Kansas bound

This time tomorrow morning I'll be at the airport waiting to catch a couple of planes that will, ultimately, take me to Kansas for short visit with Pam.  We're both in need of some time to stop and breathe, relax a bit, create a bit, stitch a bit. Oh heck! Maybe even bitch a bit. Well, probably not the last, but we'll definitely chat a bit...or not. Yep. It's that kind of friendship.

 Some of the rusted boro pieces

 as well as the latest stitching on black cotton 

will find their way into my carry on bag 

for those times when we decide to just sit and be.

 

And back home, the rusting will continue in my absence.

Cranberry dreaming part 3

2 bundles of cotton + a cranberry sauce concoction + a hot plate left on high for too long = ???

One could propose that the correct answer is a bloody mess. And, I suppose, one would be correct. Me...well...I rather like the results...burn holes and all.

Can anyone recommend a good way to remove burnt cranberries from the bottom of a dye pot...exact metal unknown, but I think it's aluminum?

Cranberry dreaming part 2

Inspiration + an idea + cranberries and blueberries + dye pot + hot plate + cotton + organza + linen + time = cranberry hued laundry

I awoke way too early yesterday...like 4:15 am too early...stumbled downstairs and unwrapped the cranberry bundles before my first cup of coffee. Maybe my curiosity over the transpirings in the dye pot were what had me up before the crack of dawn...

The dye pot, hot plate and I are no strangers. We spent many an hour mixing up various Jacquard dyes to color the reeds and sisals used in weaving my baskets in the beginning and my vibrant, abstract studies in color at the end (of my basketry career, that is). Yet this brewing and bubbling of cranberries and blueberries was an entirely new experience for us. It's a delicate dance that we need to learn because now we're hooked.

The bundle was wrapped with the linen in the middle covered by organza which was covered by cotton. As light as the cotton appeared, I assumed that the linen was going to be unchanged. Boy! Was I wrong. It took the cranberry coloring the best of the three. These pictures were taken while the fabric was still wet.

The lovely red dried to a pale mauvey-brown-grey...still with bits of cranberries attached. The girls and I were out all day yesterday and didn't arrive home until the sun was setting so a photo will be taken today. And I'm going to wait until I return from a jaunt to Pam's before washing the pieces. Let the color settle in a bit, you know.

Stay tuned for part 3. 

Cranberry dreaming

Ever since Elizabeth over at be...dream...play... wrote about cranberry gratitude and mashing cranberry sauce into her journal - which resulted in the most scrumptious shade of...well...cranberry - I've been dreaming about experimenting with my own leftover cranberries.

So today, with all the Thanksgiving company back in their own homes, I dug out the dye pot and hot plate, plugged them in on the deck and set about concocting a home brew of cranberries, blueberries and even a bit of the sauce...cranberry, that is.

The plan is to let the pot simmer until bedtime, then turn it off and let everything cool overnight. I'll unwrap the bundles tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed!

Giving thanks

Fiona Dempster over at Paper Ponderings has a lovely Thursday Thought, a quote by Jorge Luis Borges, today that deals with the idea of parallel universes, the intersection/interaction of individuals. She muses about what ifs and decisions made or not made.

This blog of mine was a what if. One that was thought of, dreamed of, considered, mulled over, discarded, feared and finally started nearly 2 years ago. It was a way to keep my name out there in the art world. And a way to insure that I actually worked in the studio rather than just dreaming of doing so. Can't very well have an art blog and not have new work to show, right?

What if? What if I chosen to not start an art blog? The answer to that is simple. I would have missed out on making friendships with some wonderful artists. Some live fairly close by. Some live on the other side of the world. Seems distance is no hinderance in the blogging world.

Today is Thanksgiving Day here in the States. It seems appropriate to ponder a few what ifs, but even more appropriate to say Thank You for discovering this little blog of mine. Thank You for your comments, your encouragement, your sharing spirit. May your day be filled with lots of love and laughter...and art!

