Prints on Silk

More samples of eco printing on silk fabric.

a variety of leaves

bolder colors from these leaves

you can get some really cool "ghost" prints as well

beautiful, beautiful prints on silk

Eco Monoprinting on Cloth

If you're spent any time reading my blog, then you know that I love paper and cloth almost equally.
I use them almost interchangeably in my work.
The last few blog posts are evidence of that.

I shared a few photos of a few of those prints (on cloth and paper) but I created a stack of them that I haven't shared.
Here's a few of them on cloth.

cotton fabric

cotton fabric 

cotton fabric with leaves from a neighbor's yard...

Silk fabric dyed with Goldenrod (a weed  around here in SC).
I think that the black areas came from a mold (or something like that) that
began growing in my little bundle.

Silk dyed with yellow and red (or purple) onions.
Notice the lines form the string that I tied the bundle with.

Silk fabric dyed/monoprinted with yellow onion and some weed
from a local pasture. A common weed here (green, no flowers)
that is every where in upstate SC. Also has a few
Oak leaves wrapped in the bundle.

Walnut tree stem with various other leaves
in bundle. Soaked in walnut "juice".

Eco Prints/Monoprinting

I have fallen in love with natural dyeing...perhaps the printing to be exact.
I have always picked up leaves, pressed them between pages of a book or tacked them onto my inspiration board. I often use them in my artwork (check this out).
I can almost remember where each one came from, what I was doing the day I picked it up and who I was with.
I love trees, rocks and moss...all of this is evidenced by the amount of these natural items in my studio (and car, and patio, and my husband's vehicle, and in the kayak...).
Now I have another way to use it in my artwork!

I tried several different ways to print the leaves of a local eucalyptus tree. They grow well in my area and are able to live quite well through the winter.
Even though I don't have one in my yard, there is a huge tree not to far from my house...
a steady supply of leaves to play with!

This is a "ghost" print on a piece of previously dyed cotton fabric.
Notice the green fern monoprint in the upper right hand corner.

Here is a close up of the fern monoprint (an unexpected  extra!).

Look at the awesome color! (silk)

True. Love.
(on silk)

Eco Prints

I've been experimenting with natural dyeing and eco printing.
What a ton of work but man-oh-man, when it begins to work the way you envisioned it, it is beautiful.
It is addictive.
It is all consuming.

Or maybe I am a bit OCD and once I find something I really like, I jump in with both feet.
Both hands.
Silk fabric.
Cotton fabric.
Organza.
Watercolor paper.
Handmade paper.
Bristol Vellum paper.

(you get the picture??)

Here are a few pieces that I ooh'ed and ahhh'ed over when they came out of my caldron.

300 lb hot press watercolor paper

300 lb hot press watercolor paper

110 lb Exact Index paper with beautiful muted colors
and embossed areas from the thicker leaves.

110 lb Exact Index paper with the same muted colors
and embossed areas.

 The paper really accepts the color from the monoprint much better than fabric.
Well -except eucalyptus...silk fabric not only accepts the color from the eucalyptus, it revels in the marriage of the two.
The first few times that I tried dyeing or printing with eucalyptus were disappointing.
Only pale yellows, maybe a hint of green.
The following one is on linen. While I do like the pale colors, I was really looking for the bold orange-ish color that I had seen other natural dyers obtain.

Then I began to break away from what I was reading and started doing things the way that I usually do...
the mad scientist way.
I combined a bit of information from this book, or this book, a little from a variety of blogs that I found, threw in a dash of (my) logic and the colors began changing a little bit.

Look! Look! I see a little bit of color change going on!

I'll end here but will do a post later this week showing the rest of my "experiments".

Autumn News

Wow, what a month or two!
I've created seven new pieces of art (five for a show, two for me), traveled to three different states to either open art shows, teach or visit family (not to mention eating a bunch of pumpkin foods).
Now I am home again, ready to rest a day or two (while I plan the next trip).

I made my first trip to upstate NY this month.
Love, love, love it up there!
The lakes, the trails, the trees and the animals-I love it all.
The people are so friendly, especially the folks that my friends and I stayed with (thank you Claire and Richard!).
I suppose my opinion might change during the snow season, hmmm?
I am tired after days of travel but it is a pleasant "job well done" type of tired.

While I have been away from home, I had projects "cooking" for me.
A fairly new obsession, I mean a technique that is new to me, is eco dyeing.
Dyeing with natural items- plant material or woody tree materials.
I love unrolling my little bundles and seeing what serendipitous surprises await me!
Here is the one that I unrolled this morning after a week or two of cooking.
It's silk fabric with goldenrod rolled into it, dipped into old tea leaves (tied up with cotton string).

