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!!!