first experiment in dyeing

Well. After something of a hiatus -- July was very busy with work, and I spent all last week divided between organizing a summer arts camp for kids K-6, and teaching said children how to machine sew -- and what with June having been so rich in terms of workshops and exhibitions (alas, so much I didn't see) -- I had a few hours today to experiment with natural dyes, India Flint style.

Mordant: Stainless steel pot, vinegar water. Taking my cues from Flint's "Eco Colour" I selected blossoms for dying/ecoprinting from the yard and garden that were relatively innocuous -- blue bachelors' buttons, violas, squash blossoms, tiger lily petals. Some fresh, some frozen in baggies as I collected them over the past few weeks. I added fine grounds of coffee and cardamon, and dried hibiscus. I used mainly fresh raw silk scarves purchased through Dharma Trading, in small sizes. I also used cotton and linen scraps, which didn't take dyes well and probably had some sizing or something in the fibers that retarded the process. But the silk was very sensitive to dyes.

I found in my first primitive experiment the following:
The squash blossoms did not release well, except when combined with hibiscus in larger quantities, and left in the bath at least two hours. Then the result was a delicate but pleasing wash of apricot hue.
Tiger lily blossoms stained reddish orange, though with fairly weak intensity.
Bachelors' Buttons release well, but have more effect in combination with onion skins and stems.
Purple onion skins and dark viola petals release well, and leave bluish-purple to reddish-purple markings.

I have not yet tried any greens, though an artist friend who took a full-week workshop with India Flint assures me that catalpa pods stain a lovely green -- and I can find those right at the end of my street.

I know I can have more fun with this. The trick is to be patient with the brewing, and I think to have greater quantities of blossoms.

trinity

workshop piece

untitled H

MQ Starts Tomorrow!

Workshops start today, but I have to teach this afternoon and so won't take part. Looking forward to the vendor fair tomorrow morning! And on Saturday, Tea & Ephemera with Judy Coates Perez!

Confluence

Well, I might have overpaid a little for the SDA Confluence convention - I loved my workshop, but the vendor fair was so-so and I wasn't able to get away from work as often as I'd hoped; so there wasn't the opportunity to enjoy exhibit tours and concurrent sessions. But I LOVED my workshop. There's still time to run around and see the many exhibits associated with the convention as well, and I will, if I can. But the major part of my investment in the convention was the conference fee, and in retrospect I probably could have put that money to better use. SDA allowed separate workshop registration, and day passes; if I have the opportunity again, locally, I'll be more careful.

My workshop was with Jennifer Reis, who offered a basic primer on embroidery stitches and different types of embellishment for cloth. She was funny, clear and direct, a good teacher and a tolerant one. Her heavily-embellished artworks were the basis for classroom technniques, and not far removed from the techniques I'm using -- but I taught myself, and needed to see someone with more expertise demonstrate proper methods.

I'm not sure what I was expecting from the conference. Possibly a much bigger vendor fair -- no reason really to assume that, but maybe the effect would have been enhanced had there been exhibits I wanted to see under the same roof as the workshop. People (women really) who have been to conferences in the past told me that the traditional location in Kansas is a concentrated university campus, and all exhibits and activities are located close together. "Confluence" was based out of the Radisson University, at the U of MN's Minneapolis campus. The U is a dispersed campus: at least 50% of the land is located miles away in St. Paul, or across the river from the main campus on the East Bank. So there were shuttles and campus connector busses needed to get around, from my workshop (St. Paul) to the main site (Minneapolis), to the exhibits at participating galleries (West Bank and other venues in and around the downtown area.) Plus, the city decided at the last moment to start construction on the new rail line that runs right through the heart of campus -- closing a major thoroughfare. Consequently there were detours aplenty.

I scheduled too much activity at the office. I hope I can do better this week, once the MQ Show gets rolling. And, maybe, a bigger vendor fair to look forward to?

random updates

more from the japanese sketchbook - "pearls lie not"

another view

this has changed since the photo was taken - updates later. pieces were moved from page to page.