Movin' along.....

Blogging is, unfortunately, near the bottom of my priorities the past year or so. I wish that wasn't true, but it seems that it is. Also getting short shrift in my life is art work - and that's even sadder to me than the lack of blogging time. I am going to try to remedy both conditions this spring.

As of Feb 8, I started training for a new job. I'm still in social services work, but with a different company, and at a higher level of responsibility and ABILITY to help families and children. I'm excited about what is on the horizon at this point, and am eager to finish official training next week. One little glitch, tho, and that is my suffering an accident 3 weeks ago during training. As a result, my right knee was quite severely injured, and I'm still not able to walk much (or even sit) without my whole leg swelling to nearly double-size. wow. I do NOT want to be disabled, and I'm not ready to retire yet. What I do want is to get my knee fixed, at the expense of the city where the hazard was permitted to exist on public property. And then I want to get on and serve my families.

As for fiber time? Been doing a little of that now and again. I finally modified a small jonome sewing machine into a needlefelting machine. Not sure it works as well as a true embellisher, nor even as well as my hand needle-felter works, but it's ok. I can imagine some good uses for it.

Today, I'm assmembling some new frames for screenprinting. And catching up on laundry from being on the road for the past 2 weeks. And resting. When I get the frames assembled, I'm going to make some temporary screen resists (either freezer paper or interfacing) and try them out during the evenings this week, since I will be home at night from now on - or at least until another far training is scheduled.

Snow day......

Today was snowy, but not very. Just enough that I had someone else sub for me on my visit, so I stayed home. And tomorrow, we are supposed to see 9-11 inches of snowy, so she'll sub again, which means a short paycheck, but it would be even shorter if I banged up my car and missed a whole week while getting it fixed.

But anyway, I put etsy fabric up this afternoon, until I froze out sitting in the den (not heated, except for what flows in from the dining room). Here are a couple of my favorites of today's offerings:




Not that I think anyone reads my blog, but just in case, here's the URL for my etsy site:
http://www.prairieartscape.etsy.com

Otherwise, I spent the day doing the photos and I dyed a couple of test pieces with Dharma economy muslin to see if it has to be scoured or not - jury is still out, as it's not out of the washer yet, and I'm not getting it out tonight. I also dyed some socks and a rayon t-shirt. I've not dyed rayon before, so this is a little adventure. It's a T that I've had for some time so I just put it thru the process to see how it comes out.

Tomorrow another snow day - I plan to go upstairs and actually do some work. The first half of the day, I think I will work on organizing my space as much as I can, then during the afternoon I'll start a project, probably a piece for HomeSafe. And that will be the un-auspicious start of the next step in my journey. So with that, I'm ending THIS day.

Working away.....

..... but not on cloth.... Mike is getting the basement project pretty much done, as much as can be during cold weather. We need to spend some time rearranging things. And move the extra range (cooking) down there as a back-up for emergency use. (We have been without electricity for several hours already twice this year - and I'm thinking it's going to be a long winter.) My oven in the kitchen does not work with no electricity, but the "spare" does. And it's handy to have a cooktop down there in case I want to do some kind of process that needs to be simmered (like using turquoise dye). In the spring, I will have more painting to do, and we will surface the floor (paint part, tile part) - but not now, as I don't want to deal with the fumes when the house is closed up.

So progress IS being made - not fast progress (4.5 years does not qualify as fast under ANY circumstances!). After Thanksgiving, I expect I'll be able to actually start working on some cloth, perhaps some collagraphs or print boards. Meantime, I'm starting to visualize some stitched resist patterns I'd like to try. No decision as to whether I'd like to hand-stitch or use the machine to couch over buttonhole twist. I've done both ways, and the second one is definitely faster and easier on my hands - both of which are big considerations.