I love the subtle variations in the color.
I can see yellow areas from the goldenrod, the beautiful tans of the tea leaves as well as a pale salmon-ish color from somewhere.
I also love the lines from the shibori type resist of the pearl cotton thread.
Like the wandering lines of lives that intersect along the way, much like "The Family Circle" comic depicted.
Much the way that I am in art making - so easily distracted by this or that - yet always returning to what moves me or enables me to impart the message that I am charged with.
I have many small bundles just waiting their turn at the miraculous unveiling, not to mention a few jars full of colored liquid and chopped vegetation.

But for now, I am content to unpack slowly, move about my comfy home with a thankful heart.
I'm just happy to be among my own treasures for a week or two before embarking on yet another adventure.
I hope that your heart is happy - filled to the brim with thankful thoughts as well as love for your fellow man (and woman!).

Curiosities

Over at the "Sketchbook Challenge" Judy Coates Perez is the theme picker...
True to form, Judy gave us an interesting and multi-layered one, "Cabinet of Curiosities".

Through the magic of the internet (and my photo saving program), I'll share one of my posts on that theme.

I love Judy's theme this month!

When my family went to the museums in Washington a few years ago, the Museum of Natural History was my favorite place. I loved all of the skeletons and odd little things that building houses and really didn't realize until that day just how much I love skeletons.
Since most "Cabinets of Curiosities  have at least one skeleton in them, I'll share one of my sketches that I did this summer from a magazine ad.
My husband and I were doing some volunteer work and I found myself stuck in an (almost) empty college apartment with nothing to do.
Thank goodness I had a sketchbook, pen & pencil and a promotional magazine from Western North Carolina (I live very close to the SC/NC line). (edit "The Laurel of Asheville" July 2012)
Just goes to show you that you need to carry a sketchbook with you every where you go!
I had already drawn everything in the room (my chair, the desk, my camera and my sewing machine) so it was time to find something else to draw to pass the time.
So I opened the magazine.
Hmmm...several possibilities as I flipped through it rather quickly.
But then I saw it - a beautiful tiny little ad about fossils (Cornerstone Minerals) that had a photo of a dinosaur skull in it.
Bingo! I grabbed my pencil, pen, travel watercolors and went to work.

I usually draw straight to paper with a pen but this time I sketched a bit in pencil then outlined that in pen.
I don't have any step by step photos so I'll just share the  final sketchbook page (regular readers of my blog have seen this already).

This would probably fit right in if I had a "Cabinet of Curiosities" in my home.

Oh wait - I DO have a tiny version of this already (my morbid curiosity with skeletons)!

A friend of mine sent me an owl pellet (don't ask).
I opened it up and found  a bunch of teeny tiny bones.
I put all of them in a small corked bottle (it's about one inch tall).
I was waiting to use it on a piece of artwork but maybe I'll have to find me a cabinet to put it in...

Seasonal Attire

This post is also available on the "8 That Create" blog.
Check out the artwork, creative ramblings and activities of myself and seven other artists!

I am using the fashion of nature as my inspiration for the Old Forge show pieces.
I often work in my sketchbook before hitting a canvas or anything else with ideas. I find this helps me to focus, flesh out good ideas and scrap bad ones (hopefully).
The last piece that I want to share was started in just this fashion.

I went into it with vague idea of what I wanted to do or the idea that I wanted to share in my art making.
I use a large sketchbook (8 1/2" x 11") to work on most of my canvas art. It allows a little more room to move things around on while I am auditioning ideas.
I gathered my supplies - leaves, jute, molding paste, absorbent grounds, acrylic mediums for adhesives, acrylic & watercolor paint and gesso.
Then set to work.
Some of my inspiration came from this book  about people that use nature as fashion accessories -

Hans Silvester is a very talented photographer that has amassed a huge body of work that includes (in my humble opinion) some of the best tribal photos any where.
I already had the idea of working with nature as my fashion icon. When I started doing research on "the fashion of nature" this is one of the books that was recommended to me by our friend Mr. Google.
I was immediately hooked after I saw a tiny sampling of the photos.

(I've included a link to the book on Amazon but I do not receive any compensation from the sale of it)

After completing a small piece of art in my sketchbook, I went to a 20" x 24" stretched canvas to tell one of nature's fashion stories there.
There are many many layers on this canvas. I kept adding collage items, covering them up, painting, scraping pastes & mediums, adding more paint, natural items and then a piece of driftwood.

