Some Stitching

After a bit of waffling I finally decided that the burnt shibori looked best with black behind it. It just seemed a bit of a waste to cover over the golden piece... I will find another use for that. To attach it I settled on grey running stitches along the grid. The stitched lines seem to float over the shibori.

In other news our puppy has a clean bill of health! She is finally done with the prednisone and the last blood work was fine. I am so happy that she came through it. We are still bringing her into work each day but now its just because we like to.

I want to show off my friend Brian Fox getting some coverage on the local news. Brian is a wonderful artist (and person) I was lucky enough to work with him for a number of years. He decided to try his chances as a portrait artist 5 or 6 years ago and it is wonderful to see his career evolve. He specializes in sports figures and celebrities (and the occasional racehorse!)

In which Buttons are added

Just pics

Slowly getting this little project done...

Take Two

Well here is how they came out after the second dye bath. I definately like the gold one better and the grey one is now red which was more of what I had origionally planned.

Frankly I'm still not sure that they are going to end up joined after all is said and done.

I think I like the red with grey behind it like in this photo

Right now I'm feeling a bit wiped because I not only did about 4+ hours of garden clean up today I also went shopping for new jeans which is always a bit of a trial, I'm happy to report I was successful in finding a pair of jeans and a pair of khakis, whoot!

Here is a bit of what is going on in the garden

a wooly bear caterpillar (I love these guys)

my first cocuses!

My first container plantng of the year, lavender, hardy pansies, and english daisies (I think they are really a type of primrose)

I did not take pictures of all the deer damage to my shrubs... apparently I have been choosing some tasty varieties of plant life, all my tulips in the back garden are sheared off at the ground, grrr.

Seared

Another try with the burnt shibori.

The top layer (grey) is burnt the lower layer (gold) is not

My idea is to layer one over the other and stitch them

This first swing isn't quite there. I'm OK with the burn but I'm not lovin the two colors together

and I'm especially not satisfied with the itajime dye on either piece.

The predominately grey piece has a deep maroon line in it that I was hoping would go much further into the fabric.

The gold has a deeper golden brown color that also didn't go as deeply into the fabric as I had hoped.

So I've re-folded and re-dyed them with the dark colors

I'm still not too sure that I will care for the two colors together but I'm hoping to improve them individually, we will see tomorrow.

In other news I got out of work an hour early today and did some garden cleanup...

This is not especially interesting to any one but me but it feels so good to have the garden looking spiffy.

What if Buttons?

Had a "what if" moment...

What if I sewed buttons onto poly fabric...

Then wrapped the fabric around the button and bound the fabric into something resembling little bitty mushrooms...

Then heat set the fabric by submerging it in water and heating it in the microwave

What would it look like?

little flowers?

tiny craters?

coral?

new Item in shop

Just added bamboo fiber socks to the etsy shop.

I can no longer get ahold of the thick cotton socks I used to have up so I decided to switch to something a little more interesting. These socks feel marvelous, like silk... and bamboo fiber has reported anti-bacterial qualities.

I think tomorrow I will have some Shibori to report on...

Thats the plan anyhow

Todays Sketch

I am too tired from power yoga tonight to contemplate any more than a sketch for my creative pursuit this evening...

(Besides we just got the Venture Bros. Season 3 DVD and I want to watch it as well as make some biscuits to go with the kale and barley soup Lar made).

Its enough for tonight.

Treat

Treat
Pronunciation: \ˈtrēt\
Function: verb
Etymology: Middle English treten, from Anglo-French treter, traiter, traitier, from Latin tractare to drag about, handle, deal with, frequentative of trahere to drag, pull
Date: 14th century

intransitive verb

1: to discuss terms of accommodation or settlement : negotiate

2: to deal with a matter especially in writing : discourse —usually used with of

3: to pay another's expenses (as for a meal or drink) especially as a compliment or as an expression of regard or friendship

transitive verb

1 a: to deal with in speech or writing : expound

b: to present or represent artistically

c: to deal with : handle

2 a: to bear oneself toward : use

b: to regard and deal with in a specified manner —usually used with as

3 a: to provide with free food, drink, or entertainment

b: to provide with enjoyment or gratification4: to care for or deal with medically or surgically

5: to act upon with some agent especially to improve or alter



I am currently trying to treat with my artist self. We have been at odds for a long time and in order to move forward with my life some accommodation must be found.

One part of that accommodation is to be found in treating myself to small pleasures.

Another part is to let my artist take the lead in deciding what to do with regard to choosing projects.

Not surprisingly I have some difficulty with both of these aspects of the process.

This weekend brought a bouquet of flowers...



I just thought I'd check the definition of the word treat, I'm surprised how many of these definitions have something to do with the process I am undergoing.

I love dictionaries!

A Brisk Walk

Brr it is COLD down at the beach. We did not stay long I picked up a few rocks and the puppy went crazy trying to bite the waves. It was fun to get out there though. No doubt about it I want to get some more stones to wrap and bejewel...

Clearing Out

Oh it was far too nice out today to spend it inside so out I went to clear leathery old oak leaves out of the garden beds and get a nice chunk of the lawn dethatched.

This just proves I'm turning into my mom as she was the one who actually liked to rake the yard. I do admit there is a certain satisfaction to seeing it all neat and clean after a good raking. That is something I never would have appreciated when I was a pup.