I'm working on my Visioning Project page - there is a journal there that is accessible only to members. I'm not sure if that means Visioning members or SAQA members, but it doesn't really matter. I'm in it, and whoever reads it, reads it. It's not like I am using profanity or anything. Worst case scenario, I'll just sound goofy to some people at some times. oh well..... I've been a mom for a lot of years, so I'm pretty much good with that. ;o)

At any rate, I have this grand plan to take a large square and stitch-resist concentric circles - one approx 16" diameter, another about 3-4" outside the first. the stitching will be done in parallel lines of stitch (2 per circle). In the center of the inner circle I'd like to use some device to effect a textural sense - either with additional stitching, floral rocks or some other element. I haven't decided for sure on the colorway, but if I did the inner circle in golden, perhaps some/all of hte texture could be in lemon or a mix of lemon and golden. I'm still thinking - but you can be certain that when I get this piece produced I will put up photos for the world to see. WHEN, not "if".

Unforgivable

YES, unforgivable - that's what this enormously long disengagement has been. I have not posted to my blog in HOW long?? 10+ months. THAT is how long. But truth be known, it's been nearly that long since I've had anything to post.

I have noodled with a few little projects, but nothing completed. I intend to make some changes to that situation soon, and start putting up some posts, some actual work. Currently, I have signed up for the SAQA Visioning project. I've not yet completed my visioning page, but I'm working on it. And I'll also be working on surface design again soon.

I have finally modified my expectations of DH so far as the basement remodeling project is concerned, and I think that was a good move. I will have a simple painted concrete floor, rather than the vinyl I'd purchased for the space (a FreeCycle member benefited to the tune of about $800!). We won't paint until next spring/summer, but at least painting can be done in half's for the room, so I won't need to empty everything out - just shift it around. And I'll be able to work this winter without the aggravation of jumping over a 12-ft roll of flooring everytime I want to walk to the sink or back to the table.

So, no pics today, nor will there be any this week. If I come across something as I move supplies, machines, tools, etc, down two flights of stairs, I'll try to take pics to post. But barring that, I'll be back soon with some work to post and maybe some progress so far as my visioning project goes - it's an interesting ride!

A is for Acacia

My Yahoo group is starting a year-long adventure in Surfacing - going through the alphabet, every 2 weeks we will be working [individually] on a surface design technique or theme featuring the "letter" of the moment. As this is the beginning, the letter is "A".

I spent this afternoon exploring acacia resist. Originally, the idea come from the blog "amovablefeast", and I'd like to thank the blog author Neki Rivera for the inspiration and general instructions given in her tutorial at: http://amovablefeast.blogspot.com/search/label/tutorial

And now, my own minor foray:

First, stretch the fabric on a frame, and apply the desired design in acacia resist (equal parts acacia powder and tepid water, mix well)

I also painted some spots of color between some of the hoops of acacia.

Dry this stage.



Next, jag in some color over and around the "hoops" layer more acacia hoops over the first color spots:














Keep layering color and acacia, drying between layers, building color and texture on the surface of the cloth:














If desired, stamp in a secondary design. I used a foam "sprig" stamp with bright green paint which I added in a "tossed" design. Layered over more hoops and dried this layer. When I had all the layers of color I thought I wanted, I did a wash with a golden glaze; pictures of of this layer half done, then fully covering the cloth:


















Finally, after drying, then heat-setting, rinse out the layers of acacia. The design has a certain depth that really only appears fully when the washout is finished and the white and colored rings appear:


Notice that my sprigs deconstructed somewhat, as I had stamped them over many of the acacia hoops, so the paint flaked off when the acacia dissolved. I'll be trying this again, perhaps with smaller pieces (this one is 24" square), and also with pre-dyed fabric (this is white pfd). I am considering going back with another lighter wash (gold or tan), to un-whiten the white rings, but I'm going to wait and see how I like the current effect in a few days.

And that's my adventure for today..... "A" is for Acacia!!!

The Latest from the Prairie

News on the fiber-front is still a bit sketchy, altho I am currently entertaining HOPE! The thing I want to share today is a new opportunity for marketing art/fiber/craft in the wide, wide world of commerce.

