharpies treated with rubbing alcohol. ...a whole new alphabet of color and ways to fling it about.

dotz

Just waiting on the moon, I guess. Before the dotz these cloths were sad. Now they are humming with life. Stone Roses too.

hand dyes for sale

Many of the pieces I made this weekend were big enough for me to take a chunk for myself and put the rest up for sale here: I'll be posting more pieces as soon as I can. There's enough good stuff to share. If you are only interested in 1/2 of a piece we can work it out.