These little tulips are now 4" tall. I just love the tiny tip of pink they have when they first come up.

This rather unassuming picture shows the species tulips coming up and some crocus behind it. Species tulips look so fragile but they aren't. Those little buggers come back strong year after year which cannot be said for they're larger more flamboyant cousins. I usually get one good year out of the big tulips and then they just peter out and stop coming back as anything but leaves.

I did get a little more top stitching done on the denim squares... still not completely happy with this set. It just doesn't seem as well thought out as I would like it to be. I'm just going to finish it and move on though. It is a project that has been waiting for me to do it for so long I just want to see it done and move on. I guess I'm sort of trying to clear out some of the old stuff from the studio too.

Tomorrow we may take a trip to the beach! Who knows I may come home with more beach stones.

buttons

I'm beginning the embellishment on the denim squares, using some buttons and eventually decorative stitches...

Fused

Well I fused all the bits together now I will be stiching and embellishing... Some of these I'm not sure I love.

Rainbow Selection

A Rainbow of fabrics to be fused to the Denim squares...

We will see how they look when they are done.

Seams

I've cut them all to square now and stitched all the seams down in a rainbow of different colors.

Happy St Pats Day!

Blue Pieces

I've been trying to give my artistic impulses free reign instead of forcing myself to be "productive"... Thus the plethora of weird impulsive projects lately.
I have a bad habit of trying to direct/control my artist self. I get in my list focused mindset and I start pushing even when all the warning signs are going off. Eventually the artist in me gets mighty rebellious and declares a complete work stoppage.
Even then I will try to push through. The entire thing is painful and exhausting for both sides
(I'm really not schitzophrenic but this is a good way to describe the struggle that goes on in me)
My hope is that if I can learn to treat the artistic side of myself with some respect it will come out of hiding and perhaps I can learn to work with it instead of against it.
Well tonight I actually managed to work on one of the projects that is on my "to-do" list instead of start something new.
This may mean I have made some progress!
Above are some denim patchwork squares that are to be the base for a simple little project I've had sketched out for months. I'd love to get it done...

Today I grabbed some of the hand made paper and the grasses that I harvested last week and tried stitching them together. I know it doesn't look like much but I actually like how these elements are sitting together. I will probably continue this experiment.

I also got the puppy out for a walk in the woods (a short one) and I got 3 small garden beds cleaned out. This led me to my springtime find...

Hooray! I have 3 little flowers in my garden. These are always the first flowers to come into bloom in my gardens. I look forward to seeing them each year.

To Market

I headed over to Hope Artiste Village today to see the Farmers Market. Pretty wonderful stuff artisan cheeses, fresh greens and herbs from greenhouses in the area, heritage beans, preserves, honey, and baked goods all locally produced. Tons of people there too. Its an indoor venue that received some local press this week so it was crammed with folks out to see the sights and taste the tastes. For the occasion I made myself a tiedye/shibori market bag. Very fun.

Bee Paper

And off I go in another direction

This is paperwasp paper I found forever ago. Some creature had gutted the nest and I salvaged the paper. I think it is gorgeous. (My pack rat instincts are amazing) The wasps chew up wood and then create paper from it. I assume they use special wasp spit. Oddly this doesn't detract in the least from its beauty. Its a little hard to see the colors in it here but it is every shade of beige, grey and brown each in a little stripe. Very similar in appearance to wood grain almost as if they were reassmbling the trees it came from.

I'm still interested in making vessels and when I dug up the beepaper I just had to give it another try. The bee paper is too delicate to use on its own so I broke out the hand made paper I made with my mom (also forever ago). This stuff is as sewable as fabric and realy tough and it looks really nice with the bee paper since it has flowers in it!

I've been molding it around a vase and stitching it together. A little Frankenstien looking but I'm actually pleased with the way its shaping up now.

Slash and Burn

I did a bit of harvesting today in the garden. Last years grasses have some pretty seed heads that survived the winter in good shape. No sense letting it all go to waste. The leaves on this miscanthus are razor sharp when green and only a little duller when dried out but they are truly lovely as they twist and turn. I'm sure I will find a use for them.

I've also tried some more of the burnt shibori, this time on fabric. Its hard to see here but to put out the fire I used some old dye. The dye reinforces the appearance of the itajime and gives the fabric a bit more interest.

As you can tell I am still dedicating myself to messing about lately. I don't seem to have it in me to do more and I don't want to just sit around feeling sorry for myself so I'm letting my instinct for play lead for the moment. Who knows maybe it will find an opening for me to escape from this bitter little box I've constructed for myself. (Don't mind me I had a craptacular day at work today, and yes I know I should be all grateful I've got a job and can pay the bills, I'm just not feeling it at the moment, give me a few... it will pass)

The good news is that our puppy had blood work done and is in very good shape all things considered. So this day has been declared Happy Pancreas Day and all should celebrate by cherishing the bellies they love the best! I'm off to cherish my best belly now.

Burning Shibori

Burning more holes Itajime style.

This is rice paper still a bit damp and see through from putting out the flames. I stitched it to a base of some handmade paper I've had sitting around for years.

I apologize for the crappy photos I seem to post more often than not. I generally seem to take photos at night and lighting is a definite problem, also my camera leaves a bit to be desired... and my photo skills are meh.

Well you get the idea...

I love the way the burnt holes are shaped by the folds...