The project is called Art Fire, and it's a new avenue for art marketing. It's just getting started, but I believe it has some tremendous potential for artisans (and for buyers, as well!). I signed up as a verified seller, which has certain advantages, such as number of photos per item, stats options, etc. The cost to be "verified" is normally $20/month, but for the first 5000 members the cost for LIFE is only $7/month. Basic members do not pay the $7-or-$20, so that might be an option to explore, as well. I chose the verified route, since I believe there is value in the simple act of investing in my business - not everything has to be or even should be free!

Here is a link for any of you who might like to explore the Art Fire opportunity. You'll notice that my PrairieArtscape user ID will show up on your join link. If you're willing, please leave it there, as I might be able to get a benefit from your signing up under my ID this week (not holding out a LOT of hope, there, but what the heck!).

Register on ArtFire.com

Wednesday, December 31, 2008 will mark my last day of the current job insanity - at that point, I'll be down to just one job like normal people. And my hope is that after that date, I may be able to use one or two half-days per week for ME and my fiber addiction. Well, as I said, I am currently entertaining HOPE! Meantime, I'm slowly moving some of my Etsy Wares over to Art Fire, and thinking about how I would like to develop my business in 2009. Stay tuned - might be some ideas for you, or at the very least, a long list of what to NOT do!

Time to Earn My Keep.............

......... by actually posting something useful on my blog. From time to time, I share my directions for constructing a little portable design wall. Eileen emailed to see if I could provide a picture of my creation, so I decided to add it to my blog, and I won't have to keep eternally typing it everytime the topic presents itself. I don't think the whole idea came from ME, but this is actually my version of the little set-up. The thing I like about this little "wall" is that I can roll it around, and use it next to a printing table to pin up printed fabric to dry, or bring it alongside my cutting board to assemble a fiber piece - it can go almost wherever I go - at least on the second floor. It has not yet mastered the stairs.

Here are the picures for the "wall", side view[upper] front view [lower]

And now the directions:

Materials needed:
1 rolling clothes rack (Wal-mart, $12-ish)
2 sheets of pink foam insulation 4'X8', 1.5" to 2" thick
Enough flannel to cover the sheets of foam on one side, wrapping to back side
Pins or Tape

My flannel came from Wal-Mart as well [I was already in the store, after all!] - 60" width buy enough to cover your foam.

Decide how tall you'd like your "wall" to be - take into account the ceilings it will encounter, as well as any doorways you will want to roll in and out of easily. Other things can be taken into consideration, also. You can see that my "walls" are only 5' high, and I could have had another 8-10" and still get through my doorway. BUT If I'd left that extra foot or so on the "wall", I couldn't have used the resluting 3'X4" pieces of foam for a couple of nifty print table surfaces, so I made my choice (besides, I have a full 8 ft design wall right in my sewing room).

And I digress..... so back to the instructions. Lay one of your flannel pieces on the floor and put the foam on top. OR lay the foam on the floor and put the flannel on top. Either way, get those two together. Smooth the flannel over the foam surface, then pull the edge of the flannel around to the back and pin it into the foam (or tape will work ok, too - I used pins. Pin it all around, and then do the same thing with the other piece of foam and piece of flannel.

Assemble the clothes rack - basically just a snap-together job. Set one flannel/foam board on one side of that little castor base and one on the other side, flannels facing out. You may be done at this point, if you feel happy with how they hug the rack. OR you can provide a little extra security by taking a couple of small strips of fabric and pinning one side of each into each pieces of foam at the top, to keep them from tipping forward. It's up to you - if you aren't going to be doing coat rack races with your rig, you may not need the fabric strips. I have them on mine, just in case.

That's the whole recipe. When I covered my boards, I used black for one side and white for the other. You could use acrylic felt also, probably, or quilt batting - whatever works for you. And now, what works for ME is to go find something to get rid of these *!#@! hiccups!!! It's hard to type anything sensible with my head bobbing every 5 seconds!