"Seasonal Attire"
20" x 24"

I liked the sketchbook page so much that I framed it too.
It is, after all, a completed piece of artwork.
Don't be afraid to share the artwork that is in your sketchbook!
You have to learn to let the light of all your work shine...put it out there in the world.
You created it from a deep well of creativity. You have to bring it out in order to make room for more.

"Seasonal Attire:A Study"
18" x 22"

Both of these pieces were difficult to photograph at home. One is lighter (white/sand/tan/sienna colors) and the other is in the black (multi-layered) shadowbox frame.
I hate to read this and really hate to write this but...the photos really do not do the pieces justice.
They are better enjoyed in person.

So - there you have it.
Stories, details and ingredients to the five pieces that I created for the upcoming show in Old Forge, New York.
I can't wait to go there, see the show, teach a class and spend time with my friends Liz Kettle and Jane Davila.
Check out the workshop offerings that we have and join us on October 12 for the opening!

Quarterly Journal Dress

This post is also visible at the "8 That Create" blog.


I love create collages out of vintage papers.
I usually add paint and molding paste on top of them, almost covering them up...but I still love to add them for texture and the occasional peek of text.
After completing one of my larger pieces for the Old Forge show, I decided to make a sculptural type collage.
Seeing three "dresses" in the show, I decided that, even though my slant on the fashion theme was nature's fashion, I would create a dress.
A tiny dress.
Out of paper and vintage lace.

I actually made two dresses (I was having too much fun to stop!) when it was all said and done but will only send one of them.
For the first one, I used pages from a women's magazine ("Demorest's Monthly Magazine" 1878), vintage sheet music, dress pattern pieces, antique book pages and a few scraps of handmade paper.
I glued these torn pieces of paper onto a scrim type fabric with an acrylic medium.
(let that dry of course)
I used a doll dress pattern that my grandmother used (when I was a young lass) to make doll clothes out of.
It is veryyyy old...
And then I stitched the paper dress up on my sewing machine.
I added a sash at the waist with vintage netting as well as antique lace around the sleeves and bottom.

Framing was going to be a problem since it is a 3D piece.
I decided on a deep shadowbox frame. This worked great but was a bear to photograph.
Here's a shot out of the frame.

I'll add a couple of detail shots so you can see the fashion references on the dress.
I had a lot of fun making this tiny dress (overall length is about 7 inches)

The Nature of Fashion

This will also be posted on the "8 That Create" blog.
Check out the other blog posts there!



Like everyone else in the group, I've been working on the upcoming show in New York.

I chose to incorporate a bit of natures' fashion into my pieces.
I've been working off of the knowledge that nature, just like fashion, dresses herself according to the season.
Her fashionable colors change as well as the way that she clothes herself.

I spend a lot of time observing the fashion show that Mother Nature organizes.
I try to take my creative cues from this show.

Season to season, the colors change.
The emotion changes.
She sheds her autumn foliage for the monochromatic palette of winter.

The fashion of nature sheds light on the nature of fashion.
Meaning that fashion changes with the same cycle as nature.

I created this piece from natural elements - sticks, stones and leaves.
The stitched background is made from real leaves that have been pressed and allowed to disintegrate into tissue paper before laminating them to tea bags and scrim.

You can see the leaf above - it has disintegrated
into the tissue paper that I pressed the leaves on.

I used leaves that I gathered from my home garden
as well as vegetation from the forest near my home.

You might find an herb or two in my fabric...

Petals from garden flowers, especially gardenias and lilies.

You can see the layer of tea bags and scrim on this sample.
I laminated all of it together with acrylic soft gel and matt medium.

I also dipped a couple of the central collage elements into beeswax.

The beeswax makes the tea bag very transparent.

I love the smell!

"Nature's Fashion"

This is a 12" x 12" piece mounted on 1.5" stretcher bars.
Each person in the group of 8 will create a panel the same size.
They will be hung in a grid - like a nine patch - with our signage in the center.

I have created two other pieces of wall art plus a book.

Last April, I helped a friend of mine vend at the Virginia Beach "Art & Soul" retreat.
She had all sorts of vintage items to sell (!) and I was one of the helpers in charge of putting these things out on display (can you believe that she left me there with all that cool stuff?!) (my husband couldn't).
I unpacked a pair of little girls espadrilles.
I immediately saw the potential for a book in this pair of shoes.
Some of the group used women's shoes to create a piece of artwork out of.
I chose to use this well loved pair of shoes for one of my projects.
Here's what I came up with.