Starry night

Tea and vinegar soaked organza 

wrapped with purple waxed linen, 

now rusting snugly in a bag.

Star - a happy accident,

a pleasant surprise.

Good night all.

Rusted boro

The title of this post really should be Over thinking it, but rusted boro was more appealing...I think. Midst all the preparations for turkey day, working on the Christmas cards and life as usual in a household with 4 year olds, I managed to squeeze in a bit of time to crop the rusted cottons and sew them together.

They went from this                                                             to this

and now they're hanging like this.

In my own defense, it was viewing photos of indigo boro online that got me here what with all the wonderful contrasts in hues of indigo, patterns, stitches, etc. Well, that and I'd already decided that a bit of contrast was needed. So out came the box of rusted cottons et voila! Here we are. 

One could put forth the suggestion that I am procrastinating a bit longer before starting the patching process. One would probably be right too. Hmmm...what were those mantras I adopted this year? Oh yeah...keep it simple and just do it. Ha! Obviously, I have work to do.

Firsts

I'm a bit excited this morning. You see, Leslie Merola of hunt + gather studio, is featuring some of my discharged fabrics and photographs on her blogs, merola + moya and hunt + gather blog. It's my first time being featured on another artist's blog. It's slightly surreal, actually, to see my work somewhere other than here, but it also feels really nice.

Thank you Leslie!

On the studio side of things, I was rolling along last night, making progress on my Christmas cards, had even decided what the text would say and was ready to print. Only then did I realize that there were 10 blank cards left. Yikes! Placed an order and now it's a waiting game.

Guess I have no excuses left for finally getting to work on the rusted boro piece...

Magic

Those of you who follow the blog have heard me mention my friend Pam. It's to her house that I escape for the artist retreats. And it's her that I Skype with on Fridays as often as life allows.

Life, however, has been throwing curve balls at both of us lately. Mine came in the form of the snow storm and power outages that plagued Connecticut for a week...or more in some towns. At some point, our curve balls have been family related. My charming little urchins have a way of frying my brain to the point where I wonder if senility is setting in early...when I can think coherently enough to wonder, that is. 52 is too early for senility, isn't it? Please say yes.

Back to the art stuff. Two lengths of discharged fabric hang on one display board while rusted cottons hang on another - both waiting for inspiration and/or genius to strike. During our most recent Skype session, I mentioned to Pam that I've recently become intrigued with the Japanese boro method of patching and thought it could be interesting to attempt a simple version of it with the discharged fabric.

I'm not quite sure at what point...or even why now...that I moved the computer over to show Pam the current arrangement of these rusted cottons, but she took one look at them and said,

 

 Crop it.

So I did. And that became this

Can you see it? A piece? It's there. And to think that Pam looked at it for...oh...maybe 3 seconds before saying the magic words which took rusted cottons that have just been hanging around in the studio and transformed them into an actual piece of rusted boro cloth. There's work to be done, sure, but now there's a story to be told. 

Pam worked her magic with the discharged fabric, and possibly even my Christmas cards, in the space of...hmmm...5 minutes tops. My snow storm and twin fried brain was amazed by it all. Hopefully the amazement will lift soon. After all, there's work to be done by Friday.

A little good news

Woooooooohoooooooo!!!!!!!!!! We have power back! Life can return to as normal as it ever gets with 4 year twins in the house and my studio need not sit there looking so lonely.

Arg!

We've entered day 7 of no power. May I say that this is really getting old?

Thankfully, the girl's preschool had their power restored Wednesday so the little urchins are warm and happy. I'm hopping between Starbucks, the library and other warm places. My husband has offered his office as a refuge, but I just can't see sitting there all day.

My studio is lonely, but it's just too cold in there to work. Maybe I'll take some cotton and threads outside to stitch a bit. After all, it is warmer outside than inside these days.

Sorry for whining a bit. Thank you for listening.