Colors of Spring

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We're still building a fire in the wood stove but the colors of spring are upon us.  First the moss on the rocks turns a brighter yellow green.  Soon the dogwoods will be popping. This shibori dyed silk charmeuse and devore caftan jacket makes a perfect cover for chilly spring evenings.  After dyeing the silk, I ripped it in strips and serged them together alternating fabrics.  One size fits many.  You can find it on Etsy or email me for something specific.  There's nothing better than collaboration.

Save Everything

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 No Waste

 


My art is in the color, texture and depth.  It's where I ask what if.  Thus everywhere there is color there is art. Everywhere there is texture there is depth.  No waste means using everything I create.  These Shibori dyed pieces were the edges cut off a larger piece of hand felted merino, alpaca and silk.  They are the perfect length for wearable art.  I serged one edge and added my label.  Great to wear several at a time, or hang from a bamboo pole as a mobile. 

Since I always place at least three colors, or shades of one color of dye on the cloth.  This there is movement and depth.  The real pleasure attained using the Shibori technique is when you open each steamed package and discover the results!  The rules for making art are the same rules I apply to writing.

  1. Make rules
  2. Choose a palette/voice and stick with it
  3. Ask “What if?”
  4. Don't second guess

The secret to beautiful texture and blend of color is to not use too much dye by learning to read the flow of the dye in the same way a kayaker reads the river before descending over a 40 foot water fall.  The only way to repeat what you discover is to measure and make notes. (Sorta.  You can never really repeat with shibori. )

 
--> “My dear,” she said, “perhaps it is time for you to gather your authority and begin your journey living the layered life of an artist.  --from The Garden Girls Letters and Journal

Charmeuse and Velvet

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Caftan and Coat

More experiments.  Will I ever get there?  The pole wrapped shibori dyed charmeuse in shades of purple and yellow (which became green when I added the black) started out as a 60" square which I then cut on the bias to create this caftan.  I read somewhere that working on the bias is like working with live fabric.  No kidding.  Every time I moved it the shape changed.  The velvet coat was made from three yards of shibori dyed yardage dyed in shades of yellow (which became copper, rust and olive when I added black.)  I love color theory!  The experiment here was whether or not to dye one long piece or three smaller pieces precut to fit the back and sides.  Just like writing.   Constant rewrites says mentor +Connie May Fowler  Can't wait for the Kentucky Craft Market, Mar 2-3 in Lexington at the Convention Center.

Leftovers

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What to do with the shibori dyed merino, alpaca and silk  felted leftovers after you've made a 
garment and you have all those beautiful remnants?   

I have begun experimenting.  I felt some on rug backings and embellish with beads and paints.  I make individual scarves out of some.  After hanging several strips on a hanger I'm intrigued with making a mobile after being inspired by my friend, Kathleen Obrien.


Irregular Design Completed

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 At first I wasn't sure that I like the fact that the two front sides were not similar.  Now I like the contrast.  With the focus on color, this one has more green than I anticipated.  Thus leading me to using all yellow with purple and a dash of black next time for more copper, rust and olive.  I love color theory!  And I love irregular designs that become dramatic.

Another Challenge Presents Itself

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Another Challenge Presents Itself

Both of these pieces started out by felting .25 alpaca/merino onto 44" silk gauze

After dyeing, steaming and rinsing, the one on the left was put in the washer on the drain spin only cycle. It is now 30" wide and

fulled

much  more tightly. The one on the left was line dried and is 37" wide and more soft. Hmmmm. I was going to make a coat so I guess I will re-wet the one on the right and drain spin it so they are both the same. The question is will the tighter fulling wear better?

Raw Silk Duster with Crepe Scarf

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What I learned with this duster is the difference when I presoaked the raw silk in a solution of vinegar and water.  I rope wrapped each piece which was precut for the finished design. The patterns are more fluid and pale.  There is move diversity of colors.  At first I wasn't pleased, however, the more I have viewed and pondered the finish duster, I like it.  The crepe scarf uses the same colors of red, orange and yellow which have been shaded with black.  It was not presoaked, therefore the colors are deeper.  This is one of the looks I plan on featuring in the next Lexington Fashion Collaborative Future of Fashion 4 on June 22 
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Slowly, I'm getting back to my art making routine
Filling every station with a work in progress


Nuno felted merino and alpaca 
waits to be wrapped

Raw silk, rayon and cotton
Wait for a theme, a palette to descend upon me
More for summer? 
Tangerine Copper
 Or is it time to fall into winter? 
Blue Violet

Yesterday I dyed two 44" charmeuse silk scarves in rainbow colors
Today I start a fire in the wood stove
To hasten the drying

Black Fire

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In preparation for my art opening the theme is Fire.  I'm trying to see how many different ways I can dye fabric, and make art within the concept of Fire. And in some cases I'm trying to see how large a piece of fabric I can make and shibori dye.  This piece of 1/4 pound merino and black devore silk is Nuno Felted on the FeltLOOM, pole wrapped, then shibori dyed in orange, red and purple.  The black side is the silk, the colorful side is the wool. Either side could be considered the "right side"  It started out being 45" by 72".  After felting and fulling the final size is 35" x 64" not including the natural edges which vary in size from 2 to 3 inches. This soft and beautiful piece of fabric can be used as a wrap, a throw, or hung on the wall.   Find it on Etsy     

Rearranging

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I didn't plan to rearrange everything.  It's just that when we decided to finish the basement everything got rearranged.  That's why I'm temporarily not creating.  I don't know where anything is because it has all been tucked away, safely, to avoid paint and drywall dust.  The good thing is that during this process I have realized that I don't want my studio back in the basement.  I want it out in the little cabin that we built to be used as a shed.  I've decided that having my dyeing studio in the basement keeps me in the house too much.  If I'm in the little cabin, then I have to go outside and see the stars, or feel the sun, even if it is hot, and even if the little cabin is hot, it will be worth it.

Art on The Wall, or on the Body

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Sewing and thinking about Mom

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 Everytime I work on the sewing table I got from my mom I remember all the dresses she made for me and my sisters.  And while she always thought she wasn't an artist, she definitely had her style!
Fuchsia, hand-felted, shibori dyed, Kentucky alpaca, Texas merino and silk.