"The Sole Book"

"Sole Book"
front view

I spent a lot of time painting, staining, crackling and waxing each page
before adding them to the book

I love the crackle pages.
They look like an old sole (or soul, for that matter).

I used a glaze of acrylic paint to bring out the crackles on painted paper

End of Summer Break

Blogging break, that is.

I have several (looming) deadlines right now that are keeping me very busy.
I am thankful that I have deadlines...because if I didn't - I'd never get anything done!

So please excuse me while I finish up my obligations this month.
I'll be back as soon as I can!

Along Came A Spider

and sat down beside her
and frightened Miss Carol away.

After picking gardenias to bring into the house, I noticed a HUGE spider on the counter.
EEEEKKKKK! I am afraid of HUGE spiders!

My husband wasn't at home so I put a cup over it to contain it.
Then I figured that I had better add a note in case I forgot that I had captured a spider...

It was relocated to a safer habitat (other than my counter) at a later date.

Crisis averted.

Finding Inspiration

I usually work on several projects at one time.

Art ADD.

I get bored too easily.

I also get tired of working on the same thing for long periods of time (aka bored too easily).

I'm involved with a group show this October in Old Forge, New York.

I've had several great ideas, lots of techniques & concepts but can't seem to settle on one to get started with.

So what did I do?

Yep, started several at the same time.

I'll continue to work this way until one catches my attention.

The first photo shows what I have cooking on my studio table.

What's on your table?

Here's a close up of the really cool colors and textures that I collected for one of the projects.

All cast offs hoping for a new lease on life.

Maybe they will find them here.

Summer Samples

I've been working on a Fall class sample for a class that I am going to teach in Charleston SC at "Fashion Fabrics".
It's a traditional reverse applique technique with a modern twist.
I have always been so inspired by Natalie Chanin's books and love the projects in them.
But I love making my own stuff up!
So I spend a lot of time creating my own stencil designs (that I turn in to thermofax screens when I'm happy with them).
That means a lot of "stitch-outs".
Many, many samples...
I decided to make them all the same size so that I can create a throw out of them later.
Or a book of samples.
But the throw sounds like more fun, doesn't it?

Here's the latest stitch out.
It took me a few tries to get the drawing just right for its purpose as a stencil.
You never realize how far apart the lines should be for a design to work as a stencil until you try the stitching technique on it.

Did I mention that I have lots of (failed) samples?

I like this one and will probably use it in the future.

Last week I went to a place called "KRB Fabrics" in Lyman SC (no website).
It's a huge warehouse type fabric/notions store (home dec, etc).
I was looking for mid - heavy weight cotton jersey fabric (since it is so difficult to find).
Jackpot!
The place had TONS of it...not to mentions tons of everything else.
I found a wonderful roll of mid-weight canvas that I love.
All at very, very good prices.

If you're close to me (or far away) and want to go, shoot me an email and we'll get together one day.
It's a great place to find treasures...did I mention the antique/junk store next door?

One More Sketch

After I had drawn everything that was in the room I worked in, I turned to a magazine that I picked up at a gift shop for inspiration.

I don't normally draw from photos/magazines but I loved this image so much (and was so bored) that I jumped in anyway.

Here is the last drawing that I did last week.
It's a fossilized Oreodont skull found at Brule Formation South Dakota.
No credits were given for the photo in the magazine ("The Laurel of Asheville").

There you have it.

My week (last week) in sketches.

I did watch a few baseball games but didn't sketch at the park.

Too hot.

Too tired.

Too crowded.

Home sounds so good to me right now...

Satellite Studio Equipment

Another drawn image from my week in a studio away from home.
We (hubby and I) would spend one night on the Southern Wesleyan University campus, then one night at home.
After a week of this I am so content to be at home every day.
It's very difficult for me to creative work this way.
I spent more time thinking about what I should be doing than actually doing it.

I did manage to fill in a few pages of my sketchbook though.
Here's another one -

If I carry a machine with me when I travel, it's this lightweight Brother machine.
It did what I needed it to do while I was away - sew simple jersey knits. I was working on making a shirt from a ready made pattern. I was not pleased at all with the end result!
I think I will just deconstruct one of the shirts that I like (& that fits well) and use it as a pattern.
I'm through with the other patterns unless someone can convince me otherwise.

Travel time

More sketchbook images from a week of volunteer time at the "Big League World Series" in Easley SC.

I didn't have much to draw in the room that I was working in (a temp studio) so I drew the chair.
It's one of those sitting chairs that almost rock.

Travel watercolor palette, Koi waterbrush.