A Short Vacation

We are taking a little stay-at-home-on-the-island vacation this week to enjoy time with our daughter, visiting from Outside. 

We went Out the Road for a long hike and a hot dog picnic yesterday.  The tide was out and this rocky place on the tide flats begged for investigation.

Flossy and our girl examining a crab shell

lichens in an amazing shade of chartreuse - they apparently survive under salt water at high tide

Back to reality next week, but it has been quite relaxing to be away from the usual routine for a few days.  Hope you are all having a good weekend as well.

Scene, Recently #24

'Spring?' Pigma pen and watercolor in 9x6 sketchbook

standing on the blind slough bridge looking south

daily drawing watercolor, Pigma pen and Prismacolor pencil in 9x6 sketchbook

standing on the Blind Slough bridge looking north

Three Ring Circus

Whew!  The days sure flew by this week, kicking off with a wearable art workshop I taught through our wonderful local library.

I had one student, J, a very focused third grader who brought her own recycled fabrics and great design idea drawn up in her sketch book.  Very impressive!

headband sketch by 8 year old student

While my librarian friend and I cut out flower shapes for her, J stitched away on her project, attaching the flowers to her t-shirt with buttons and beads and sequins.  

She designed this charming headband to accessorize her outfit (see sketch above).

After 2 solid hours of determined hand sewing, J's wearable art was complete. She was pleased and we were amazed at her tenacity.

Back at my studio, more wearable art is evolving as I develop a second 'look' for next month's show.  This one will be modeled by a young friend of mine.  

The base for the head piece is 16 ga. wire bent to encircle the head and rest on the shoulders

Cardboard shoulder pieces being attached to the wire frame with paper mache.  (My paste recipe is 1.5 parts flour to 1 part cool water plus .25 part white glue, stirred smooth).

These silk yoyos will adorn the head piece, along with leaves fashioned from the velveteen I dyed last week.

Hand-dyed rayon with Dynaflow textile paint vines and leaves.   (These are incorporated into the skirt).

I also spent some time wandering through my fabric deciding on a split complementary palette for the next Fiberactions challenge.  All in all, a great work week.  I like the three-ring circus approach, do you?

Daily Drawing

'Leafy' - study for wearable art; pigma pen and prismacolor pencil in 9x6 sketchbook

Flossy taking a refreshing nap - pigma pen in 9x6 sketchbook

Happy Equinox to all!  Hope you are enjoying the transition of the seasons.

Works in Progress

This cotton was soaked in soda ash and dryed, ironed, and stamped with thickened Procion dye.  When it dried, I tied one piece up with rubberbands and folded the other tightly.

bound for the dye pot

They both went into low-water immersion dye pots and sat there overnight.

Here's what they look like all ironed out.  I have them on the design wall at this point, considering my next move. 

 
The rest of the work week was spent finishing my wearable art for next month's show.  Here are a couple more peeks:

head gear

neckline

Spring equinox is right around the corner!

Monochrome Challenge

The Fiberactions challenge this time was to create with a monochromatic palette (one color plus black and white).  Hope you enjoy seeing details of the two pieces I finished in response to this excellent creative limitation.

'Moonlight Flight'; 21"x14.5"; textile paint and machine quilting on commercial cotton

'Village'; 15"x42.5"; textile paint and machine quilting on commercial batik

I used textile paints applied with brushes and my own original rubber stamp designs.   All the stitching is done on my Viking ‘Lily’ sewing machine with some metallic threads for accent in the blue piece.    

The batting is two layers of cotton flannel.  The binding is rat tail cord zigzagged around the raw edges.

Scene Recently, #23

New Old Stuff

studio window sill and a small assemblage made with found objects

I got out my Procion dye now that the studio is warm enough (barely) to cure it, and I had to have more organza for my wearable art Dragon Gown.  Wonderful to be back pouring pure colors over white cloth again!  Really, really wonderful.

I found a small (12"x18" or so) cloth I had started as a sample in the class I taught last spring and added to it with thickened black dye using my stamps.  The next day I threw it in a container and poured dye and soda ash on it.  I can't wait to get back and rinse it out.

There was time to contemplate the window sill, and think in the studio sketchbook which lead to drawing which lead to cutting a few new stamps.

This week some major stuff is going to be different suddenly.  The Sailor is shipping out.  An old friend is coming back for a visit. There is disturbing news from Other Parts of the World.  I need to stay here, now, not living out there in the future or slogging away in the past.

 

Art will be my Savior.

Daily Drawing

If you have been reading here for awhile, you know that I am an advocate of drawing, and make it a priority each evening, stopping whatever I am doing by about 9:30pm to dive into my sketchbook for awhile before putting the cats out and climbing the stairs for the night.  (Flossy sleeps in her kennel).  This sketchbook time is valuable for lots of reasons - here is a partial list:

1. Drawing is very relaxing.
2. Drawing keeps my hand practiced and my eye sharp - important since I have the Mighty Mighty Day Job three days a week instead of studio time.
3. Drawing helps me figure out issues I am dealing with in my studio work.
4. Drawing is a way of recording the events of my day and my inner emotional landscape.
5. Drawing is PLAY!

Here is what I have drawn in the past week - notice the variation in style which I think is a product of allowing myself to wander freely about the page (or my unbalanced mental state)!

 I am working in a 9"x6" (22.86cmx15.24cm) Aquabee Super Deluxe book with rather rough paper.  The advantage is that it takes wet media very well, however I don't like it as well for my Prismacolor pencils, which feel better to me on a smooth sheet. 
Happy weekend to you all - we are awash in slush this morning here.   I am off to the studio where it is always sunny!